Huai Su
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Huai Su (Chinese: 懷素; courtesy name: Cangzhen 藏真) (725? - 785?)[1] was a Buddhist monk and calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty, famous for his cursive calligraphy. Less than 10 pieces of his works have survived.
Not much is known of his early life. His secular surname might be Qian (錢), and he might be a nephew of the poet Qian Qi (錢起). He might have been born at Changsha, or Lingling (零陵), of the Hunan Province. He became a monk in his childhood, apparently out of poverty.
Legend has it that he planted banana trees (or any genus of trees under Musaceae) in the courtyard of the temple he lived, and used the leaves as paper to practice his art[2]. He made his national fame in his early thirties when he came to Chang'an, the then capital of China. Famous poets of his time spoke highly of his works, including Li Bai. Like Li Bai, he was fond of alcohol.
Traditionally Huai Su is paired with the older Zhangu Xu as the two greatest cursive calligraphers of the Tang Dynasty. The duo is affectionately referred to as "the crazy Zhang and the drunk Su" (顛張醉素).
[edit] Notes
- ^ Not to be confused with another monk of the same name of the Tang Dynasty, who, lived from 624 to 697, was a student of Xuanzang.
- ^ His contemporary Lu Yu wrote in his Life of the monk Huai Su (僧懷素傳): "He was broke and had no paper for writing. So he planted tens of thousands of banana trees in his hometown [to obtain leaves] to practice his art (貧無紙可書，嘗於故里種芭蕉萬餘株，以供揮灑)".
