Regular script reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty, which is a historical necessity. As far as the evolution of regular script is concerned, the late Han Dynasty was the period of creation, the Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties was the period of inheritance and development, and the Sui and Tang Dynasties began to master it on the basis of predecessors. This is the law and requirement of the development of regular script itself. Regular script refers to a kind of writing based on the founder of ancient Li, with square strokes and few waves. By the Yao and Han Dynasties in the Western Han Dynasty, Zishu had matured and regular script appeared at the same time. "At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Li's stone inscription was mixed with official script" (Xuanhe). In the Three Kingdoms period, Zhong Ci inherited the calligraphy characteristics of Zishu and became a family of his own. His book "Hekai Biao" was the originator of Lishu. By the time of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the father and son had established their own regular script, which was handed down to later generations. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Wei Bei was the best. Regular script of Sui Dynasty.
By the eve of the Tang Dynasty, regular script had a good foundation. Calligraphers before the Tang Dynasty explored and created regular script, and achieved certain results, which is the premise of the creation and improvement of regular script writers in the Tang Dynasty. Zhong You, Erwang and Zhiyong had a significant influence on regular script in Tang Dynasty. Gulang tablet in the Three Kingdoms is the pioneer of changing from official script to official script, and official script is the earliest. Ou Yangxun and Yu Shinan, pioneers of Zhang Menglong's tablet in the Northern Wei Dynasty. "Longzang Temple Monument" is the best inscription in the Sui Dynasty and a complete monument of the Six Dynasties. Europe, Yu, Chu, Xue and Lu (Cambodia) were handed down from generation to generation. Ou Yangxun's Jiucheng Palace and Huadu Temple Monument show a strong wind, mainly influenced by northern books, but these two monuments are accurate and orderly. Zhu Neng, representing the artistic features of the regular script of the Wang school in Tang Dynasty, creatively developed regular script, forming his own school, which can be described as his ancestor. Xue Ji was the greatest calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty and made great achievements in learning Chu Ci. After the early Tang Dynasty, four great writers, Ou, Yu, Chu and Xue Jiwei, completed the final form of regular script, and the calligraphers in the middle Tang Dynasty, represented by Yan Zhenqing, pursued a free state of mind in the inevitable kingdom of regular script and created new ones. Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan, Li Yong and others have made outstanding achievements, and it is not difficult to find their origins in Weibei, Qibei and Zhoubei. In Yan Shu, we can see traces of two kings, Zuo Heming by Liang and Manjusri Prajna Classic Monument by the Northern Qi Dynasty. "The efforts of several generations have opened up their own living space and accumulated rich experience and heritage. With a little construction, they can live in peace. See Calligraphy Research, Series 27). Jin Shu occupied the highlands, and Tang Kai advanced in a narrow area, reaching its peak. From the perspective of the history of regular script, the Sui and Tang Dynasties are the luckiest and most crucial period. It is predicted that regular script will be fully mature in the Tang Dynasty only with the vigorous enterprising spirit and fruitful consultation of predecessors.
Wang Pai's regular script developed to Sui Dynasty, and its artistic characteristics have tended to be orderly. Regular script in Tang Dynasty inherited the characteristics of neatness and regularity, and formed various schools with different styles and strict statutes. Jin people respect rhyme, Tang people respect law, Song people respect meaning and Ming people respect attitude, which are the norms and styles of different times. Liang Biao, a Qing man, said in Storytelling: "Jin people did their best, but they were honest."
