Calligraphy by An Jung-geun

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.569

Category

Books & Records

Era

1910년 3월

Designated year

2022

Location

파주시, 경기도— 경기도 파주시 헤이리로 30 (탄현면)

Coordinates

37.786670, 126.693918Kakao address conversion

This English description was machine-translated and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the original Korean text for details.

Ahn Jung-geun's Ink Brushwork—'Aspiring Intellectuals and Humane Persons Kill Their Bodies to Complete Benevolence' is a calligraphic work written by the patriot Ahn Jung-geun (1879-1910) in March 1910 while imprisoned in Lüshun Prison in China. The eight characters 'Aspiring Intellectuals and Humane Persons Kill Their Bodies to Complete Benevolence' are written in the center in a regular script style approaching formal clerical script, with a side inscription in smaller characters reading 'Gyeongseul year (1910), third month, in Lüshun Prison, written by Ahn Jung-geun, a Korean national,' followed by a palm-print seal below. The preservation condition is excellent. This calligraphic work was written for a Japanese journalist, Komatsu Motogo, who observed Ahn's trial, and has been preserved by his descendants before being donated to the Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Society in 2016. The brushwork employs thick, weighty strokes while maintaining central brush pressure on absorbent paper, with sharp and bold handling of the brush's end. The work exemplifies Ahn's characteristic calligraphic style, naturally infused with both regular and semi-cursive script qualities. Compared with other calligraphic works by Ahn Jung-geun already designated as Treasure, similarities can be confirmed in brush strokes, character forms, and overall stylistic momentum. As a work symbolizing Ahn Jung-geun's activities as an independence activist and containing individual brushwork characteristics, this calligraphic piece possesses historical value, and with its fine preservation condition and clear creation period, it warrants designation as Treasure.

Location