Hsien-yu Shu's Calligraphy and His 'Admonitions' Scroll of 1299

The subject of this dissertation is the art of the calligrapher-collector-connoisseur, Hsien-yu Shu (1257?-1302). His major handscroll, "Admonitions to the Censorial Officials," dated 1299, is taken as the focal point to study the role which ancient works of art played in the lives of literati in medieval China. Hsien-yu Shu was one of three great calligraphers of the Yuan (1260-1368), the others being Chao Meng-fu (1254-1322) and Teng Wen-yuan (1250-1358). Hsien-yu Shu was active in a literary circle centered around Hangchou, the former Southern Sung capital. Unlike Chao, however, Hsien-yu Shu was born in north China in former Chin (1115-1234) territory, before the unification of north and south in 1276-78 by the Mongols. His official appointments brought him south, and, around 1284, he met Chao Meng-fu, in what was to blossom into a significant artistic friendship.