: The "Four Great Masters of the Early Tang Dynasty" refers to the four calligraphers of the early Tang Dynasty: Ouyang Xun, Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang, and Xue Ji. The top three are sometimes collectively known as the "Three Great Masters of the Early Tang Dynasty".
Ouyang Xun (557-641 AD) was a calligrapher in the early Tang Dynasty. Zi Xinben, a native of Linxiang, Tanzhou (now Changsha, Hunan), entered the Tang Dynasty from the Chen and Sui Dynasties, and was deeply appreciated and valued by Li Shimin. He successively served as a bachelor of Hongwen Hall, a male of Bohai County, and an official to the crown prince, and he was known as "Ouyang Shuigeng" in the world. He has extensive knowledge of classics and history, and compiled 100 volumes of "Yi Wen Lei Ju". I first studied calligraphy from Erwang, and later studied Qin, Han, seal script, and Wei stele. The regular script is strong and sharp, the laws are strict, and it is dangerous in the middle of the ordinary. It is known as "European style" and "Shuigeng style" in the world. Weng Fanggang of the Qing Dynasty commented in "Fuchuzhai Collected Works": "Thousands of households have perfect rules and regulations. This covers all families and has procedures for hundreds of generations." Among the calligraphy works passed down, the regular script stele includes "Jiucheng Palace Liquan Inscription" ", "Inscription on Zen Master Yong's Pagoda in Huadu Temple", "Stele of Yu Gonggong Wen Yanbo", "Stele of Huangfu's Birthday", "Epitaph of Yao Bian", "Stele of Wen Yanbo", etc. The official script steles include "Stele of Fang Yanqian", "Stele of Huangfu". "Tang Zong Sheng Guan Ji" and so on. In cursive script, there are "Zhang Han Si Yu Tie", "Meng Dian Tie", "Bu Shang Tie", "Thousand Character Wen", etc., and in cursive script there is a fragment of "Thousand Character Wen". Calligraphy theories include "On the Use of Brushwork", "Thirty-Six Methods", "Eight Secrets", etc. There are biographies in Volume 189 of "Old Book of Tang" and Volume 198 of "New Book of Tang".
Yu Shinan (558-638 AD) was a calligrapher in the early Tang Dynasty. The courtesy name is Bo Shi, a native of Yuyao, Zhejiang Province. He most served as an official in the Chen State. In the Sui Dynasty, he served as Secretary Lang. After entering the Tang Dynasty, he was introduced by Taizong to join the army of the Prince of Qin. Later, he served as Secretary Supervisor and was granted the title of Prince of Yongxing County. He was known as "Yu Yongxing" in the world. He has a quiet and taciturn personality, a weak appearance, but a strong will. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty said that Yu Shinan had the five qualities of "virtue, loyalty, erudition, diction, and calligraphy". He compiled my country's first genre book "Beitang Shuchao", which collected 160 volumes of ancient books. His two masters of calligraphy are mellow and elegant, soft on the outside and strong on the inside. The most famous calligraphy works circulated are "Stele in the Temple of Confucius" and "Preface to the Theory of Breaking Evil". His running ink writings include "Epitaph of Princess Runan" (suspected to be a Song copy); calligraphy theories include "Book Purpose" and "Guanxue Chapter". ", "The Essence of Writing". Xiang Mu of the Ming Dynasty commented on "Yayan on Calligraphy": "The wisdom of Shinan Chuan contains hardness and softness, the intention is pure, and the calligraphy is charming and extraordinary, but its strength is a bit broad." Volume 7 of "Old Book of Tang Dynasty" 12. There are biographies in Volume 102 of "New Book of Tang".
