Breath of Qin Dynasty at Fifty... Artist Min Seungjun (Cheongjae) Awakens 'Wu Sao' in Insadong

From the Calligraphy Department of Keimyung University to a Doctorate at Shandong University:
Brushstrokes Shaped by Scholarly Dedication

A Portrait of a Man “Seven Chi and Three Cun” Tall from 2,000 Years Ago:
Where Historical Research Meets Art

A Calligraphy Family Connecting Daegu and Cheongdo,
and the World of “Zen”

Min Seungjun (Cheongjae), a promising leader of the Daegu western calligraphy scene who is both a scholar and an artist, will hold a special solo exhibition in Insadong, Seoul.

This exhibition, which will be held at Insa Art Plaza Gallery starting May 6, is expected to showcase the essence of the artist's work, presenting the aesthetics of ancient characters interpreted through contemporary calligraphy.

Seungjun Min, artist (50)

Now in his fiftieth year, Min Seungjun has dedicated his life to delving into the essence of calligraphy as a “studious artist.”

After graduating from the calligraphy department of Keimyung University, a mecca for calligraphy, he traveled to China in search of the origins of calligraphic aesthetics.

He earned a Ph.D. in Literary Arts from Shandong University, one of China’s most prestigious institutions, with his thesis “Aesthetic Research on Bronze Inscriptions of the Zhongshan State in the Warring States Period.” This has established him not just as a calligrapher, but as an authority in the field of ancient scriptology.

Works Featured in This Exhibition

Having made seals and bronze inscriptions from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods his lifelong academic focus, his brushstrokes are imbued with the profound strength that comes from scholarly depth.

The highlight of this exhibition is, without a doubt, his recreation of the “Liye Qin Slips,” which are administrative records from the Qin Dynasty.

A recreated work of the administrative records from the Qin Dynasty, 'Liye Qin Bamboo Slips'. It is the highlight of this exhibition.

The artist has translated onto canvas the personal information of a man recorded over 2,000 years ago.

“Wu Sao, from Hansim-ri, with an oval face and a height of seven chi and three cun.”

Through this record, Min reconstructs everyday life from that era in vivid detail.

Paying particular attention to the “seven chi and three cun,” he historically inferred that, when converted using the Qin Dynasty’s measurement of one chi as approximately 23.1 cm, the man would have stood about 170 cm tall—a robust figure for that time.

Indeed, since the average height in that era was in the low 160 cm range, this would mean he was a “big man” of over 185 cm by today’s standards.

Min’s work goes beyond mere writing; through records describing an “oval face” (suimyeon) and “bright yellowish skin” (hwangseksaek), he captures the sophisticated biometric theories of population management used by the ancient state, expressing them through the bleeding and friction of the brush.

In an age without photography, the lives of ancient people—whose very existence was proven only by descriptions such as “yellowish skin” and “long face”—are reborn as modern sculptural beauty at the tip of Min’s brush.

Part of the exhibition pamphlet.

Min Seungjun’s artistic roots trace back to his father, Min Youngbo.

Following in the footsteps of his father, a calligrapher from Cheongdo, Gyeongbuk, he continues the legacy of Daegu calligraphy. The father-and-son exhibition he held with his father further solidified their family’s standing in the world of calligraphy.

Currently, he serves as the director of the “Seon Line to Zen” Calligraphy Library and as a professor at the Korean Calligraphic Art Lifelong Education Institute. He is also a Taijiquan instructor and yoga practitioner.

His creative process, which incorporates the breath of the body into the strokes, closely resembles “moving meditation.”

This exhibition, built upon the solid foundation of Keimyung University’s calligraphy department and further refined through his doctoral research at Shandong University, is expected to demonstrate that calligraphy is not merely the act of writing, but a humanistic endeavor that restores history.

Min Seungjun remarked, “Calligraphy is not an addiction, but a discipline,” and added, “It is not simply a technical practice, but an ‘artistic discipline’ that fills and heals inner emptiness.”

He continued, “The self-chosen pen name ‘Iji (Easy)’ reflects my will to transcend form, reach the essence, and communicate more easily and deeply with the public. Calligraphy is a means of communication that connects people and eras, and it is a noble expression in which the message permeates through the brush’s friction and bleeding.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.