The two most famous cursive scripts in the Tang Dynasty refer to Zhang Xu and Huai Su.
Zhang Xu (685?-759?), also known as Bogao and Jiming, was a calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty. He was good at cursive writing and liked drinking. He was known as "Zhang Dian" in the world, together with Huai Su. He is known as "Dian Zhang Zuisu", together with He Zhizhang, Zhang Ruoxu, and Bao Rong, he is known as the "Four Scholars in Wuzhong", and together with He Zhizhang and others, he is known as the "Eight Immortals in Drinking". His cursive writing is also known as Li Bai's poems and Pei Min's sword dance. "Three unique things".
Zhang Xu was born in a family with a high status. He once learned calligraphy from his uncle Lu Yanyuan. After he became successful, he was admired by Wu Daozi, Yan Zhenqing and others. When he was older, he entered through application, recommendation, and recruitment. Official, he was released as Changshu County Lieutenant; he successively served as the chief historian of Zuolifu and the chief historian of Jinwu, so he was called "Zhang Changshi" by the world; he died in about the second year of Qianyuan (759) at the age of about seventy-five. .
In terms of calligraphy, Zhang Xu is diligent in observing objective things, and is good at combining objective natural objects with personal subjective emotions. He not only inherits tradition, but also has the courage to innovate. He inherits the calligraphy achievements of his predecessors and innovates to make him famous. His own Kuangcao art reached a peak during the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
Huaisu (737-799), whose common surname was Qian and whose courtesy name was Zangzhen, was from Lingling, Yongzhou (now Lingling, Hunan). A calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty, he was famous for his "crazy grass" and was known as the "Sage of Grass" in history.
He became a monk since he was a child. In his spare time, he practiced Zen and loved calligraphy. He was as famous as Zhang Xu and was collectively known as "Dian Zhang Kuang Su". This formed a situation where the two peaks of calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty coexisted, and they were also the two peaks in the history of Chinese cursive calligraphy. Peak. Huaisu's cursive calligraphy is thin and vigorous, with natural flying movements, like a sudden rain and whirlwind, changing at any time. Calligraphy is straightforward, ever-changing, and full of rules. Li Zhimin, a professor at Peking University and the founder of introducing monuments to cursive scripts, commented: "Huaisu's cursive script has a graceful spirit in its rush and ease, and a pure and honest spirit in its wildness."
The calligraphy works handed down from generation to generation include "Autobiography Calligraphy", "Xiaocao Thousand Character Essay" on paper, "Bitter Bamboo Shoots Calligraphy", "Notre Dame Calligraphy" and "On Calligraphy Calligraphy".