Pre-Qin is a very long historical period. China's calligraphy art was conceived and formed in this historical stage.
Calligraphy originated from Chinese characters; Chinese characters are even the shape of China's calligraphy; The two are closely related. To understand the emergence of calligraphy, we must start with the origin of Chinese characters.
There are different opinions about the origin of Chinese characters since ancient times. According to the Book of Changes: "In ancient times, knotting was the rule, and later sages changed it into a book contract." An Guo in the Han Dynasty said in Preface to Shangshu: "The ancient king Fu began to draw gossip, write books and do things, and replace it with knots. Therefore, it is a question of writing. " Knots are real things and can only be used as a tool for personal memory. Gossip is a few simple symbols, which later became an application tool of religious superstition; Can't even call it words. There is also a widely circulated "Cangjie Word-making Theory". According to Xu Shen's Shuo Wen Jie Zi. Xu ","A Brief History of the Yellow Emperor ",seeing the hoof tracks of birds and animals, knows that people can be distinguished from people, and makes a book first. "In this regard, Mr. Lu Xun made a scientific analysis in Talking about Foreign Languages. He thinks: "But in the society, there is more than one Cang Xie, some carve a small picture on the hilt, some draw some pictures on the portal, and the words have multiplied by word of mouth. As soon as historians collect them, they can perfunctory. I'm afraid the origin of China characters can't escape this example. "This shows that Chinese characters are out of social needs, derived from social life, born out of picture symbols, and created collectively by working people. From this point of view, Cang Xie's theory of coinage is also unreliable; If Cang Xie really exists in history, he can only be one of the "historians" who collect and sort out words.
There are so-called "Six Books" in ancient China, which are pictographic, indicative, knowing, pictophonetic, transliteration and borrowing. This is a word-making method summarized by studying the structure of ancient Chinese characters. Xu Shen explained the "six books" in the preface to Shuo Wen Jie Zi: "One refers to things. What is referred to can be seen and known, and it is true up and down. Second, hieroglyphics. Pictographic characters, painted as objects, follow the body, day and month; Three voices. Voice, in the name of things, is compared to people, rivers and rivers; The fourth is to know. Those who know each other are more friendly than others, making them understand, as are martial arts and faithfulness; Fifth, divert attention. Transfer notes, build classes, agree to accept each other, take exams, and always; Six words are borrowed. The borrower, without the word * * *, relies on his own voice to get things done. " The pictographic characters, indicative characters, comprehensible characters and pictophonetic characters in the six books are direct ways to create words, and annotation and borrowing do not create new words. So some people think that the latter two are ways of using words. Judging from the structure of Chinese characters, Chinese characters are ideographic characters.
When did Chinese characters begin? According to new archaeological achievements, the origin of characters has appeared on painted pottery vessels unearthed from Banpo site about 6 thousand years ago. All kinds of symbols on these pottery can be regarded as the germination of Chinese characters.
Chinese characters have a long gestation process from germination to maturity. Only the Oracle bone inscriptions in Shang Dynasty can be regarded as the early writing of the system.
Oracle Bone Inscriptions is the abbreviation of "tortoise shell animal bone writing", which is named because it is engraved on tortoise shell animal bone. It was unearthed near Yang Yang, Henan at the end of19th century. Because it is the ruins of the capital, it is also called "street writing". Because Oracle Bone Inscriptions is mainly a record of divination, Wen Jia is also called "Oracle Bone Inscriptions". In recent years, Oracle Bone Inscriptions in the early Western Zhou Dynasty has been discovered in Shaanxi and other places, which is a popular writing from Shang Dynasty to the early Zhou Dynasty. Because characters evolved from picture symbols, Oracle Bone Inscriptions is also very graphic. Its stippling and parts have not yet been finalized, and there are many variant characters; There is no certain pattern of glyphs, either complex or simple, big or small, which varies from word to word; Simple and simple structure, vivid and vivid; The lines are scattered naturally. Although Oracle Bone Inscriptions's lettering is only for taking notes, in practice, the foundation of China's calligraphy, such as brushwork, structure and composition, has gradually formed, and it is unique. Even today, it can provide useful reference for us to learn calligraphy.
The Western Zhou Dynasty was a period of development and prosperity of ancient civilization in China. With the development of iron smelting industry and the further promotion of etiquette system in Zhou Dynasty, Venus prevailed.
