Cai Xiang () (1012–1067) was a Chinese calligrapher, politician, structural engineer, and poet.Ci hai bian ji wei yuan hui (辞海编辑委员会）. Ci hai （辞海）. Shanghai: Shanghai ci shu chu ban she （上海辞书出版社）, 1979. Page 610. Along with

Su Shi Su Shi ( zh, t=, s=苏轼, p=Sū Shì; 8 January 1037 – 24 August 1101), courtesy name Zizhan (), art name Dongpo (), was a Chinese poet, essayist, calligrapher, painter, scholar-official, literatus, artist, pharmacologist, and gastronome wh ...

Huang Tingjian Huang Tingjian (; 1045, Jiangxi province, China–1105, Yizhou ow Yishan Guangxi) was a Chinese calligrapher, painter, and poet of the Song dynasty. He is predominantly known as a calligrapher, and is also admired for his painting and poetry. H ...

and

Mi Fu Mi Fu (Chinese language, Chinese: 米芾; 1051–1107)Barnhart: 373. He was born with the name 米黻, also pronounced Mi Fu. His courtesy name was Yuanzhang (元章) with several sobriquets: Nangong (南宮), Lumen Jushi (鹿門居士), Xiang ...

, Cai Xiang is typically regarded as one of the Four Great Masters of the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

Biography

He was born during the Dazhongxiangfu ()

era An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

of the Song dynasty in Xianyou () county of Xinghua () prefecture, now Xianyou County in

Putian Putian ( zh, s= , Putian dialect: ''Pó-chéng''), also known as Puyang (莆阳) and Puxian (莆仙), historically known as Hinghwa/Hinghua ( zh, s=兴化, t=興化), is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. I ...

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

province. In the eight year of the Tiansheng () era (1030 CE) he obtained the degree of ''

jinshi ''Jinshi'' () was the highest and final degree in the imperial examination in Imperial China. The examination was usually taken in the imperial capital in the palace, and was also called the Metropolitan Exam. Recipients are sometimes referre ...

'' (進士, lit. "advanced scholar"), a graduate who passed the triennial court exam. His highest rank was Secretariat Drafter of the Duanming Court (''Duanmingdian Xueshi''), in charge of written communication of the imperial government. During the Qingli () era (1041–1048 CE), he was the Officer of Transportation (''Zhuanyunshi'') in Fujian. While acting as a prefect in Fujian, he also was in charge of overseeing the construction of the Wan-an Bridge at

Quanzhou Quanzhou is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China, People's Republic of China. It is Fujian's largest most populous metropolitan region, wi ...

. He pioneered the manufacturing of small Dragon Tribute Tea Cake of superlative quality, as it was reputed to be harder to obtain than gold. Cai Xiang's

style name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

was Junmo (), and his

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...

was Zhonghuei ().

Works

One of his most famous publications is his essay " The Record of Tea", also known as the "Tea Note", which he wrote in 1049–1053. * Calligraphy: Wan'an Bridge Report Tablet * Poetry: Collected Works of Cai Zhonghuei * Letter: Letter on Cheng Xin Tang Paper

Quotes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cai, Xiang 1012 births 1067 deaths 11th-century Chinese calligraphers 11th-century Chinese poets 11th-century Chinese artists 11th-century architects Chinese architects Artists from Fujian Chinese structural engineers Chinese tea masters Engineers from Fujian People from Putian Poets from Fujian Song dynasty calligraphers Song dynasty poets

Biography

Works

Quotes

See also

References

External links