石渠寶笈初編(養心殿),上冊,頁474-476&*故宮書畫錄(卷三),第一冊,頁53&*曹善(活動於西元十四世紀後期),江蘇華亭人,字世良,號樗散生,有詩名,處世剛正,不合於時。明太祖時,宋濂薦於朝,累徵不起,苦志臨池,初學鍾繇,行草學二王,與兄世長、兄子恭,具有書名,一時稱為東吳三曹。考曹知白之子名永,字世長,並無兄弟,善當為其族弟。本幅小楷書山海經,書於至正乙巳年(西元一三六五年),書風質樸端嚴,結字參差,用筆古拙之處可見鍾繇遺法。&*Ts'ao Shan (style name Shih-liang, sobriquet Shu-san-sheng) was a native of Hua-t'ing, Kiangsu who was famous for his poetry. He was rather inflexible and stubborn in carrying out affairs so he did not fare well in society. During the reign of Ming T'ai-tsu (r. 1368-1398), Sung Lien recommended Ts'ao Shan many times. However, instead of agreeing to serve at court, he remained steadfast and practiced calligraphy. He first studied the calligraphy of Chung Yu. For running and cursive scripts, however, he followed the styles of the two Wangs. His brother, Ts'ao Shih-ch'ang, and brother's son, Ts'ao Kung, are also famous for their calligraaphy, and they were collectively called the "Three Ts'ao's of Wu." According to biographies, however, Ts'ao Chih-po's son Yung (style name Shih-ch'ang) did not have any brothers, so Ts'ao Shan must be one of his cousins. Ts'ao Shan used small standard script to write out this classic in 1365. His calligraphy is pure, simple, and elegant, and the structure of his characters is somewhat disorderly. A slight awkwardness in Ts'ao Shan's brushwork also reveals Chung Yu's influence.