Bronze inscriptions are inscriptions carved on various bronzes. In ancient times, copper was called gold, so it was called "bronze inscription". Because bronzes are mainly famous for clocks and watches, the inscriptions on bronzes are also called "Wen Zhong". Jin Wen and Oracle Bone Inscriptions come down in one continuous line, and their forms vary from place to place. The inscriptions on Shang bronzes are similar to those of Oracle Bone Inscriptions, such as Wu Si Zi. Due to the progress of bronze casting technology at that time and the author's deliberate desire to work, the bronze inscriptions in the Western Zhou Dynasty gradually tended to be stable and neat. Dot painting turns thick; The structure is dignified and muddy; The lines are dense and rigorous, such as Mao Gongan and Shi Sanpan. As for Qi, Chu and Qin in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, they all have different styles. Bronze inscriptions are important materials for studying the development of Chinese characters and their idiomatic branches, from which we can see that Oracle Bone Inscriptions gradually evolved into the trace of Xiao Zhuan.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, calligraphy styles became increasingly complex, with irregular characters and different styles. The most famous of his styles is Shi Guwen. According to research, Shi Guwen is the stone carving of Qin State in the Warring States Period and the existing "ancestor of stone carving" in China. It is generally considered as seal script, which belongs to the category of big seal script. There are ten ancient drums * * *, and each stone drum is engraved with a four-character poem describing the hunting situation of Qin Guojun. The guild is also called "hunting group". Shi Guwen's brushwork is round and powerful, with strict structure, neat arrangement and heavy charm. It not only retains the complicated traces in the bronze inscription, but also is very decorative, and initially has the basic characteristics of Xiao Zhuan in calligraphy. Since the discovery of Shi Guwen in Xiangxian County, Shaanxi Province in the early Tang Dynasty, it has been admired and used for reference by calligraphers of past dynasties, which has far-reaching influence and fully demonstrated its strong artistic vitality. Guo Moruo said: "Consciously using words as works of art, or making words themselves into artistic and decorative things, began at the end of the spring era. This is the development from writing to calligraphy, and it has reached a conscious stage. " (Dialectical Development of Ancient Chinese Characters)
To sum up, the pre-Qin period was the foundation of China's writing and calligraphy generation. In this historical period, Chinese characters developed from pottery symbols in Yangshao culture period to Oracle Bone Inscriptions and bronze inscriptions, and matured in Shi Guwen in the Warring States period, and the art of calligraphy was gradually formed in practical application.
Qin and Han calligraphy
During the Warring States period, the vassal states were divided into different regimes, resulting in the situation that "the seven countries have different voices and different figures". After Qin Shihuang unified the whole country, in order to consolidate his rule, he implemented the policy of "sharing the same language" and carried out the reform of writing. First, the big seal script was simplified as a small seal script as the national standard font, and later a simpler new font official script was compiled.
According to Shuo Wen Jie Zi. It is recorded in Xu: "The languages of the seven countries are different, and the characters are also different. At the beginning of Qin Dynasty, Li Si, the prime minister, was the same as Qin, but he disagreed. The company wrote, CZ ordered Zhao Gao to write "Love Calendar" and a surname ordered Hu Wujing to write "Bo Xue", all of which were based on historical seals, or were quite preserved. The so-called small seal is also. " The small seal script mentioned here is relative to the big seal script. Broadly speaking, all Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Jinwen and Shi Guwen are collectively called Da Zhuan; Big seal and small seal are also collectively called seal script. Small seal script is a simplified form of big seal script, and they have some similar characteristics. Compared with the big seal, the small seal is more concise, neat and standardized, with even stippling thickness, balanced and symmetrical structure and even composition. This kind of calligraphy was widely used in the Qin Dynasty to carve stones and praise virtues. According to Records of the Historical Records of Qin Shihuang, the main stone carvings at that time were Mount Tai, Mount Yi, Langyatai, Zhegang, Jieshi and Huiji, which can be regarded as the representatives of Qin Zhuan. According to legend, most of these stone carvings were written by Li Si. Li Si, a native of Shangcai (now Shangcai County, Henan Province), was not only a famous calligrapher in Qin Dynasty, but also the first recorded innovator in the history of calligraphy in China, and played a pioneering role in the development of calligraphy in China.
After the Qin dynasty unified the script, there were still eight styles: Da Zhuan, Xiao Zhuan, Engraved Edition, Insect Edition, Copy, Official Script, Dead Edition and Official Script. However, among the eight styles, Xiao Zhuan and Li Shu are popular.
