沈子善と中国書学研究会

―書の学会を生み出すもの―

抄録

  The Zhongguo Shuxue Study Group (hereinafter “Zhongshu Study Group”) was founded in 1943 in Chongqing, China, with Chen Lifu, Director of the Ministry of Education of the nationalist government, Yu Youren, President of the Control Yuan, and Chen Yinmo from the Control Yuan as promoters and supporters. Since then, it has attracted attention as the pioneer of a calligraphy society on a national scale.

  The actual management of the Zhongshu Study Group was left to the strong leadership of one individual, Chen Zishan, rather than to the collective leadership structure of the experts. Although Chen's role in the Zhongshu Study Group has been noted in previous studies, the fundamental question remains unanswered as to why Chen took the lead when so many other elite researchers had gathered there.

  The establishment of the Zhongshu Study Group was undoubtedly influenced by external and extraneous factors, such as the wartime relocation of the capital and the cultural promotion of national prestige. At the same time, however, the birth of this society must also be attributed to the state of the calligraphy scene at that time. In other words, the academicization of calligraphy, as symbolized by the Zhongshu Study Group, reflects part of the characteristics of calligraphy that are different from those of other academic and cultural fields, which are expected to emerge more clearly by focusing on Chen.

  This paper aims to investigate the factors that caused Chen to play a leading role in the establishment and operation of the Zhongshu Study Group, particularly from the immanent aspect of how calligraphy was positioned in the academic and cultural context. Through this approach, we will reveal part of the process by which calligraphy gained academic status in the late nationalist government period.