Horse-Year Calligraphy by Master Zhong Wenlong: Custom Works

Master calligrapher Zhong Wenlong (钟文龙) has unveiled a series of horse-themed calligraphy works for the Year of the Horse, drawing on classical Chinese idioms to convey wishes of success, vigor, and prosperity. The pieces are available as commissioned works for gifts, home decor, and art collecting.

Zhong, born in January 1968 and a university graduate in art education, is secretary-general of the organizing committee of the “Beauty Education China” cultural and sports carnival (calligraphy, painting, and dance) under the China Care for the Next Generation Working Committee; a visiting professor at the University of Jinan; a special calligrapher of China Inscription Website (cntizi.com); a council member of the China (Laoshan) Taoist Calligraphy and Painting Academy; and a contract artist for Yuanmeng Gallery, the Saint-Art Museum, and the Qingdao Exhibition Center of the Asian Artists Association.

Idioms That Carry the Year’s Blessings

Each work in the “Writing the Horse” (Ma Nian Xie Ma) series is built around a time-honored idiom:

• *Qiji chichi* (骐骥驰骋, a fine steed galloping freely) — talent in full flight
• *Ma dao chenggong* (马到成功, success upon the horse’s arrival) — smooth sailing
• *Longma jingshen* (龙马精神, dragon-horse spirit) — abundant vitality
• *Yima dangxian* (一马当先, first to charge on horseback) — taking the lead
• *Wanma benteng* (万马奔腾, ten thousand horses galloping) — a grand career
• *Jinma yutang* (金马玉堂, golden horse, jade hall) — wealth and honor
• *Tianma xingkong* (天马行空, a heavenly horse soaring through the sky) — boundless creativity
• *Cheshui malong* (车水马龙, carriages and horses flowing like a stream) — prosperity

With brush and ink, Zhong extends a New Year greeting to all: “Great fortune in the Year of the Horse.”

A Master of Tang Regular Script

Zhong developed an early love of calligraphy and studied under the celebrated calligrapher Lu Zhongnan (卢中南). Following his teacher’s precepts, he concentrates on Tang dynasty regular script (*kaishu*) and is especially known for *bangshu*, or large-character calligraphy. His published collections include *Zhong Wenlong’s Calligraphy Works*, *Jindu Literary Ink*, and *Selected Honggaoliang Calligraphy and Painting*.

His achievements include an Excellence Award at the Ministry of Culture’s “International Chinese Poetry, Calligraphy, Painting and Seal” exhibition for his small regular-script rendering of the *Dao De Jing* (Tao Te Ching); a commissioned *Record of Yueyang Tower* for the Beijing Hotel; *Heart Sutra*, *Analects*, and *Dao De Jing* scrolls for the Shichahai Academy; and *Shang Shan Ruo Shui* (“the highest good is like water”) for UNESCO and Harvard University. He has also composed plaques and couplets for Beijing Jingxingtang. His work has appeared in *Calligraphy News* and *China Calligraphy and Painting News*, and is held in institutional and private collections in the United States, France, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

Collecting Horse-Year Calligraphy

Custom calligraphy lets collectors choose both content and style — an auspicious idiom for a new office, a family name rendered in bold *bangshu*, or a greeting matched to a specific occasion. Because the horse symbolizes speed, strength, and good fortune in Chinese culture, horse-themed works are especially popular during the Year of the Horse as New Year gifts, statement pieces for entryways and studies, and long-term additions to an art collection.

Source: https://www.cntizi.com/21353.html