Li Shu, sealing the valerian also. In order to adapt to fast writing, Lishu changed the curve of seal script into a straight line; Turn a round stroke into a square fold; The vertical symbol becomes horizontal. Some words of imperial edict edition, imperial edict power and imperial edict quantity are carelessly written, which shows that there is a style of official script. At first, people called this font or Guli. 1975, more than 0/000 pieces of Qin bamboo slips/kloc-0 were found in Yunmeng Sleeping Tiger Land, Hubei Province. These immature official scripts can be said to be typical of Qin official scripts. Official script will inevitably replace seal script, which largely depends on the requirements of practical writing. Because "Qin uses seal script, there are many things in Qin, and seal script is difficult to achieve." (Wei Heng's Four Styles of Calligraphy) The appearance of official script is an important change in the history of China's writing and calligraphy, which is called "official change" in the history of China's calligraphy. Since then, official script has become a watershed between ancient and modern characters in China, which has opened up a broad road for the further development of China's calligraphy.
Therefore, the Qin Dynasty is an important historical stage in the history of China's calligraphy. It not only unified the characters of the six countries, but also created Xiao Zhuan and Li Shu, which were loved by later generations, adding a new style to calligraphy art.
The policy of recuperation was implemented in the Han Dynasty, with relatively prosperous economy and developed culture. Learning from books is one of the national systems. During this period, official script flourished, and other characters were also produced on this basis.
Qin Li was adopted in the early Han Dynasty, and it was beautified by people in practice, and gradually lost the meaning of seal script left by Qin Li, with obvious stippling and more square structure, which was the representative font of the Han Dynasty. People call this official script Han Li.
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, stone carvings prevailed and there were monuments. At present, almost all the Han steles we see are works of this period. Such as a thin and wide ceremony tablet, an elegant and beautiful memorial tablet, a thick and simple poem chanting Shimen. In addition, there are a large number of Han bamboo slips and silk books, such as quicksand slips unearthed in Dunhuang, bamboo slips unearthed in Juyan, Inner Mongolia, and Han bamboo slips unearthed in Wuwei, Gansu, with different faces and styles. Many Han bamboo slips are magnificent, forming unprecedented prosperity in the history of calligraphy in China.
Calligraphy evolves in the process of application. According to Xu Shen's Shuo Wen Jie Zi, "Han Xing has a cursive script." People in practical writing, in order to "walk fast, walk fast", make records a little sloppy and simple, and naturally become a chapter. The book that marks the formal formation of Cao Zhang is Urgent Chapter, which has been handed down as a historical tour of the Western Han Dynasty. It is said that Cao Zhang was named after it. From the works, we can see that the preservation of Cao Zhang has obvious official meaning, and the stippling is wavy, flat and independent. Zhang's Broken Book of the Tang Dynasty said, "It is the triumph of the official book, and the grass also triumphs for it." Cao Zhang wrote quickly, and naturally removed the waves, so people also called the cursive script without waves today.
As for the difference between and, Zhang made it very clear in Broken Books: "The characters of your books are different. Zhang Zhi turned into this grass, increased its flow, plucked hair, and was implicated up and down; Or borrow the suffix, and the prefix, odd-shaped clutch, number and meaning. " The Zhang Zhi mentioned here is from Jiuquan, Dunhuang, the later Han Dynasty. According to legend, he studies hard and studies in the pool. Because he is familiar with Cao Zhang and proficient in modern cursive script, he is called "the sage of grass" in history. Legend has it that this grass was created by him and passed down from generation to generation as his work, which is regarded as his masterpiece.
Lishu developed into modern grass through Cao Zhang, and at the same time developed into regular script along another clue. We can see from the inscription of Xiping pottery bottle in the Eastern Han Dynasty that most of the characters have faded out of official script and become a kind of elegant regular script. Regular script turns the "wave" of the official script stippling into a straight one, and the flat one into a square one. In this way, the painting is clear, the structure is correct, and it is easy to write and identify. So once the regular script is formed. Fonts have remained stable for a long time and have been used ever since. The history of calligraphy art for more than ten centuries is inseparable from the influence of the emergence, maturity and wide use of regular script.
The requirements for the development of calligraphy in any era are easy to recognize, easy to write and convenient. Running script is also produced under such demand. Qing Kang Youwei said in "A Double Boat in Guangyi": "Those who suffer are afraid of it, and those who are stupid are happy. Running script should be born because it needs simplicity to record words and convey information. " Running script simplifies regular script and scribbles, and takes cursive script with brush strokes, which is not as neat as regular script, but as scribbled as cursive script; It is easier to write than regular script, easier to recognize than cursive script, and the most practical, so it is as popular as regular script.
