Zhang Jizhi

Zhang Jizhi (1186-1263), zi (style name; nickname) Wen Fu; Shu Liao; a native of in Hezhou (present He County in Anhui Province), and a son of Zhang Xiao Bo, a mid rank official in the Personal, who instructed Jizhi in governing administration. After passing imperial service examinations, Zhang Jizhi became a granary official in Ping Jiang, and later was promoted to Assistant to the Grand Minister of Agriculture. He excelled in calligraphy, based on styles of Ouyang Xun (557-641) and Mi Fu (1051-1107), and by the end of the Southern Song dynasty, his skill in calligraphy was widely known and the wealthy treasured his writing. A Qing elite Zhang Yu (18th century) stated: Wen Fu is great at large font calligraphy. If he writes large characters on a big wood board (for architecture) that would be well controlled like standard script. He is unmatched by anyone.”