Chu Suiliang (596-658 AD) was a calligrapher in the early Tang Dynasty. The courtesy name was Dengshan, a native of Qiantang (now Hangzhou, Zhejiang). In the last years of Zhenguan, he and Changsun Wuji were ordered by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty to assist in government affairs. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong, they were granted the title of Duke of Henan, and they were known as "Chu Henan" in the world. He served as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and Youpushe of the Minister of Civil Affairs. Later, because he opposed Gaozong Li Zhi's establishment of Wu Zetian as queen, he was demoted to Yuanzhou (now Thanh Hoa, Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam) as the governor. He died a year later. The calligraphers Ouyang Xun, Zhiyong, and Erwang were familiar with the Han Dynasty official script, and they studied the Ritual Vessel Stele the most deeply. The calligraphy on this stele is exquisite and elegant, and is praised for its thinness and thickness. Chu changed the official script into regular script, so that the calligraphy is both square and round. , graceful and gorgeous, known in the world as "Qingsuo Chanjuan, incomparable to Luo Qi". He was also good at identifying the authentic works of the two kings and was the authority at that time. The popular calligraphy works include "Yique Buddhist Niche Stele", "Master Meng Stele", "Yanta Sacred Preface", "Da Zi Yin Fu Jing", "Thousand Character Essay", "Fang Xuanling Stele" and "Withered Tree Fu" , "Taizong's Mourning Book", "Ni Kuan's Praise", "Qing Yu's Epitaph", etc. Liang Gong's "Pingshu" of the Qing Dynasty said of him: "Chu's writing is empty, his writing is agile, he is thin, hard and straight, which is of course a masterpiece. However, he is frivolous and less calm, so the ancients had the idea of ??being frivolous and later learning." "Old Book of Tang" There are biographies in Volume 80 and Volume 15 of "New Book of Tang".
Xue Ji (AD 649-713) was a calligrapher and painter in the early Tang Dynasty. His courtesy name was Sitong, a native of Fenyin, Puzhou (now Wanrong, Shanxi). He was Wei Zheng's nephew, Jing Longzhong. He was appointed as a bachelor of Zhaowen Hall and Ruizongli. He was worshiped as the Minister of Zhongshu, participated in military affairs, succeeded Prince Shaobao, and was named the Duke of Jin for his meritorious service. He was known as "Xue Shaobao" in the world. Later, he was ordered to die in prison because he foresaw Dou Huaizhen's plot to murder Xuanzong. Yu Shinan and Chu Suiliang studied calligraphy and were Chu Suiliang's favorite disciples. People at the time said: "Buy Chu to get Xue without losing his integrity", which shows that he was "sharp and refined in imitating". "Guangchuan Book Postscript" says that he "has the same bloodline as his master, so he is close to Chu. As for his thin brushwork and smooth knotting of characters, he is in a class of his own."
The thinness of the brush is exactly what Song Huizong followed in his "Thin Gold Book". Xue Ji could paint figures, Buddha statues, trees, rocks, flowers and birds, and was especially famous for painting cranes. At that time, he left many paintings in Chang'an, Luoyang, Sichuan and other places. The six-fan crane screen he created was also copied and imitated by others. Until the emergence of Huang Quan in the Five Dynasties, Xue Ji's crane paintings were always recognized as unsurpassed and exquisite. Skill, but unfortunately the work has not been handed down. The calligraphy includes "The Monument of Zen Master Xinxing".
The calligraphy of the four masters of the early Tang Dynasty has a unique feature, that is, the style of regular script is "delicate, thin and vigorous". Among them, Ouyang Xun's regular script is more prominent and has made the greatest contribution, and is closely related to the later styles. Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan, and Zhao Mengfu are collectively known as the "Four Masters of Regular Script". His "Jiucheng Palace" has always been regarded as a model for learning regular script.
The "Four Great Masters of the Early Tang Dynasty" refers to the four calligraphers of the early Tang Dynasty: Ouyang Xun, Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang, and Xue Ji. The first three are sometimes collectively called the "Three Great Masters of the Early Tang Dynasty".
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Ouyang Xun, Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang, Xue Ji