Tang's Broken Book said: "Calligraphers were created by the later Han Dynasty." It says here that the running script was written by him alone. Handed down from generation to generation as official script, Zhang Zhi as cursive script, and Wang Cizhong as regular script, which is obviously incredible. They are nothing more than the earliest calligraphers who appeared with the appearance of different fonts.
Calligraphy develops with the evolution of Chinese characters. When a calligraphy style is widely accepted by the society, its art is also improved. By the end of the Han dynasty, calligraphy basically had various styles, and the calligraphy style had been systematically expounded. Xu Shen's Shuo Wen Jie Zi in the Eastern Han Dynasty is a monograph on the style of calligraphy from the literary point of view. The emergence of cursive script, regular script and running script laid a modeling foundation for the further development of writing and art, and also opened up a brand-new world for the full play of pen and ink functions.
Calligraphy in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties
During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, various calligraphy styles, such as seal script, official script, cursive script, regular script and official script, have matured after being copied by the previous generation and formed their own systems. The five bodies are parallel, interacting and each has its own style. On this basis, great calligraphers such as Zhong You and Wang Xizhi were born, and a number of immortal masterpieces were produced, forming a golden age in the history of calligraphy in China.
The calligraphy of the History of the Three Kingdoms is dominated by Wei, and his stone carvings include Zen Monument, Paradigm Monument, Wuji Monument, Thirteen-character Monument and Three-body Classic. These official script stone carvings are the origin of official script and official script in the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties. The most famous one is Wu's Tianfa Oracle Bone Inscriptions Monument, which is said to have been written by the royal family. Stone carvings in Shu are rare.
Zhong You, a great calligrapher in Wei Dynasty, was born in Gedong, Henan. He used to be an official and an exceptional teacher, also known as "Zhong Taifu". He is good at all kinds of calligraphy, especially regular script, and is honored as "the father of regular script" by later generations, and is also called Zhong Wang with Wang Xizhi. Its regular script is graceful and concise, which creates a new look from official script to regular script. His original works have not been circulated, including the Declaration Form, the Order Form and the Recommended Season Form, which are his representative works. Zhong You's achievements in calligraphy are inseparable from his efforts. He said: "I have been thinking hard for more than 30 years, and I have never forgotten this. I often read his books, but I learned his words. Every time I see 10 thousand kinds, I know books are just like them. If you stop at one place, draw something else and walk a few steps; If you are sleeping, pull up your quilt and put it on. " (On Calligraphy in Tang Dynasty) This experience revealed the secret of his learning books.
The Jin Dynasty was deeply influenced by tradition and imitation, and its calligraphy style was extremely prosperous. At this time, the writing tools were generally improved and improved, which provided great convenience for many calligraphers in this period to exert their artistic talents. In addition, calligraphers can also be good at their own skills, wonderful workmanship, and promote the formation of a prosperous situation in the Jin Dynasty. However, due to the prohibition of erecting monuments in the Jin Dynasty, there were not many stone carvings, and calligraphy works were mainly written on ordinary paper. However, it is difficult to preserve paper for a long time, so the ink in the Jin Dynasty rarely circulates. Only Lu Ji's Ping Fu Tie has survived to this day, which is the first famous ink handed down from ancient times and occupies an important position in the history of calligraphy. At that time, the more famous stone carvings were the magnificent and dense "Guangwu General Monument"; Rich and simple "steamed stuffed bun monument". ; There is also a transcript of the Jin Dynasty unearthed in Xinjiang, The History of the Three Kingdoms, which is also very interesting. The Jin Dynasty attached great importance to calligraphy theory's research, including Wei Heng's four-body calligraphy style.
Wang Xizhi was the first representative of calligraphers in the Jin Dynasty.
Wang Xizhi, a native of Linyi, Shandong Province, was named "Wang Youjun" because he was a general of the right army. I studied calligraphy with Mrs. Wei when I was a child. Later, Zhang Zhi, a cursive script, and Zhong You, a regular script, learned nutrition from popular calligraphy since the Han and Wei Dynasties, learned from others, and prepared various styles, especially truth, line and grass. Its regular script is clever and dense; Running script is charming and healthy, pure and natural; Cursive writing is eclectic and innovative. Wang Xizhi's calligraphy has always been highly respected. Liang Wudi said that his calligraphy is "like a dragon jumping into the sky and a tiger lying in the phoenix pavilion"; Emperor Taizong's "On Wang Xizhi's Praise" said that he "studied the ancient and modern times, studied the essence of seal script, and achieved perfection"; Later generations revered him as the "Book Sage" and called him "Two Kings" with his son Wang Xianzhi. His representative works are Le Yi Lun and Oriental Painting Praise in lower case, Seventeen posts in cursive script and Preface to Lanting in running script, which is known as the best running script in the world, often sad posts and Confucius middle posts.
