129.8cm
51"
51"
50.7cm
20"
20"
Approximate Measurements
Artwork Panel: 32.9cm x 67.9cm ≈ 13" x 26¾"
Silk/Brocade: 41.7cm x 129.8cm ≈ 16½" x 51"
Width at Wooden Knobs: 50.7cm ≈ 20"
Close up view of the calligraphy artwork mounted to this silk brocade wall scroll
This is a kind of complex ten-character proverb composed by Zhuge Liang about 1800 years ago. The proverb means "Leading a simple life will yield a clear mind, and having inner peace will help you see far (into the world)".
What I have translated as "simple life" means NOT being materialistic and NOT competing in the rat race.
The last word means "far", but the deeper meaning is that you will surpass what you can currently see or understand. Perhaps even the idea of opening up vast knowledge and understanding of complex ideas.
The whole phrase has a theme that suggests if you are NOT an aggressive cut-throat person who fights his way to the top no matter how many people he crushes on the way, and instead seek inner peace, you will have a happier existence and be more likely to understand the meaning of life.
Written by Master Calligrapher Cao Bin using Chinese ink on handmade light-tan paper with gold flakes, and mounted to a handmade silk brocade wall scroll.
The style of these characters is "Kaishu" (regular script).
I met Cao Bin years ago, and long before his fame. At that time, his wife was running a small house cleaning business. One day she was tidying up my mother-in-law's home in Beijing and overheard that I am in the business of selling Chinese calligraphy and artwork. She asked if I'd like to meet her husband who was a pretty good calligrapher as she described him with modesty.
The next evening, I visited his modest studio and saw some really nice calligraphy and great black ink bamboo paintings that he'd just finished. After a lot of tea drinking and chatting, I asked if I could commission a few pieces.
Through the years, I would occasionally buy a few more pieces, not realizing how famous he had become. I might pop by his studio, only to hear from his wife that he was down in Anhui receiving an award for his calligraphy (calligraphy competitions are comparable to the fervor that sports championships have in the rest of the world). It finally dawned on me that this man I had known for about 7 years was a premier calligrapher for whom books had been published featuring his work, and the recipient of numerous awards.
The best part is that I have guanxi (a word that kind of means "special relationship" in Chinese), he gives me better prices than anyone else. This really fits well with my philosophy to offer high quality Asian artwork that everyone can afford.
When I first met him, Cao Bin had a shaved head like a Buddhist monk. Years later, he has traded in that look for the ponytail that is expected of the eccentric Chinese artist
A frenzy of people watch Cao Bin create his calligraphy during a special event
Cao Bin at his studio
Full view of Cao Bin's calligraphy studio
This is painted on xuan paper (often incorrectly called "rice paper"). The raw artwork was then taken to my workshop in east Beijing where the master mounter built it into a handmade wall scroll.