About the Museum

In 1779, Yang Jingsu, governor of Jiangsu and Fujian, presented Emperor Qianlong with the Kuaixue Tang Anthology, a lithographical series anthologizing China’s best calligraphists from the Jin to the Yuan Dynasty. The gift was well received. The Qing emperor described the anthology as “absolutely unique, without parallel in any time,” and ordered the construction of a grand hall to preserve it. This he called Kuaixue Tang, or the Hall of Brief Snow.

The hall is at the northern end of Beihai Park, close to Tai Ye Pool. It is a three-layered courtyard compound covering an area of 4,141 square meters. In 1923, a library was established inside the hall, in memory of Cai Songpo, a famous Chinese general. Liang Qichao, a well known scholar, was the first chief librarian. Poet Xu Zhimo once worked in the library and during the Republican Period it was a popular meeting place. Many dignitaries including Sun Yatsen, Huang Xing, Xu Shichang, Cao Kun, Xiong Xiling and Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore attended events held here.

In 1992, the Kaixue Tang Calligraphy Museum was opened to the public. It introduces the history of Chinese calligraphy and displays calligraphic masterpieces by Wang Xizhi,  Wang Xianzhi, Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, Mi Fei, Cai Xiang, Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan, Ou Yangxun, Zhao Mengfu and Huai Su among others. The museum’s name is written in the calligraphy of Pu Jie, brother of the last Chinese emperor Pu Yi.

Recently, thanks to the joint efforts of Beihai Park, Beijing Jin Xin Le Culture Development Company and Beijing Gui Xin Charity Foundation, the museum was refurbished and reopened with a brand new look. Guests now embark on a tour though Chinese history with calligraphy, one of China’s highest art forms, as their touchstone.