The innovative calligrapher in Jin Dynasty, represented by Wang Xizhi, created a generation of new book style full of spirit and charm. The so-called "Tang poems and inscriptions on bronze inscriptions" reflect the characteristics of the times of calligraphy in the Jin Dynasty and occupy an important position in the history of calligraphy in China.
Calligraphy in the Southern Dynasties was deeply influenced by the calligraphy style of the "two kings". It is beautiful, elegant, charming and full of elegance. For example, Song Yangxin's calligraphy was handed down from Wang Xianzhi, but the "two kings" did not stick to the pattern. The Southern Dynasties followed the Jin system, and no monuments were allowed. Inscriptions are rare, but they are also circulated. For example, the Long Yan Monument in the Song Dynasty is very beautiful in Qiang Mao, and it is also slightly inherited. Later generations called it "Er" together with Jin's "Stele of Steamed Buns"; Liang's Yi uses a vigorous and broad pen; There are also Qi's Wu Junli Wei Wei's Buddha Statue and Chen's Zhao He Statue.
Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Northern Dynasties have followed the wind of tree inscriptions, and the inscriptions are extremely rich. There are thousands of stone carvings, which are really "officials have bodies but not bodies", and the styles are rich and colorful. The inscriptions in the Northern Dynasties are generally called "Weibei". Kang Youwei once praised Wei Bei's ten beauties in Guang Yi and Zhou Shuang: "First, he is heroic and strong; Second, the weather is muddy; Three leaps; Fourth, the stippling is thick and thick; Fifth, the meaning is strange and easy; Sixth, the spirit is flying; Seventh, full of interest; Eight, Gufada point; Nine said that the structure is natural; Ten are rich in flesh and blood. "
Such as Zhang Menglong tablet, Zhang Xuan epitaph, Mount Tai Diamond Sutra, etc. Beibei tablet is a treasure house of China's calligraphy, and many tablets have been handed down. Kang Youwei said, "If Wei Bei chooses one, he will choose one. They are all adults and very beautiful. " People who study calligraphy in later generations are well aware of this, and most of them explore the structure and brushwork of regular script before Sui and Tang Dynasties from the North Monument.
What is particularly commendable is that most of the famous inscriptions in the Southern and Northern Dynasties were written by anonymous people. This shows that the art of calligraphy at that time had a broad mass base. They inherited the fine tradition of the previous generation of calligraphy and created a large number of excellent works, which created conditions for the formation of the heyday of calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty.
Calligraphy in Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties
China's calligraphy with a long history reached a new stage of all-round prosperity in Sui and Tang Dynasties. The Sui Dynasty's calligraphy merged the northern and southern calligraphy into one furnace, which opened a new stage of regular script in the Tang Dynasty. This period is a crucial period in the history of China's medieval calligraphy. Calligraphy works in this period, such as Fang's "Dong's Epitaph", inherited the Northern Wei Dynasty and inspired the father and son; The exquisite brushwork of Longzang Temple Monument is another realm, which influenced Chu Suiliang and Xue Ji. In addition, there are many kinds of ginseng, which have changed completely and taken on a new look, such as Cao Zhi's monument. Famous calligraphers include Zhi Yong and others.
Zhiyong, named Ji Fa, was a monk in Yongshan Yongxin Temple (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang) and was called "Yong Zen Master". He is the seventh grandson of Wang Xizhi, and his calligraphy inherits Wang Xizhi's tradition. His brushwork is simple, elegant and beautiful, and his bones are deep and his body is hidden. According to legend, he lived in Yongxin Temple in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province for 30 years, studying hard and practicing hard, and "returning his pen to the grave". He wrote 800 calligraphy books and distributed them to temples in eastern Zhejiang, which were widely circulated.
In the Tang Dynasty, the country was strong, the economy was prosperous and the culture was developed, and calligraphy reached its peak.
