Zhang Zhi (calligrapher)

This article is about the Eastern Han calligrapher. For the Tang-era poet from Jiangnan with a similar name, see Zhang Ji (poet from Jiangnan). For the Tang-era poet from Hubei, see Zhang Ji (poet from Hubei).

Zhang Zhi (simplified Chinese: 张芝; traditional Chinese: 張芝; pinyin: Zhāng Zhī; Wade–Giles: Chang Chih, died 192), courtesy name Boying (伯英), was a Chinese calligrapher during the Han dynasty. Born in Jiuquan, Gansu,^[1] he was a pioneer of the modern cursive script, and was traditionally honored as the Sage of Cursive Script (草聖).^[2] Furthermore, he is known as one of the Four Talented Calligraphers (四賢) in Chinese calligraphy.^[3]

Biography

Zhang Zhi was the eldest son of Zhang Huan (张奂; 104-181^[4]), a military general; Zhang Zhi's younger brother Zhang Chang (张昶) was also a well-known calligrapher.^[5]

Despite the great fame he enjoyed in ancient times, no veritable works of Zhang Zhi's have survived. A catchphrase is attributed to him: "Too busy to write cursively" (匆匆不暇草書),^[6] which shows that the execution of cursive script, though originally invented for the sake of time-saving, requires a tranquil frame of mind.^[7]