With the unprecedented development of regular script, there was a new breakthrough in the study of calligraphy theory in the Tang Dynasty, and a large number of calligraphy theorists appeared. According to the previous experience and the aesthetic law of regular script, they summed up the creative law of regular script art in practice. Since the Han and Wei dynasties, although there have been many commentators, it is "not beneficial to the future" (book spectrum). The Tang Dynasty was very different, such as Ou Yangxun's Eight Laws, Thirty-six Laws and Prisons. Yu Shinan's Bi Ben Lun and Shu Zhi Shu, his brushwork, Lun Shu and Zhi Yin, Sun's Shu Pu, Shu Duan, Ten Methods, Yu Tang's Banjing, Cai's Fa Shu Lun, Lun Shu and Yan Zhenqing's. In operation, the most detailed is to embody the "eight methods of ancient characters" in regular script, that is, edge, joy, anger, interest, strategy, grazing, pecking and licking. So the gain decreased, and he wrote eight tricks, vividly and meticulously describing the writing posture. Yan Zhenqing also wrote Ode to Eight Methods, which described twelve meanings of Zhang Xu's brushwork and was insightful in explaining brushwork. Ou Yangxun is very knowledgeable about structure. His teaching tactics say: "Every stroke must be round, the intensity must be vertical and horizontal, and the four sides must be quiet." According to legend, the thirty-six laws he created were the most detailed in the Tang Dynasty, and became the standard of regular script. On this basis, Mason Lee's eighty-four laws of Chinese character structure in Ming Dynasty and Huang Ziyuan's ninety-two laws of shelf structure in Qing Dynasty were developed. The construction method of Jiugongge font was created in the Tang Dynasty, and it is easy to get the law of stippling measures. Tang people have a special study on the knot of regular script. So there are many calligraphers who are good at regular script. Even cursive writers, such as Zhang Xu, Huai Su and Sun, have a solid basic knowledge of regular script. Sun said, "If you are good at it, you should be familiar with the rules and regulations, naturally tolerate drifting, think before you act, and fly smartly." Calligraphy in Wei and Jin Dynasties developed to the extreme of passion. With the restoration of Confucian tradition in the early Tang Dynasty, Sun proposed to establish rules and regulations. Although I am out of myself, the scale has been set and the letter belongs to the present. " If you want to succeed in your studies, you should practice and persevere according to the correct rules. Entering the law is the means, and exiting the law is the purpose. Zhang Xu's book "Langguan Shizhu" is dignified and neat, and the basic skills of regular script make his calligraphy "strict in obeying the law and vertical in exceeding the law". No matter what style the calligraphers in the Tang Dynasty are good at, they are good at regular script. The beauty of regular script lies in its temperament and plasticity. In the Tang Dynasty, while pursuing the external objective beauty of calligraphy, they paid special attention to the objective laws in calligraphy creation and raised the summary of regular script to a complete level.
The Tang Dynasty set off a huge wave of cultural innovation, and the innovation and improvement of regular script art is the general trend. The Tang Dynasty was a prosperous and powerful dynasty. The prosperity of social economy is inevitably reflected in the cultural field. Calligraphy art, as a superstructure, is determined by the economic base. "With the change of the economic base, all the huge superstructures have changed faster or slower" (Preface to the Criticism of Marx's Political Economy). Since the Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties, the aristocratic culture under the door valve system has not adapted to the needs of the Tang Dynasty. A representative figure in the fields of poetry, music, sculpture and architecture, he dares to break through the old tradition in an all-round way and innovate. In the book world, Nan Shu, represented by the two kings in the early Tang Dynasty, occupied a dominant position. Wang Xizhi is an innovator of Zhong Shu. His books are characterized by thinness, rhyme and beauty. Due to the decadent gate system and the restriction of gentry's life at that time, Nanshe calligraphy inevitably had historical limitations. This aristocratic elegance and gentleness can't adapt to the prosperous and open atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty. Calligraphy art is facing changes and improvements.
Under the development trend of regular script, the rulers of Tang Dynasty advocated calligraphy, especially regular script. We know that economic foundation is the final determinant of cultural development, but material production or life does not directly determine artistic production, and politics directly affects artistic production first. The influence of politics in Tang dynasty on the development of regular script is direct and profound, which is manifested in the fact that Qingming politics made the society relatively stable. From the Zhenguan period of Emperor Taizong in the early Tang Dynasty to the Xuanzong period in the middle Tang Dynasty, the social economy was unprecedentedly prosperous, and the development of culture and art became the peak of the world at that time. All these provide a good social environment for the development of calligraphy. In addition, the rulers of the Tang Dynasty advocated calligraphy and made specific requirements and measures for regular script in schools, imperial examinations and officials.