Ma Zonghuo said in the book Tree Algae: "The prosperity of calligraphers in the Tang Dynasty is no less than that in the Jin Dynasty. The martial arts of the Six Dynasties have been passed down from generation to generation. As far as history is concerned, the Tang Dynasty learned six things, and the fifth was books. Buy a doctor of calligraphy and learn a piece of paper every day, which is also based on books. There are four ways for Tang Quan to choose candidates, and the third way is to write books. The beauty of learning law is middle distance, and so is learning books. Imitation of Zhou takes books as teaching, imitation of Korea takes books as teachers, imitation of Jin takes books as medicine. Calligraphy research was established from the Tang Dynasty. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, calligraphers came forth in large numbers. " In addition, during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, papermaking was further developed, and the famous Xuan paper was widely used in the Tang Dynasty, which was one of the reasons for the prosperity of calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty.
There are many calligraphers in the Tang Dynasty, including Ou, Yu, Chu and Xue, and they are called the four great calligraphers in the early Tang Dynasty. In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, Yan Zhenqing was full of innovative spirit, and Li Zhuo stood tall in the book world; Later, Liu Gongquan had a far-reaching influence on later generations with his rigorous calligraphy style.
Ou Yangxun was born in Linxiang, Tanzhou (now Changsha, Hunan). Also known as "Ouyang Duo Yin", it is because the official to the prince cited more. His calligraphy was deeply influenced by Wang Xizhi and integrated into the calligraphy heritage of the Northern Dynasties. His brushwork is mainly square, with plain structure, long font, steep style and strict statutes. He is unique for a while and is known as "European style" in the world. Regular script includes Jiuchenggong Liquan Ming and Huadu Temple Monument, and running script includes Shang Bo, Hans Zhang and Dream Drink. There are thirty-six methods, eight methods and pen theory in calligraphy works.
Yu Shinan was born in Yuyao, Zhaozhou (now Yuyao County, Zhejiang Province). He studied with Zhiyong when he was a child. It was wonderful. His paintings and calligraphy are round, rich in connotation and beautiful, and are regarded as a model by later generations. His works include Confucius Temple Monument and Henan Gong Epitaph.
Chu Suiliang was born in Qiantang (now Hangzhou). He was once the Duke of Henan, known as "Chu Henan". His calligraphy was first learned in the south of the city. In his later years, he took dharma as the second, and integrated Europe and calligraphy. In regular script, he participated in Li Fa, which was both Fiona Fang and natural, and formed a round, thin and generous Wen Ya style, which had a great influence on later calligraphy. His representative works in regular script include Yi Que Buddhist Shrine Monument, Master Meng Monument, and Preface to the Sermon of Yanta.
Xue Ji, a native of Wanrong, Shanxi, was called "Xue Shaobao" because he was an official for Prince Shaobao. Chu Suiliang, a great calligrapher, gained a lot of Chu, so there is a saying that "buying Chu to learn without losing the festival" But because the pen holder is slender and the structure is clear, it is unique. His works include "Nobuyuki Zen Master Tablet" and so on.
Calligraphy made great achievements in the early Tang Dynasty, but it failed to break away from the barriers of Jin people. Comrade Fan Renlan said in "A Brief History of China": "Ou, Yu, Chu and Xue in the early Tang Dynasty were only the inheritors of the calligraphy style of the two kings, and Yan Zhenqing in the prosperous Tang Dynasty was the creator of the calligraphy style of the Tang Dynasty. "
Yan Zhenqing, a native of Shaanxi Province, was once the prefect of Pingyuan, nicknamed Duke Lu, and was called "Yan Pingyuan" and "Yan". Calligraphers returned to Zhong Wang to be Chu Suiliang and Zhang Xu, gathering the strengths of many families, and making a rope out of ink; Yan painted, walked and sketched with the pen of seal script, creating his own style and forming a bold and strong "strict style". He is simple, honest, stubborn and loyal. The words are like people, and the stippling is thick, majestic and magnificent, which has been circulated for thousands of years. Later generations often compare the word Yan with social poetry and Korean, and there is a saying that "learn to learn Yan before learning books". Many of his works have been handed down from generation to generation, such as the Twin Towers in Regular Script, the Fairy Altar of Magu and the Yan Monument. The running script "Sacrifice Draft" is the most distinctive and is known as "the second running script in the world".
