Su Shishu: Calligraphy, Publishing, and Cultural Mission

Su Shishu: Calligraphy, Publishing, and Cultural Mission

Su Shishu is one of China’s most respected calligraphers and a powerful advocate for Chinese character culture. As former chairman and now honorary chairman of the China Calligraphers Association, he has spent decades bridging scholarship, publishing, education, and art. Here is what makes him a figure worth knowing — and why his works matter to collectors.

A Life of Many Offices

Su Shishu has served as a standing committee member of the 11th and 12th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), vice director of the CPPCC’s Calligraphy and Painting Office, honorary chairman of the China Calligraphers Association, and a member of the Central Research Institute of Culture and History. He is also honorary president of the Cultural Relics Press and honorary director and doctoral supervisor at the Calligraphy Institute of Tsinghua University’s Academy of Arts and Design.

Publishing the Classics

Behind the brush stands a lifelong career in art publishing. Su Shishu planned, compiled, and published influential series including the *Complete Collection of Chinese Model Calligraphy* (18 volumes), the *Grand View of Chinese Historical Calligraphy Masterpieces* (100 volumes), and the *Selected Historical Steles and Model Works* series (more than 100 titles), with total circulation reaching tens of millions of copies. In 2008 he received the Tao Fen Publishing Award, China’s highest honor in publishing.

Advocacy for Chinese Characters

For more than a decade, Su Shishu has submitted proposals at China’s annual “Two Sessions” — the key political meetings of the CPPCC and the National People’s Congress — promoting Chinese character culture and calligraphy education in schools. He argues that writing characters by hand, not merely typing them, is essential to cultural transmission, and he has devoted himself to youth education with the same seriousness he brings to his art.

The Brush at Work

Su Shishu’s work spans a remarkable range of styles and subjects:

• A celebrated series of “praise” pieces honoring each script tradition — odes to Chinese characters, bronze script, Qin small seal, Han clerical script, Tang regular script, running script, and cursive script.
• Inscriptions and couplets with a classical, uplifting spirit: “Heaven rewards diligence,” “Virtue carries all things,” “A gentle breeze and easy flow,” “Watching the sea, listening to the waves,” and “Crane longevity.”
• Works evoking classic poetry, such as Du Fu’s *Viewing Mount Tai* and Du Mu’s *An Autumn Evening*, plus Spring Festival couplets that pair seasonal blessings with national themes.

His style is rooted in tradition — measured, dignified, and clear — qualities that make his pieces natural choices for formal settings, offices, studies, and corporate spaces.

If you’re considering a commissioned calligraphy piece, Badou Art’s specialists are happy to guide you.

Source: https://www.cntizi.com/6167.html