Sun Guating - Sonkatei

A calligrapher and calligraphy critic of the Tang Dynasty in China. His courtesy name was Jianli. He was from Wu Commandery (Jiangsu Province). However, there are other theories about this, and his given name was Jianli, his courtesy name was Guoting, and his birthplace is said to be either Fuyang (Zhejiang Province) or Chenliu (Henan Province). There are two theories about his official position: he was a military officer in charge of the records of the army or a military officer in charge of the right guards. In either case, he was a low-ranking official, and according to the epitaph written by the contemporary poet Chen Ziang, he entered the army at the age of 40, but was slandered and died suddenly in a guesthouse in Luoyang without achieving his goal. He studied calligraphy under Wang Xizhi and his son Xianzhi, and was skilled in both regular and semi-cursive script, but was especially renowned for his cursive script and is said to have excelled in rinmo (copying and imitating). He was also famous as a writer, and his only surviving work is the Shupu (Book of Writing) (687, National Palace Museum, Taipei), which he wrote himself in cursive script and remains the best model for learning cursive script even today. Other well-known works include the Thousand Characters in Cursive and Fu to the Palace of Jingfu.

[Shigenori Tsutsui]

``Calligraphy Masterpieces Series 25 Calligraphy'' (1959, Nigensha) ▽ ``Calligraphy Masterpieces Series 130 Cursive Thousand Characters'' (1969, Nigensha) ▽ ``Books'' translated by Shoichi Nishibayashi (included in Chugoku Shoron Taikei 2, 1977, Nigensha)''

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、唐(とう)代の書家、書論家。字(あざな)は虔礼(けんれい)。呉郡（江蘇(こうそ)省）の人。ただこれには異説があり、名は虔礼、字は過庭とし、出身地は富陽（浙江(せっこう)省）とも陳留（河南省）ともいう。官職も率府録事参軍と右衛冑曹(ゆうえいちゅうそう)参軍との両説があるが、いずれにしても下級官であり、同時代の詩人・陳子昂(ちんすごう)が書いた墓誌銘によれば、40歳で仕官したが、讒言(ざんげん)されて志を遂げることなく、洛陽(らくよう)の客舎で急死したという。書は王羲之(おうぎし)・献之(けんし)父子を学び、楷(かい)書・行書をも巧みにしたが、とりわけ草書に名をほしいままにし、また臨摹(りんも)（臨写・模写）にも優れていたといわれる。文章家としても名があり、現在伝わる唯一の著作に自ら草書をもって記した『書譜』（687。台北・故宮博物院）があり、今日でも草書学習の最高の範本である。このほか『草書千字文』『景福殿賦(けいふくでんふ)』なども知られる。

［筒井茂徳］

『『書跡名品叢刊25　書譜』（1959・二玄社）』▽『『書跡名品叢刊130　草書千字文』（1969・二玄社）』▽『西林昭一訳『書譜』（『中国書論大系2』所収・1977・二玄社）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例