The preference of the rulers of the Tang Dynasty for calligraphy made their officials follow suit. "The thoughts of rulers are the unified thoughts of every era. In other words, a class is the dominant material force and spiritual force in society "(Selected Works of Marx and Engels, Volume I, page 52). Since Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Taizong, Zhongzong, Deaf Sect, Xuanzong, Su Zong, Xuanzong, Dou Hou, Wuhou and the kings were all calligraphy lovers, and most of them were calligraphers at that time, who were good at regular script. According to Zhu's "Continued Book Break", Taizong's book is a rare product, while the book is a masterpiece, and the second Xuanzong's book is a masterpiece, with at least eight points. Emperor Taizong loved Wang's books.
According to "New Tang Shu Guan Bai", in the first year of Zhenguan, twenty-four people were addicted to books with more than five orders, and went to the official library to learn books and gave them forbidden books. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, those who wanted to learn books wrote books for the sake of straight books. Those who had straight books, straight paintings and extended books were straight schools. Hong Wen Pavilion was kept under the door, and books were added. There are 30 students, 2 doctors and teaching assistants 1 person. Ma Duanlin said in the "General Examination of Literature and School Examination" that calligraphy students "learn a piece of paper in two days, learn the current situation, and read Mandarin, storytelling, Zilin, Sancang and Erya." Students' knowledge and writing ability are very demanding. According to the records of the Six Classics of Tang Dynasty, Hong Wen Pavilion is a place where aristocratic children study, and there are also students who study calligraphy. Tang Jinglong's four-year handwritten Notes on the Analects of Confucius, unearthed in Xinjiang, was written by an honest student, Bu Tianshou, who was 12 years old, in neat fine print. It's amazing and admirable! I received a good education from an early age, laid a good foundation and achieved success in regular script.
In the imperial examination and the selection of officials, the requirements for regular script are more obvious and strict. "Tang Hanlin Academy has a bachelor's degree in calligraphy, imperial academy has a doctor's degree in calligraphy, and the imperial examination has a book department. Calligraphy is one of the ways to judge books by the official department, so there are many people who attack books in the Tang Dynasty "(A General History of Fan Wenlan and China, Volume 4, page 379). At that time, the Jinshi who entered the exam only obtained the qualification of being an official, and they had to go through the official department to get an official position. The content is four items: body, speech, book and sentence. The requirement of "calligraphy" is "the beauty of calligraphy" (Selected Records of the New Tang Dynasty), that is, regular script should be written in a dignified and beautiful way without losing its statutes. Ma Zonghuo's "Book in the Forest" says: "The beauty of calligraphy is in the middle period, and Nie takes people by books." Then he wrote six posts of Shuowen and four posts of Zilin, especially those who know how to give lectures and are good at miscellaneous books. Those who learn Ming Classics and are scholars, such as Liu Zongyuan and Liu Yuxi, who were born in Jinshi, are good at calligraphy and are among the calligraphers. If intellectuals want to enter the officialdom, they must learn regular script.
The rulers of the Tang dynasty also paid special attention to calligraphers and reused regular script experts. The post of calligrapher or Hanlin calligrapher was set up in the Central Committee of the Tang Dynasty. Wei Zhi recommended Chu Sui's love to Emperor Taizong. After Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, he summoned Liu Gongquan and said, "I saw your handwriting in the Buddhist temple and thought about it for a long time." I salute you today as a collection of Hanlin calligraphy bachelor. When Zhong Shaojing was in Wuhou, he "used official script as a phoenix pavilion". At that time, he attached great importance to regular script talents. In the Book of the New Tang Dynasty, we can see that many experts in regular script were placed in the central departments of the Tang Dynasty, such as Chongwen Pavilion 10, Secretariat Bureau 25, Secretary Province 10 and History Museum 50.
