Thousand Character Classic by Emperor Huizong

Emperor Huizong (1082-1135), born as ZHAO Ji, was the eighth emperor of the Song dynasty. He was known for his talents in the arts, especially calligraphy. He invented a new style of regular script called “Slender Gold”, as shown here.

This is Emperor Huizong’s version of the Thousand Character Classic in the “Slender Gold” calligraphy style. With its thin and sharp strokes, the style is named for its resemblance to twisted and turned gold filaments. This scroll was written in the year 1104, but you can still feel the unique charm of this calligraphy piece.