Chen Danqing (b.1954 in Shanghai, China) is a Chinese-American artist, writer and cultural critic. He graduated from China Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1980, with his celebrated series of realist paintings depicting Tibetians – which breaks away from the dogmatist art style during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). Well-known for his oil painting, Chen is also a renowned connoisseur of Chinese culture, which motivates him to self teach Chinese calligraphy through learning masters’ works and develop his own style exemplified in this piece. Chen said that he does not “write” his calligraphy, but rather “paints” it. This resonates with the ideology of “calligraphy and painting share the same origin” (书画同源) which can be traced back to Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). The text of this work is based on a poem by Qin Guan, a Chinese poet active in the 11th century. It expresses the poet’s sorrow and reveals his discontent with the political authority as he was banished to a distant and desolate land. Writing this poem in calligraphy, Chen echoes with Qin Guan and expresses his emotions through the execution of brushstrokes.

陈丹青（1954年出生于中国上海）是一位中美艺术家、作家和文化评论家。他于1980年毕业于中央美术学院，以其备受赞誉的毕业作品——一系列描绘藏族人的现实主义绘画——著称。这些作品打破了文革（1966-1976年）期间教条主义艺术风格的桎梏。陈丹青以油画见长，同时也是一位颇受盛名的中国文化鉴赏家。这促使他自学中国书法，通过临摹大师的字帖，发展出自己独特的风格，并在这件作品中得以体现。陈丹青曾表示，他不是在“写”书法，而是在“画”书法。这与“书画同源”的理念相呼应，这一思想可追溯到元代（1271-1368年）。这件作品中的文字取自11世纪的中国诗人秦观的词作，表达了诗人被流放于偏远荒凉之地的悲伤之情，并流露出他对政治权威的不满。陈丹青将他对秦观词作的共鸣寄情于书法之中，在笔法之中抒发了自己的情感。