Calligraphy art is closely related to social ethics. Regular script is developed to meet the actual needs. In the Tang Dynasty, it became a common practice to write inscriptions, epitaphs, hymns, save the nation from extinction, official inscriptions and various titles in regular script. With the prosperity of Buddhism, it originated in the Six Dynasties and prevailed in the Tang Dynasty. From the imperial court to the people, there are many experts who write classics. Mr. Fang Jiekan wrote a poem, "Sages are anxious." There is a diamond at the bottom of the pen, and the paper remains fragrant. "The classic ink written by Tang Xian is profound and elegant, with complete statutes, which embodies the wind of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Bao said that Yan Shu "is like plowing cattle, stable and beneficial to the people. "Yan Shu comes from the people and is widely used by the people. At that time, Liu Gongquan didn't have it there. They all have their own goods to buy willow books. Strict style and Liu style, born in the real life of the Tang Dynasty, have strict laws, meet the aesthetic standards of the people of the Tang Dynasty, and finally meet the needs of social life in the Tang Dynasty.
Obviously, under the initiative of the rulers, regular script played a very important role in the social and cultural life of the Tang Dynasty. With the unprecedented expansion of the scope of use and people's endless pursuit of art, the unity of art and practice, and the unity of theory and practice are unexpected. Mao Zedong pointed out: "Art for art's sake, art that transcends class, art that is parallel to politics or independent, actually does not exist." In the Tang Dynasty, regular script was full of flowers and schools.
Subjectively, regular script writers in Tang Dynasty not only attached importance to inheriting traditional experience, but more importantly, actively explored, broke through tradition and brought forth new ideas in long-term and arduous practice. In the early Tang Dynasty, Europe, Henan, Chu, Xue and Lu all had it, which was fresh and healthy. They learned from Wang and mixed their ideas, developed and innovated from Wang's plays, and each had its own characteristics. Li Beihai and the Mid-Tang Dynasty. The innovation achievement is higher than that in the early Tang Dynasty. Liu Gongquan and Shen Chuanshi in the middle and late Tang Dynasty tried their best to correct the loss of hypertrophy in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, which also reflected a certain innovative spirit. In this great era, many regular scripts have emerged in large numbers and become masterpieces of later generations. There are many excellent regular scripts with strict statutes, short and fat and thin. During Guangxu period, A Qing and Yang Shoujing compiled The Origins of Regular Script, which brought together the elites of past dynasties. There are 292 inscriptions from Han Dynasty to Sui Dynasty, 346 in Tang Dynasty and 8 in Five Dynasties and Ten Countries. In the nearly 300 years of the Tang Dynasty, Ou Yangxun, Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang, Lu Jianzhi, Xue Ji, Xue Yao, Li Yong, Yan Zhenqing and Xu Hao appeared in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and Liu Gongquan and Shen Chuanshi appeared in the late Tang Dynasty.
Ou Yangxun was a master of calligraphy since he was a child, and his calligraphy was quite famous in the Sui Dynasty. He continued to spread, and his fame spread overseas. He studies books very diligently. He tried to walk with Heather, saw the inscription written by Suo Jing, looked at it, and walked for several miles. I walked for three days. He enjoyed the right army's "old photos of fingering" for several months, but he enjoyed it and never slept. He shaped the characteristics of Han Li and Jin Wei's regular script. Known for its "European style" in the world, looking at its representative works, such as Jiuchenggong, Huadu Temple, Yugong, Huangfushengchen, etc., the inscriptions are vigorous and steep, and the statutes are strict, which can be described as "outstanding, but not conformity".
Yu Shinan studied books in Shaman since he was a child. He is silent and has no desire. He is determined to study hard. After more than ten years, he studied tirelessly. He studied hard and painted his belly at night, so his later years were particularly exciting. He is strong-willed and outspoken. Emperor Taizong attached great importance to his talents and often discussed the history of classic works in his spare time. Every time he talks about the gains and losses of the ancient emperor, he will be punished.
In the development of regular script in Tang Dynasty, Europe and Yu were the representatives in the early stage, which basically inherited and summarized Sui Shu. Ou and Yu are both Chen and Sui people. When they entered the Tang Dynasty, they were over 60 years old. Calligraphy had already become a family, and it was the highest level in the Sui Dynasty. After entering the Tang Dynasty, they gave full play to their strengths, constantly summarized and improved, and opened the scale of the Tang Dynasty. Their regular script is completely mature in structure, and the formed regular script is standardized by later generations.
