Cai Xiang (simplified Chinese: 蔡襄) (born in Xianyou, Fujian in 1012, died in Xianyou 1067) was a Chinese calligrapher, scholar, official, structural engineer, and poet. This article is about the People's Republic of China province Han Chinese ( are an Ethnic group native to China and by most modern definitions the largest single Ethnic group in the world. Calligraphy (from Greek kallos "beauty" + graphẽ "writing" is the art of writing (Mediavilla 1996 17 A poet is a person who writes Poetry. Etymology From the Ancient greek: ποιέω, poieō: "I make or compose"
Style name Junmuo, posthumous name Zhonghuei Born in Song dynasty Xiangfu reign (1012 AD) in Xianyiu county of Xinghua prefecture (Now Xianyiu county in Putian city of Fujian province). A Chinese style name, sometimes also known as a courtesy name ( zì) is a given name to be used later in life A posthumous name is an honorary name given to royalty nobles and sometimes others in some cultures after the person's death
In Tiansheng the eighth year (1030 AD) Cai Xiang obtain the degree of jinshi. His highest rank was Duanmingdian Xueshi, (secretariat Drafter of Duanming Court ) in charge of written communication of imperial government.
Cai Xiang had the reputation as the greatest caligrapher in the Song Dynasty.
During the Chingli reign (1042-1048 AD), Cai Xiang 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. "Zaytun" redirects here For the South Korean military division in Iraq see Zaytun Division.
He pioneered the manufacturing of small Dragon Tribute Tea Cake of superlative quality, as it was reputed to be harder to obtain than gold. In his Tea Note written between 1049-1053, he criticized the traditional method of mixing small amount of Dryobalanops aromatica camphor into tea cake:
"Tea has intrinsic aroma. But tribute tea manufacturers like to mix small amount of Dryobalanops aromatica camphor, supposedly to enhance the aroma. The local people of Jian'an never mix any incense into tea, afraid to robe the natural aroma of tea".
"Tea abhors incense".
Works of Cai Xiang
- Calligraphy: Wan'an Bridge Report Tablet
- Poetry: Collected Works of Cai Zhonghuei
- Essay: Tea Note (1049-1053)
See also
External links
The following is a list of famous Chinese-speaking/writing people The architecture of the Song Dynasty (960–1279 was based upon the accomplishments of its predecessors much like every subsequent dynastic period of China.Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic