Bidspirit auction | An Assembly of Scholar's Accoutrements,

An Assembly of Scholar's Accoutrements, by Yi Bing shou (Yi Moqing) - Yi Bingshou (1754–1815), courtesy name Zusi and art name Moqing, was a native of Ninghua, Fujian. A renowned calligrapher, poet, and representative figure of the “Qian-Jia School” during the Qing Dynasty. Yi Bingshou’s artistic achievement is most prominently reflected in his calligraphy, particularly in clerical script (隸書 Lishu), for which he is honored as the “Foremost Master of Clerical Script in the Qing Dynasty”. His style integrated the robust simplicity of Han-dynasty steles such as the Hengfang Stele and Zhangqian Stele, along with the grandeur of Yan Zhenqing’s regular script. He developed a highly distinctive approach: his characters are squared-up, full, and imposing, with heavy yet even strokes that eliminate unnecessary detail. While largely omitting the decorative flairs (波磔 bozhe) typical of clerical script, his writing conveys a profound archaic spirit and monumental dignity, rich in epigraphic gravitas. Breaking away from the delicate, graceful style of earlier Qing calligraphy influenced by model-letters (帖学 tiexue), Yi drew inspiration from bronze and stone inscriptions, opening new artistic possibilities in clerical script and greatly influencing the later Stele School movement (碑学 beixue). In addition to calligraphy, he also skillfully painted plum blossoms and bamboo in an elegant and refined manner and was an accomplished poet, with works such as Liuchun Caotang Shichao (Poetry Draft from the Hall of Retaining Spring) surviving today.