(b Fenning [modern Xiushui], Jiangxi Province, 1045; d Fenning, 1105). Chinese calligrapher, poet and scholar-official. He is regarded as the avant-garde figure of the Four Great Calligraphers of the Northern Song (960–1127), who emphasized individual expression in their work; the others are CAI XIANG, SU SHI and Mi Fu (see MI, (1); see also CHINA, §IV, 2(iv)). Huang was a calligraphy critic and an early theorist of literati painting (wenren hua; see CHINA, §V, 4(ii)) and is also acknowledged as the founder of the Jiangxi school of poetry. A member of an exceptionally cultured family of well-known poets, he became associated with individuals such as Su Shi, who at court opposed the reforms of the Chief Councillor, Wang Anshi (1021–86). As a result of political struggles between conservatives and reformers, Huang was exiled in 1094 to Fuzhou in Sichuan Province and only after this produced his most impressive calligraphy.

• Huang Tingjian
  • China, §IV, 2(iv)(a): Calligraphy: Northern Song literati
  • China, §IV, 2(iv)(b): Calligraphy: Jin and Southern Song literati and imperial
  • China, §IV, 2(iv)(c): Calligraphy: Chan Buddhist
  • China, §IV, 3(iii): Calligraphy: Theory and criticism
  • China, §V, 4(ii): Literati painters and institutions
  • patrons and collectors
    • China, §IV, 4: Calligraphy: Collections
  • works
    • China, §V, 5(ii): Painting theory and criticism: Literati concepts and writings
    • Japan, §VII, 2(iv)(c): Calligraphy: Zen Buddhist masters