Represented by Chu Shu, it is a bridge between Europe, Henan, Yan and Liu. Chu Suiliang inherited and carried forward the highest achievement of calligraphy in Sui Dynasty, and was also the pioneer of innovation in Tang Kai. Chu Suiliang was born in an influential family with superior family conditions. When I was young, I dabbled in literature and history, worked as a servant, studied history (Mausoleum), Europe and Japan, and later was admitted to the second king of France and merged with him. It is said that "Chu Suiliang's vigorous writing style won Wang Yi's lack of writing style." Taizong wrote a letter on the same day. He identified the authenticity of the books of the two kings in the Imperial Palace, and made no mistakes in preparation. There are dozens of cheap books by Chen, which are often adopted. The masterpiece preface to the Wild Goose Pagoda reflects Chu Shu's artistic achievements. Liu Xizai, A Qing, called Chu Shu the "master of wide enlightenment" in the Tang Dynasty.
Yan Zhenqing, the greatest calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty, is a descendant of Yan. His family background is profound. He is young and poor, lacking paper and pens. He swept the wall on the loess to learn books, learned characters and seals, was upright, courteous, upright, honest and frank, had a sense of justice, and was famous for his benevolence and righteousness. He is outspoken, fearless of power, loyal to the monarch, patriotic and actively safeguarding national unity. For example, many pagodas, tablets of Qin Za, tablets of Ma Gu, tablets of Yan Jiamiao and confessional ink, etc. Yan Zhenqing is good at learning from the ancients, and has learned all the books of Erwang, Yu, Chu, Zhang Xu and Li Yong. And absorbed some nutrition from the folk calligraphy at that time, spiritually. Based on his own creative practice, he summarized and perfected the creative achievements of the masses. Together with Du Fu and Han Yu, he has innovated the aristocratic culture under the gate system since the Jin, Song and Qi Dynasties in different fields, reaching a profound level. Yan Shu made a great breakthrough and innovation in the brushwork, structure, layout and ink method of the Southern Dynasties, and dominated the calligraphy circles below the Eastern Jin Dynasty, with Erwang as the representative. Completely changed the thin, hard and handsome book style, and created a fat and wide new book style. Calligraphy in Wei and Jin Dynasties has made great achievements, but it can't reach the standard of Tang Dynasty, and it doesn't adapt to the open weather and spirit of the times in Tang Dynasty. "Seize the Duke of Lu, learn from new ideas and create new methods outside the ancient meaning, and Tao Zhu, like the past, includes many advantages ... so it began with the Book of the Tang Dynasty (The Book of Lin Zao by Ma Zonghuo). Su Yan Zhenqing, who was able to concentrate on improving the achievements of folk innovation at that time, deserves to be regarded as the most accomplished reformer in the history of ancient calligraphy in China. This book is like a person. The courage of Gong Yan's reform is consistent with the majestic and impenetrable style formed after the reform. Yan Xiu, who is lofty and strict, just like Gong Yan's character, is upright, honest, simple, stubborn, just superior to soft, distinctive, individual and full of inner beauty.
In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, Liu Gongquan became a school of his own. Learn from Wang Shu for the first time and read modern brushwork. Mu Zong tried the method of using a pen. He said, "With a pen in your heart, your heart is regular and correct." He devoted himself to diligent study and refused to produce. His works "Mysterious Tower Monument" and "Shence Army Monument" all develop in rigor and roundness. This is the different calligraphy characteristics between Yan and Liu. Liu abandoned the complexity of strict vertical painting, made horizontal and vertical painting flat and thin, and absorbed the advantages of the North Monument. His writing style is crisp and refreshing, and he absorbed the closeness of Ou Wei and the vertical trend of Yan, and wrote a unique Liu Ti.
Calligraphers such as Liu Gongquan and Shen Chuanshi in the late Tang Dynasty made great efforts to forge ahead from this narrow area and opened up a new road different from Lu Gong. Their innovative courage and spirit are particularly commendable. Yan Style and Liu Style embody the achievements of regular script in Tang Dynasty, and they are also the last stage of regular script's maturity in Tang Dynasty. When Yan Ti and Liu Yi came out, it became an unchangeable method for later generations.