Calligraphy masterpiece sets record

Beijing - A calligraphy handscroll by Song Dynasty (960-1279) master Huang Tingjian fetched a record price of 436.8 million yuan ($64 million) after 40 minutes of bidding on Thursday night at Poly International's Spring Auction.

The masterpiece, titled Di Zhu Ming, features a calligraphic representation of an epigraph originally composed by Wei Zheng, a famous Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) chancellor. The handscroll is considered to demonstrate the creativity of Huang's penmanship and his moral principle.

The item is also adorned with Huang's portrait and valuable inscriptions of several dynasties ranging from Song to Qing (1644-1911), stretching the calligraphy work to 15 meters in total.