Zhao (1829- 1884), a native of Huiji, Zhejiang, whose real name is Lengjun, was later named Bei 'an. In his early years, Zhao's calligraphy was mainly based on Yan Zhenqing's brushwork, and later on Deng's brushwork, he mixed the brushwork of seal script and official script, and learned the brushwork of twenty regular scripts in Longmen, which made the newly built Weibei brushwork charming and graceful under the brushwork of seal script and official script. As far as his seal script is concerned, the lines are smooth and smooth, and he doesn't shy away from using the side pen in turn, and sometimes he deliberately uses the side pen, which makes the seal script full of charm.
I studied calligraphy since I was a child, and I have a wide range of knowledge. I used to make a living by painting and calligraphy. I took three exams and failed. At the age of 44, he was the editor-in-chief of Jiangxi Tongzhi. He served as the magistrate of Poyang, Fengxin and Cheng Nan, and died in office. He is good at figures, landscapes, especially flowers. At first, he painted beautifully. Later, he adopted the methods of Xu Wei, Zhu Da and Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics. His pen and ink tend to be indulgent, with vigorous and free brushwork, rich colors and innovative ideas. His calligraphy began in Yan Zhenqing, and later he took the inscriptions of the French Northern Dynasties. His regular script is tactfully written and is called "Di Wei's face"; On the basis of Deng, seal script combines Wei Bei's brushwork, which is unique and can also be used as a cursive script based on Wei Bei.
Zhao Chu copied eight seals from Xiling, and after Huizhou School, he added imperial edicts, Han mirrors, coins, tiles and clay seals, forming a unique style with changeable composition and fresh artistic conception, and creating a new frontier style. His art organically combined poetry, calligraphy, painting and printing, which had a great influence on the art world in the late Qing Dynasty. Many of his paintings and calligraphy works have been handed down from generation to generation, and later generations have edited and published a variety of picture albums and collections, including the biography of an ascetic monk, the poem of an ascetic monk, Dan Xian, the epitaph of traveling all over the world, the notes of the Six Dynasties, etc., and printed with the seal of two gold stacks.
The prosperity of Kanggan lasted for nearly a hundred years, and it didn't enter the decline until Jiaqing and Daoguang for more than a hundred years, until the demise of the Qing Dynasty. Looking back on the history of calligraphy in the past 100 years, there is a distinctive feature of the times: all famous calligraphers learn from the inscriptions of Han and Wei dynasties and use them as the basis for innovation and change. In addition to regular script and running script, they also made seal script and official script, two long-lost books, shine again. Known by Kang Youwei as "the founder of epigraphy", Deng and Yi Bingsui, a great official calligrapher, entered Jiaqing era in their later years. Others such as Wu Xizai, He, Yang Shoujing, Yu Pi, Yang Guan, Hao Changshuo, Shen and Kang Youwei were all famous calligraphers in this period. In this era of ever-changing and innovative writing style, Zhao has a very unique attitude …
He dabbled in all kinds of calligraphy styles and left many excellent works, which can integrate the brushwork of original works, cursive script, official script and seal script. Taking running script works as an example, Zhao can integrate the dignity of seal script, official script and regular script into this elegant and free cursive script, which shows Zhao's inner feelings and spiritual outlook. At the same time, he was also an outstanding painter and seal engraver in Qing Dynasty. Zhao is proficient in calligraphy and painting, and is good at calligraphy. He is a beginner in Yan Zhenqing, and he also accepts both the North and the South. He sought brushstrokes when painting flowers and vegetables. His brush strokes are smooth, ink and wash blend, and the colors are rich and sincere. He combined the advantages of Xu Wei and Yuan Zhen in Ming Dynasty and created his own unique painting style. Zhao Ceng said: "Being alone is expensive, the world is big, and people often talk about it. Being alone is hard to find." He made unremitting efforts in poetry, calligraphy, painting and meaning all his life, and finally became a master. Zhao created a new style of freehand brushwork flowers in the late Qing Dynasty and created many works with modern flavor. At first, seal cutting was to learn from Zhejiang School and Huizhou School. Later, it absorbed ancient coins, mirror engraving and inscriptions into printing, which broke through the printing norms of Qin and Han Dynasties, paid attention to rules and regulations, was vigorous and powerful, quiet and beautiful, and was not innovative. Sometimes, although his official seal works have some ink seepage, the wonderful feeling shown by his sharp brushwork has to be amazing.