Li Jinming

       Li Jinming, from Baoding, Hebei Province, is a renowned calligrapher. Born in 1952, he is a Chinese National Gift Artist and a Chinese National Gift Calligraphy Artist, selected as one of the Top 100 Figures in Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009. Currently, he serves as Vice President of the Ancient Locust Tree Calligraphy and Painting Association, Deputy Dean of Liufengzhai Calligraphy and Painting Academy, member of Hongcheng Calligraphy and Painting Association, Deputy Dean of Huanyan Calligraphy and Painting Academy, and a specially appointed calligrapher by the China Culture Ministry's Release Network. Since childhood, he has been deeply influenced by his family’s artistic environment and developed a passion for calligraphy art. Over many years, he has independently studied and practiced brush calligraphy, specializing in running and regular script. His relentless research into calligraphy and cultural arts has led him to pursue a career in cultural and artistic fields. His calligraphy works have repeatedly participated in provincial, municipal, and national art exhibitions, winning numerous awards. Multiple local television stations have featured detailed reports on his works. He has been passionately devoted to painting and calligraphy since childhood, practicing calligraphy for over fifty years. He has meticulously studied ancient steles and rubbings, mastering the styles of Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan, Ouyang Xun, Zhao Mengfu, and others, never ceasing his practice at the inkstone. He assimilates the strengths of various schools into his own unique style. He has won multiple awards in national competitions and received honors such as “One of the Top 100 Outstanding Contemporary Chinese Calligraphers and Painters” and “One of the Top 100 Master Calligraphers of the New Century.” His works have been included in more than sixty collections, including the Collection of Chinese Calligraphers, Great Dictionary of Contemporary Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Masters, Dictionary of National Treasures: Masters of Painting and Calligraphy, and the Fourth and Fifth Volumes of Fine Collection of Contemporary Chinese Calligraphy Couplets. His works have been presented by the state as national gifts to foreign friends. He is currently a member of the China Calligraphers Association, Honorary Chairman of the China Painting and Calligraphy Masters Research Institute, Lifetime Artistic Advisor of the Oriental Art Research Institute, Director of Hebei Liufengzhai Calligraphy and Painting Academy, Director of Huanyan Art Gallery, and Honorary President of Hongcheng Calligraphy and Painting Academy, among other positions. His works are frequently exhibited across China and have been selected numerous times in domestic and international painting and calligraphy exhibitions, receiving gold, silver, and bronze awards. His works are collected by both domestic collectors and international enthusiasts.

       Chinese characters evolved from pictographs and symbols into structured forms, transitioning from ancient seal script and large seal script to small seal script, then to clerical, regular, running, and cursive scripts, gradually forming diverse styles. In the process of writing and applying Chinese characters, a unique form of art emerged—the only one of its kind among all world scripts—that can stand independently as the art of calligraphy. With the development of the times, calligraphy art has become increasingly rich and diverse. Among these, running-cursive script is a style intermediate between running script and cursive script, essentially representing either the cursive simplification of running script or the running regularization of cursive script. Calligrapher Li Jinming primarily leans toward the former—the cursive stylization of running script.

       After decades of dedicated pursuit in calligraphy, his works exhibit grandeur and profound foundation. He has visited the Forest of Steles and traveled to the ancestral homes of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, seeking inspiration from ancient masters, thereby developing his distinctive personal style. He has been invited by numerous renowned enterprises to inscribe plaques, and his works have repeatedly won awards in provincial and municipal calligraphy exhibitions, with extensive media coverage. His calligraphy pieces are held in the private collections of many connoisseurs. He has published over a hundred works in various newspapers and magazines; painting and calligraphy will illuminate his life. His calligraphy work “Five Blessings” has been permanently collected by the China Coal Ministry Museum, the China People’s Artists Association, and the Poetry, Wine, and Culture Academy under the Ministry of Culture.

       His multiple works have won Gold Awards in provincial, municipal, and the first-ever nationwide “Hope Cup” Calligraphy Competition; Silver Award in the “Dragon Tower Stele” Sino-Japanese Calligraphy Exchange Competition; First Prize in the “Xibaipo Cup” International Art Exchange Exhibition; and an “Excellent Calligraphy Award” in the 1987 Commemorative Artistic Grand Prize Competition honoring Qi Baishi. In 1987, he was invited to attend the First National Academic Symposium on Flower-and-Bird Painting. In 2000, he participated in the China Association of Artists’ exhibition “Celebrating the Return of Macao.” In 2003, he joined the Seventh New Artists and New Works Exhibition hosted by the China Artists Association; also in 2003, he participated in the National Exhibition of Renowned Painting and Calligraphy Masters; in 2004, he participated in the National Chinese Painting Exhibition hosted by the China Artists Association.

Registered Calligraphy Teacher, China Calligraphers Association

Member, Hebei Provincial Calligraphers Association

Executive Vice President, Calligraphy and Painting Committee, Hebei Provincial (Education Department) Traditional Culture Education Society

Dean, Hebei Taihang Elite Calligraphy and Painting Academy

Executive Director, Hebei Cultural Celebrities Federation

Li Jinming currently serves as Director and Executive Deputy Secretary-General of the Hebei Provincial Mao-style Calligraphers Association, formerly the Hebei Provincial Mao-style Calligraphy Research Association; Executive Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of Dingxing Mao-style Calligraphers Association; Deputy Dean of Yanzhao Calligraphy and Painting Research Institute; Member of Dingxing City Calligraphers Association; Member of the China Bishu Art Research Association; Member of the China Senior Calligraphy and Painting Research Association; Honorary President of Hebei Taihang Calligraphy and Painting Academy; Director of Chenying Ode Art Troupe; and Consultant of De Xiao Zhonghua Calligraphy and Painting Academy.

 Li Jinming’s calligraphy works are priced at RMB 5,000 per square foot.