2007-11-27 20:28 Chinese folk tales - Liu Gongquan practicing calligraphy
Liu Gongquan was a native of Liujiayuan in Zhaohuayuan, Jingjing, Tang Dynasty (now Yaoxian County, Shaanxi Province). When he was a child, his handwriting was very bad, and he was often scolded by his husband and father because of his crooked handwriting. Xiao Gongquan is very strong, and he is determined to practice calligraphy well. After more than a year of hard practice day and night, his handwriting has improved greatly. Compared with his friends of the same age as Liu Jiayuan, his handwriting has become the best in the village.
From then on, his big calligraphy was praised by his classmates and teachers. Even his stern father had a smile on his face. Xiao Gongquan felt very proud.
One day, Liu Gongquan and several friends set up a square table under the old mulberry tree next to the village and held a "book meeting". They agreed that everyone would write a piece in regular script and watch each other's competition. Gongquan quickly wrote an article. At this time, an old man selling tofu nao put down his burden and came to rest under the mulberry tree. He watched the children practice calligraphy with great interest. Liu Gongquan handed over what he had written and said, "Grandpa, do you think my writing is great?" The old man took it over and looked at it, and saw that it read "Can write about the Feifeng family" , dare to praise in front of others." The old man felt that the child was too proud, frowned, and thought for a while before saying: "I think this word is not well written, and it is not worth boasting in front of others. This word seems to be in my burden. They are just like tofu brains. They are soft, have no muscles or bones, and have no body. Is it still worthy of being praised in front of others?" Several friends stopped their pens and listened carefully to the old man's comments. The young man saw that the old man was writing his own words. He spoke in a complete mess and said unconvinced: "People say my handwriting is good, but you say it's not good. If you have the ability, write a few words and let me see!"
The old man smiled heartily. He laughed and said: "I don't dare to take it, I don't dare to take it! My old man is a rough man and can't write Yu well. However, there are people who can write much better with their feet than you! If you don't believe it, go to Huajing City and have a look. Come on!"
At first, Xiao Gongquan was very angry, thinking that the old man was scolding him. Later, I thought of the old man's kind face and hearty laughter, and it didn't seem like he was scolding him, so I decided to go to Huajing City to have a look. Huajing City is more than 40 miles away from Liujiayuan. The next day, he got up at five o'clock, quietly left thousands of notes for his family, and went to Huajing City alone with a steamed bun bag on his back.
As soon as Liu Gongquan entered Shoumen of Huajing City, he saw a white cloth hanging under a big locust tree on North Street, with three big characters "calligraphy and painting soup" written on it. There were many people gathered under the tree. He squeezed into the crowd to take a look and was stunned. I saw a dark, thin, deformed old man with no arms, sitting on the ground with bare feet, his left foot pressing the paper on the ground, and his right foot holding a large pen, writing couplets with great ease. He used his pen like a god, and his handwriting was like a galloping horse, dancing dragons and phoenixes, which won bursts of applause from the onlookers.
Only then did Xiao Gongquan realize that the old man selling tofu was not telling lies. He was extremely ashamed and thought to himself: Compared with the calligraphy and painting soup grandfather, I am really far behind. He knelt down in front of Calligraphy and Painting Tang with a "plop" and said: "I would like to worship you as my teacher. My name is Liu Gongquan. Please accept me. I hope the master will tell me the secret of writing..." Calligraphy and Painting Tang hurriedly put down the pen in his foot and used He picked up Xiao Gongquan by his feet and said: "I am a lonely deformed person. I was born without hands and cannot make a living. I have to rely on my clever feet to make a living. Although I can write a few crooked characters, how can I be a role model for others?"
After Xiao Gongquan begged again and again, Calligraphy and Painting Tang spread a piece of paper on the ground, lifted the pen with his right foot, and wrote:
"Write all the eight tanks of water, and the inkstone dyes the waterlogged pond black. ;
Only when you win hundreds of parents can you win."
The old man said to Gong Quan: "This is the secret of my writing. I have been writing with my feet since I was a child. I have been practicing for more than 50 years. There is a large tank in my house that can hold eight loads of water. I use up eight tanks of water to practice calligraphy and ink. There is a pond with a size of half an acre outside my house. I finish writing every day. I was washing my inkstone in the pool, and the water was completely black. However, my calligraphy was still far from perfect."
Liu Gongquan kept the old man's words firmly in his heart, and he thanked me deeply. Calligraphy and painting soup, I reluctantly went back.
From then on, Liu Gongquan worked hard to practice calligraphy, and his hands became thick with calluses, and his clothes and elbows were patched up layer after layer. He learned the freshness and plumpness of facial expressions, the cheerfulness and smoothness of European style, the bold and unrestrained style of calligraphy and painting, and the graceful charm of imperial style. He often watched people skinning cattle and picking sheep, studying the skeleton structure, and got inspiration from it.
He also paid attention to the geese in the sky, the fish in the water, the running elk, and the unrestrained horses, and integrated all the beautiful forms in nature into the art of calligraphy.
Liu Gongquan finally became a famous calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty of my country. His characters have a rigorous structure, a balance of hardness and softness, and are clear and open. They are cherished by the calligraphy circle and are known as "the muscles of the face and the bones of the willows." However, Liu Gongquan was still very dissatisfied with his handwriting until he was old. In his later years, he lived in seclusion in the Stork Que Valley (now known as Liugou) in the south of Huajing City, specializing in calligraphy and practicing calligraphy diligently until his death at the age of 88.