Lady Wei (English spelling)

Japanese: 衛夫人 - えいふじん（英語表記）Wèi fū rén

A calligrapher from the Jin Dynasty in China. Her name was Jiang and her pen name was Mao Yi. She was the niece of Wei Heng and the wife of Li Jue, the prefect of Ruyin. She is said to have learned calligraphy from Cai Yan, the daughter of Cai Yong of the Later Han Dynasty, and also from Zhong Yao. She excelled in all styles of calligraphy, including regular, running, seal, and clerical, and her style was described as being like "a beautiful woman climbing a platform and an immortal playing with her shadow." Wang Xizhi, who is revered as a master of calligraphy, is said to have studied under Lady Wei when he was a child. The famous "Pencil Formation" is said to have been created by Lady Wei, but this is probably a false impression of someone else.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

中国，晋の書家。名は鑠（しやく），字は茂猗（もい），衛恒の姪，汝陰太守李矩の妻。後漢の蔡邕（さいよう）の娘の蔡琰（さいえん）から書法を受けたといい，鍾繇（しようよう）の筆法を学んだともいう。正，行，篆，隷の各体にすぐれ，その書風は〈美女が台に登り，仙娥が影を弄（もてあそ）ぶ〉ようだと評される。書聖と仰がれる王羲之は幼少のとき衛夫人に師事したと伝えられる。有名な《筆陣図》が衛夫人の作とされているが，これは別人の偽託であろう。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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