The Calligraphy Connoisseurship, Promotion, and Stylistic Transformation in the Japanese Colonial Period:A Study of Hsinchu Calligrapher Li Yichao (1883-1945)

Li Yichiao (1883-1945) was an important poet, calligrapher, and collector of painting and calligraphy in Japanese colonial period. This thesis endeavors to reconstruct Li’s view of collecting and publishing activities based on both textual and visual materials such as newspapers and his works. And I will explain the reason of his stylistic transformation. In the investigation conducted by Japanese officials Inō Kanori (1867-1925) and Ozaki Hozuma (1874-1952), Japanese began to study Taiwan-related calligraphers and painters of Ming and Qing Dynasty whose works were historical resources to be cherished and collected for understanding the cultural development in Taiwan. The “Taiwan Related” painting and calligraphy exhibition in 1917 can be seen as one of the results, though its nature remains confined in appreciation only. In 1926, Li Yichiao complied and published Dadong Painting and Calligraphy Anthology, beginning to participate in the construction of Taiwanese painting and calligraphy development. His writing revealed a keen interest in artists’ autobiography and historical traces of sojourns in Taiwan. Moreover, he incessantly probed into the essence and cultural meaning of this history. Meanwhile, Li also referenced Lian Heng’s General History of Taiwan, managing to locate these painters and calligraphers in the history of Taiwan. The publication and communication of Dadong Painting and Calligraphy Anthology seemed to have a ripple effect in 1930’s Japanese and Taiwanese collector society which paid more attention on art works related to Taiwan. More importantly, the study and collection of “Taiwan Related” painting and calligraphy also catalyzed the stylistic change in his cursive calligraphy. By comparing his writing styles, one can discover that after 1930, he keenly learned and transformed the style of Fujian calligrapher Xie Xi in Qing Dynasty—which characterized by large characters, robust and rough stroke quality. The historical sources exhibition in 1930 added more materials. This exhibition managed to exhibit a history of Taiwanese calligraphy with more chronological senses. The formerly obscure Fujian calligrapher Xie Xi had been subsumed into this narrative framework and endowed with highly calligraphy statue. Through this study, one can understand that the reason of Xie Xi’s re-definition lies in his stylistic factors referring to the core of Japanese calligraphy history in Edo period. Li Yichiao’s calligraphy transformation, thus represented his contemplation and rediscovery of own historical and cultural identity in the context of Japanese colonial period. However, As the Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937 and ushered in Kōminka period, Li Yichiao’s latitude of collecting and learning Taiwan related art works was also restricted.