The couplet reading “True character reveals itself in floating clouds and flowing water, while bright moon and gentle breeze come with old friends.”
The couplet reading “True character reveals itself in floating clouds and flowing water, while bright moon and gentle breeze come with old friends.”
The couplet is hung on the lower part of Tianzun Hall, with the inscription reading Zhang Weiping of Nanshan and a seal. The black cursive script in a yellow background of the couplet follow the tradition of calligraphers Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, featuring skillful and weighty brushwork and natural transitions. It is comparable to the styles of Zhang Zhao and Wang Wenzhi, calligraphers of the Qing Dynasty, and truly reveals the artistic distinction. “Floating clouds and flowing water” is a metaphor for natural and lucid literary writing, while “true character” suggests man’s nature and instinct. The left roll denotes the true feeling, aspirations and thinking behind literary creation. In the right roll, “bright moon and gentle breeze” implies the leisure life beyond the mundane world, and “old friends” refer to old acquaintances and friends of years. The roll takes about people should have an open mind and make lots of friends. Employing metaphors based on natural phenomena, namely the cloud, the water, the moon and the breeze, the couple shows the author’s taste and ideas to strike a responsive chord in the hearts of people and extend his great encouragement to those who are learning.
