Dong Qichang's calligraphy achievement is also very high. Dong's calligraphy attainments are the highest in cursive script, and he is also quite conceited about his regular script, especially small script. Although Dong Qichang was in the era when calligraphy was popular in Zhao Mengfu and Wen Zhiming, his calligraphy was not blindly influenced by these two calligraphy masters. His calligraphy combines the calligraphy styles of Jin, Tang, Song and Yuan, and forms its own system. His calligraphy style is elegant and ethereal, elegant and self-sufficient. The brush strokes are elegant and plain. Use a pen accurately, always keep a positive face, and rarely use a pen that is depressed and dull; In terms of composition, word for word, line for line, branch layout, density symmetry, and strive to catch up with the ancient law. Ink is also very particular, dry and wet, wonderful. Calligraphy in Dong Qichang can be said to be a masterpiece of ancient methods, and the "six styles" and "eight styles" were all refined by him. At that time, it was "famous abroad, lacking in size, spreading among the people, and competing for beauty." (Biography of Wen Yuan in Ming Dynasty). Until the middle of Qing Dynasty, Kangxi and Qianlong took Dong Shu as the patriarchal clan system and praised him. They even copied Dong's books themselves, often listed on the right side of the seat, and read them in the morning and evening. Kangxi once wrote a long postscript praising his ink: "Hua Ting Dong Qichang's calligraphy is very different. Its elegance and roundness are popular between Chu and Mo, which is beyond the reach of many scholars. Every time you are not careful, you will be unique, such as a breeze blowing and Wei Yun winding, which is quite natural. Taste its structural fonts, all from the Jin people. Gai spent most of his life in Ge Tie, in Lanting, winning teaching, and he was able to move his wrist, but his pen rotation seemed clumsy. ..... Yan Zhenqing, Su Shi and Mi Fei are all good at eliciting their talents with grandeur and preciseness, but they are all Jin people. Zhao Mengfu is the second largest king. Its prosperity and origin are integrated, so it is necessary to copy the ideas of various schools, and the spirit of beauty and embellishment is unique. Cursive scripts are also arranged vertically and horizontally, which I appreciate very much. Its use of ink is wonderful, and the shade is unique. I copied the most, and every time I said that Tian Zi had excellent skills, it was not easy. " It is said that Kangxi also wrote "Shu Dong" by himself, which made Shu Donghong popular for a while, and there was a craze for Manchu people to learn from Shu Dong. For a time, the pursuit of fame and fortune almost always took Shu Dong as a shortcut to official career. On the occasion of Kangxi and Yongzheng, his calligraphy had a far-reaching influence, which was unmatched by other calligraphers.
Dong Qichang didn't leave a book monograph, but his experiences and opinions in practice and research can be found in a large number of inscriptions and postscript. Dong Qichang has a famous saying: "Jin people's books take rhyme, Tang people's books take method, and Song people's books take meaning." This is the first time in history that calligraphy theorists defined the aesthetic orientation of calligraphy in Jin and Tang Dynasties with three concepts: rhyme, method and meaning. These viewpoints have played a good role in explaining and guiding people to understand and learn classical calligraphy. Dong Qichang was diligent in painting and calligraphy all his life and enjoyed a long life. Therefore, many works have been handed down, including Pipa Xing by Bai Juyi, Poems of Haicheng, Imperial edict of III, Poems in cursive script, Postscript of Jiang Yan's Piles, Poems Before and After Nikuanzan's Red Cliff, and so on. [6]
Excerpt from Baidu Encyclopedia Dong Qichang