Zhao Ji 趙佶, Hui-zong徽宗. 1082, Tianshui (prov. Gansu) – 1135, Wugocheng, Yilan, (prov. Heilongjiang).
Zhao Ji was the 11th son of Emperor Shen-tsong (reigned 1068-1086) and was Emperor of China from 1101 to 1126, before abdicating in favor of his son Qin-tsong (1126-1127). He went down in history under his temple name Hui-tsung. The 25-year period of Ch. ' s reign is considered the apogee of the aesthetic refinement of the imperial court. Hui-tsung was an artistically gifted person and rightly went down in the history of both Chinese calligraphy and painting. The emperor's passion for art was so undivided that it led to major mistakes in the government, which turned into a military defeatChina and the conquest of its entire northern part by the Jurchens. The brilliant ruler, along with his son, the emperor, lived out his life in captivity.
The Emperor's passion for calligraphy and painting eclipsed all previous historical precedents. By decree of 1104, he orders to attract the best calligraphers and artists of the empire to the court and unites them in the Academy of Painting established by him (Hua yuan畫圜According to his decree, the search and collection of works of art by great masters of past dynasties is launched. The best experts are invited to the court, who make an inventory of the Imperial Assembly, known as Xuan-he shupu 宣和書譜 ("Catalog of the [Imperial Collection of the reign Era] Xuan-he"). Among contemporary calligraphers, Hui-tsung emphasized creativity Huang Ting-jian黄庭堅 whom he revered as his teacher. Huang Ting-jian's picturesque calligraphy inspired Zhao Ji to use the painterly writing technique in his works. In the charter, he tries to work with an inclined brush with long and thin hair and gets features of unusually elongated and lightweight forms. As Zhao Ji turned the brush, he would increase the pressure, which gave the features a special refinement. Its hooks and creases are hypertrophied, and the ends of the features are emphasized by diagonal signs. The source of this technique is style Chu Sui-liang禇遂良 His features have been compared to the grace of a frail lady who finds even her silken robes a burden. But none of Zhao Ji's predecessors achieved such an enhanced pictorial quality and the inherent decorative quality of the calligraphic style. His features too clearly resemble the leaves of orchids and bamboo. Only the refined taste of the emperor saved his works from the harsh criticism of experts, because with a less high-quality performance, his artistic techniques degenerated into a defective "crane's shin" (he xi 鹤膝Zhao Ji's style of writing formed a separate version of the statutory handwriting, called the "official" style of writing. shou-jin 瘦金 ("fine gold handwriting") or shou-jin 瘦筋 ("thin tendons"). This type of handwriting was not widely used due to its exaggerated decorative effect. It was used in the minting of coins during the reign of Hui-tsung. In the XX-beginning XXI centuries of handwriting inscriptions shou-jin decorative and applied arts and industrial design items are also decorated. But in general, this handwriting remained only an episode in the history of Chinese calligraphy, the tradition of which in the Song Dynasty was reliably insured against such dead-end development options.
Famous works by Zhao Ji include:: Rong zhong qiu yue shi 閏中秋月诗; handwriting kai-shu, Gugong Museum, Beijing; Qian Zi wen千字文, 1122, handwriting kuan-cao, museum prov. Liaoning et al.
As an artist, he worked a lot in the genre of "flowers and birds" (hua niao) in the polychrome technique of "careful brush" (gong bi) in the style of Xu Xi徐熙 (X century),. In those cases when he turned to the landscape genre, he preferred laconic monochrome writing in the style of Lee Cheng李成 (919-967), and Go Si郭熙(1020-1090). Attribution of Zhao Ji's paintings is complicated by the practice of his personal signature on the works of court masters who copied or stylized the emperor's originals.