Yan Zhenqing is a representative figure of calligraphy in the prosperous Tang Dynasty and an outstanding calligrapher after Wang Xizhi in the history of calligraphy in China. His appearance brought regular script to a new height. "It is advisable to learn calligraphy first." Since then, regular calligraphy has gradually become the only way for calligraphy art. Tang Kai replaced other calligraphy works with his standard brushwork and dignified structure, and became an ideal calligraphy model. Later, "Liu Ti" was also called "Yan Ti", which showed that the summary of regular script in this period was the inevitable result of the development of regular script itself after several centuries, rather than the accidental phenomenon that appeared under the pen of a genius.
Liu Gongquan, whose real name is Hang Cheng, is from Jingzhao Huayuan (now Yaoxian County, Shaanxi Province), and the official is Prince Shao Shi. Calligraphy is good at regular script, which can combine the brushwork of ancient and modern schools, innovate and create a thin, hard and straight "six-body". "Books are expensive, thin and hard, and they have the same spirit." Liu Tizi is thin and vigorous, Fiona Fang is wonderful, and the structure is rigorous, winning with bones. Since then, later generations have always regarded "Yan Gu" as a model of calligraphy beauty. There are many inscriptions in his books, the most famous of which are Mysterious Tower, Diamond Sutra and Shence Army Monument. His character is honest and frank, and his motto of using a pen: "Use a pen in your heart, your heart is right, and your pen is right" is passed down as a much-told story by later generations.
China's calligraphy started from Wang Xizhi and opened up a new situation in Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan, which has been affecting today.
The Tang Dynasty is famous not only for regular script, but also for running script and cursive script. In addition to Europe, Yan and Liu, Li Yong, Zhang Xu and Huai Su all have their own merits, and they are also romantic people.
Li Yong was born in Jiangdu, Guangling (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu). He used to be the prefect of Beihai, known as "Li Beihai". "Always good at calligraphy, especially in the name of cursive script. Beginners of calligraphy in the right army have their own advantages, and the other is to get rid of old habits and improve their brushwork. " ("Xuanhe Pu Shu"), its words are wide and big, and the words are left, low and high, showing the beauty of the side, giving people a sense of danger and brightness. He wrote many monuments, among which Li Sixun Monument and Lushan Temple Monument are the representatives. Later generations of Mi Fei, Dong Qichang and others were deeply influenced by him.
Zhang Xu, born in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, was called "Zhang Changshi" and "Zhang Dian". Good at cursive script, cursive script is bold and unconstrained, which can be seen from Zhang Zhi's cursive script, such as "Stomach Pain Post" and "Four Ancient Poems". His regular script "Langguan Shizhu Ji" is dignified and cautious, and follows the rules. It can be seen that his cursive achievements are due to his rigorous and standardized regular script skills. As "Xuan He Shu Pu" said, "Although there are many strange cursive characters, everyone does not paint, or Zhang Dian is not arrogant."
Huai Su, whose words are hidden in truth, is from Changsha. He likes calligraphy since he was a child. Because he had no money to buy paper, he planted bananas around his home and used banana leaves instead of paper. His cursive scripts "Autobiographical Post" and "Bitter Bamboo Shoot Post" are vigorous, thin, firm, round and natural, and the characters correspond to each other, which makes people look forward to, especially "Autobiographical Post", which is written vigorously and without trace, leaving a precious model for later calligraphy creation.
In addition to the great calligraphers mentioned above, if Sun, Li, Li Bai, Zhong Shaojing and other calligraphers are famous for a while, there are many unknown folk calligraphers, which are hard to count. With the prosperity of calligraphy creation, calligraphy theory also developed in the Tang Dynasty. Famous calligraphy works include Shu Duan, Sun's, Zhang Yanyuan's Law Secretary, Yan Zhenqing's Twelve Interpretations of Calligraphy, Eight Methods and Thirty-six Strategies, and Theory of Writing with a Pen. These are the summary of their long-term creative experience, which still has a guiding role for us today. Calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty not only occupies an important position in the history of calligraphy in China, but also has a great influence on Japanese calligraphy overseas, especially. At that time, many Japanese envoys in the Tang Dynasty had studied China's calligraphy. When Jian Zhen monks traveled to Japan, they also brought the original works of two kings, which made China's calligraphy style of Jin and Tang Dynasties spread to Japan.
The Five Dynasties inherited the legacy of the late Tang Dynasty, but due to the long-term war, it was in a state of decline compared with previous periods. At this stage, Yang Ningshi, the hero of the book, monopolized the book world.
