Deng Lingying – Chinese Calligrapher

About the Artist

Deng Lingying is a distinguished contemporary female calligrapher of Manchu royal descent who specialises in clerical script (lishu). Rooted in the classic Han-dynasty stele traditions and refined under masters such as Qi Gong and Liu Bingsen, her writing is elegant, inventive and richly classical — a distinctive voice in modern Chinese calligraphy.

Artist Introduction

Deng Lingying (邓凌鹰), also known by her studio name Lingyu Xuan, is a descendant of the Aisin Gioro imperial clan. Born into a Hakka family from Meizhou, Guangdong, she lives in Beijing. She is a member of the China Calligraphers Association, Vice-President of the Chinese Women’s Painting and Calligraphy Academy, Vice-President of the Chinese Celebrity Painting and Calligraphy Academy, a lecturing professor at the Peking University Institute of Wisdom Education, and a leading calligrapher of Badouyuan. From childhood she devoted herself to the art of calligraphy, and was later personally instructed and guided by such renowned masters as Pu Jie, Qi Gong, Liu Bingsen, Yang Zaichun, Zhao Jiaxi, Zhao Pu and Mi Nanyang. Deng concentrates on clerical script, breaking away from conventional formulas and absorbing the brush spirit of the classic Han steles — the “Zhang Qian Stele”, the “Yi Ying Stele”, the “Ritual Vessels Stele” and the “Cao Quan Stele” — to create a style entirely her own. Her representative work, “Steel-Pen Clerical Script Copybook”, is widely used and admired. Her clerical-script works and signboard inscriptions enjoy broad popularity, and are eagerly collected by institutions and individuals across China.

Works Appreciation

Application Scenarios

Deng Lingying’s clerical script — at once classical and fresh — is perfect for framed display in studies and living rooms, for signboard and plaque inscriptions, and for refined gifts. Her feminine elegance and imperial-clan heritage add a distinctive story that appeals to collectors of contemporary female calligraphy.