Yang Ningshi, a native of Shaanxi, was born in troubled times, unwilling to be an official, pretentious and unlucky, and was called "Yang Fengzi". His calligraphy is excellent and his personality is outstanding. The book "Jiuhua Tie" is simple and elegant, full of fun. The layout of the immortal life post and the summer hot post is uneven, patchwork and unique. Predecessors commented that he used a pen to break the square into a circle and simplify the complex, which influenced calligraphers in the Northern Song Dynasty. During the transition period from Tang Dynasty to Song Dynasty, Yang Ningshi played a role of connecting the past with the future.
To sum up, we can see that the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties were an important historical period for the great development of China's calligraphy, especially in the Tang Dynasty, when calligraphy inherited the tradition of the previous generation, it made some breakthroughs, innovations and developments, forming a magnificent situation. Although this is the result of the continuous development of calligraphy itself, it is more fundamentally determined by the social foundation and historical conditions of calligraphy development.
Song and Yuan calligraphy
In the early Song Dynasty, the calligraphy circle was lonely, and it was not until Song Taizong ascended the throne that calligraphy was taken seriously. In the third year of Chunhua, Wang Zhu was ordered to carve the ink collected by the Imperial Secret Pavilion into ten volumes, which is the famous Chunhua Pavilion Post. Although this large-scale calligraphy post provides convenience for future generations to learn books, many of them are fakes because of the poor identification ability of editors, and the subsequent repeated engraving has lost its original intention. Moreover, because most of these calligraphy posts belonged to the two kings, the study of calligraphy became popular, which had a negative impact on the development of calligraphy in the Song Dynasty to some extent. What's more, there was an unhealthy trend of attaching importance to expensive things at that time. According to Ma Zonghuo's "Tree Algae", "Gao Zongxian learned Huang Tingjian's words, and the world suddenly learned Huang Zi; After the word rice is not, the world falls; Finally, I wrote it in Sun Guoting and Sun Zichang. " It led to a downturn in calligraphy in the Song Dynasty.
The printing technology in Song Dynasty was developed, so it was not necessary to copy in print as in Tang Dynasty. Therefore, the standard of regular script is not as strict as that of Tang Dynasty. The Song Dynasty achieved a bumper harvest of running script by "respecting meaning" and "expanding spirit". Under the influence of Yan Zhenqing, four great writers, Su, Huang, Mi and Cai, emerged in Beining. It can be said that the new situation of calligraphy in Song Dynasty was formally formed in Jiangsu, Huang, Mi and Cai.
Su Shi, Zi Zhan, is from Emei, Sichuan. He is versatile, capable of writing, painting and writing, with comprehensive artistic accomplishment and original spirit. His calligraphy can be illustrated by Huang Tingjian's words: "Taoist Dongpo learned Lanting in a few days, so his calligraphy is as charming as Li Jihai's. When you are drunk, you forget to work, and your words are as thin as Liu Cheng hanging himself. In middle age, I like to learn from Yan and Yang Fengzi. They get along well with each other. As for the rhyme of the pen, the beauty of the article lies in the world, and loyalty lies in the spirit of the sun and the moon. This kind of book should be the first. " His works include Dark Clouds in the Sky, Cold Food Poems in Huangzhou, Drunk Pavilion and Fengle Pavilion. His calligraphy, calligraphy theory and innovative spirit have a great influence on later generations.
Huang Tingjian, whose real name is Lu Zhi, is from Xiushui, Jiangxi. His ink paintings Song Fengge Poetry and Zhu Shangtie are thin, calm and happy; The uterus at the junction contracts and expands around; It looks generous, imposing and individual. He is good at getting inspiration from life and natural phenomena, and does not limit his study to classic works. According to him, "The books written in the Yuan Dynasty are plain in brushwork and rarely used pens. Entering the gorge late and seeing it for a long time is a way to understand the brushwork. " His book The Inscription in the Valley is very original.
Mi Fei, Zhang Ziren, a native of Xiangyang, Hubei Province, was once the official etiquette department, and was called "Minangong". His calligraphy works include Tiao Xi Tie, Shu Su Tie, Hong Xian Tie, Poem on a Scenic Building, Poem for the Empress Dowager, etc. The word "meter" is used in the middle of the pen, which tends to fall, but it is charming. Mi Fei is a good connoisseur, and there are not many books about calligraphy, such as History of Books and Famous Works of the Sea.
Cai Xiang, Mo Jun, was born in Youxian County, Xinghua, Fujian. There are Wang Xizhi, Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan in calligraphy, and their works are vigorous, dignified, vigorous and elegant.
Song Shu