Portrait of Liu Gongquan
Liu Gongquan was born in 778 AD and died in 865 AD. * * * 88 years old, Tongchuan, Shaanxi. Liu Gongquan was born in an official family. His father, once a secretariat, and his brother, Liu, were a famous official in the Tang Dynasty. Liu Gongquan, who was born in an official family, was influenced by his family since childhood and was very talented in literature. At the age of twelve, Liu Gongquan was able to write poems and fu. At the age of twenty-nine, Liu Gongquan took the imperial examination and won the Jinshi in one fell swoop, thus becoming a North Korean official and a school bookkeeper.
Politically, Liu Gongquan served as a scribe in Tang Muzong, Tang Jingzong and Tang Wenzong. During his stay in Korea, Liu Gongquan dared to make bold suggestions and was appreciated by Tang Wenzong. On one occasion, Tang Wenzong talked about the frugal living habits of Han Wenzong, taking his sleeves as an example, claiming that he had washed this dress three times. All the ministers present praised the thrifty character of literate Sect, only Liu Gongquan remained silent. Wenzong asked him why he didn't speak. Liu Gongquan said that the monarch's big festival is to appoint talents and listen to the advice of loyal ministers. Washing clothes is just a trivial matter, and the monarch should not take a fancy to it. Tang Wenzong appreciated Liu Gongquan's remonstrance and appointed him as remonstrance doctor. After Tang Wenzong's death, Tang Wuzong acceded to the throne, and Liu Gongquan was appreciated and reused by Tang Wuzong, and was appointed as Prince Taibao. After Liu Gongquan died, the emperor gave him the surname of Prince.
In calligraphy, Liu Gongquan copied and studied the works of calligraphers such as Wang Xizhi and Zhong You, and carried out reform and innovation on this basis. In the direction of regular script calligraphy works, he carefully studied Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy techniques and fonts, and then integrated and innovated, creating Six Styles. Liu Gongquan's Liu Ti works have also become one of the representatives of "Tang Shu Shang Fa".
Which dynasty did Liu Gongquan belong to?
Liu Gongquan, a famous calligrapher and writer in Tang Dynasty, is one of the "four masters of regular script" and enjoys a high reputation in the calligraphy field. Engraving the Diamond Sutra, Mysterious Tower Monument and Su Feng Monument are Liu Gongquan's classic works.
Appreciation of Liu Gongquan's Works
Liu Gongquan was born in 778 AD in Tongchuan, Shaanxi. Liu Gongquan was born in an official family. His father, once a secretariat, and his brother, Liu, were a famous official in the Tang Dynasty. Liu Gongquan, who was born in an official family, was influenced by his family since childhood and was very talented in literature. At the age of twelve, Liu Gongquan was able to write poems and fu. At the age of twenty-nine, Liu Gongquan took the imperial examination and won the Jinshi in one fell swoop, thus becoming a North Korean official and a school bookkeeper.
Liu Gongquan worked as a library assistant in Tang Muzong, Tang Jingzong and Tang Wenzong. At that time, Liu Gongquan's brother Liu knew that Liu Gongquan loved calligraphy, so he wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, hoping that the Prime Minister would let Tang Wenzong change his brother Liu Gongquan to a sinecure and let him learn calligraphy. Soon, Liu Gongquan was transferred to the Hong Wen Pavilion and received a bachelor's degree. Shortly after Liu Gongquan left, Tang Wenzong missed him very much and called him back as a librarian. In addition, during his stay in North Korea, Liu Gongquan dared to put forward bold suggestions, which was appreciated by Tang Wenzong. On one occasion, Tang Wenzong talked about the frugal living habits of Han Wenzong, taking his sleeves as an example, claiming that he had washed this dress three times. All the ministers present praised the thrifty character of literate Sect, only Liu Gongquan remained silent. Wenzong asked him why he didn't speak. Liu Gongquan said that the monarch's big festival is to appoint talents and listen to the advice of loyal ministers. Washing clothes is just a trivial matter, and the monarch should not take a fancy to it. Tang Wenzong appreciated Liu Gongquan's remonstrance and appointed him as remonstrance doctor.
The Secret of Liu Gongquan's Calligraphy Practice
There was a river ditch where Liu Gongquan lived when he was a child. According to local people, the bottom of this river ditch is still black. At the river ditch, there is a naturally formed "inkstone platform". If you look closely, you can see that the stones at the bottom of the river are also a little dark. This is the result of Liu Gongquan's "writing eight jars of water, inkstones stained with black pools". It is because of Liu Gongquan's diligent study and practice that he became a generation of calligraphy masters.
Liu Gongquan's works
Liu Gongquan once watched an old man with no arms write with his feet, and his handwriting touched Liu Gongquan deeply. The old man's handwriting flew freely and won bursts of applause. Liu Gongquan was amazed. Liu Gongquan knelt on the ground, hoping that the old man would accept him as a teacher. The old man laughed at himself for his humble origins and his inability to be a model. Under the pleading of Liu Gongquan, the old man took out a piece of paper and wrote: Write down eight jars of water, inkstone stained with black water, and win over hundreds of parents before dragons and phoenixes can fly. Then, Liu Gongquan encouraged himself to study hard and practice calligraphy. In addition, in order to make his handwriting beautiful, Liu Gongquan is good at observing the movements and trends of animals in life, and he can feel the morphological changes from their movements. Liu Gongquan often goes to other people's homes to observe the scene of killing cattle and peeling cowhide. After the butcher cut the meat, only the skeleton of the animal was left. Liu Gongquan studied animal structure from it to get inspiration from calligraphy.
Birds in the sky and animals on the ground are the objects of Liu Gongquan's observation. He combined animal dynamics with calligraphy writing and practiced for a long time. Fonts become more elegant and dynamic, fonts are more distinct, and there is skinny beauty. All this is inseparable from Liu Gongquan's long-term hard practice.
Liu Gongquan's heart is straight and straight.
On one occasion, when watching Liu Gongquan's handwriting, Tang Muzong lamented Liu Gongquan's good handwriting and praised his beautiful handwriting.
Liu Gongquan's works
He asked Liu Gongquan what secrets he had in calligraphy practice. Liu Gongquan said to Tang Muzong: "Use a pen in your heart, your heart is right, your heart is just like thinking, and your pen is thick." There is a pun in this sentence by Liu Gongquan. He not only told Tang Muzong about his calligraphy skills, but also told Tang Muzong from the side that he needed to manage state affairs "honestly". This sentence is Liu Gongquan's calligraphy experience. As a calligrapher, Liu Gongquan needs to concentrate on writing works. Only after his mind is clear can he learn works that satisfy him. The so-called "using a pen in the heart" also reflects Liu Gongquan's attainments in "mind learning" from one side, aiming at integrating ethical concepts with calligraphy art. The sage's learning lies in correcting his mind and writing correctly, and so does practicing calligraphy works. The work that starts from the heart is the true portrayal of the heart.
In behavior, Liu Gongquan still insists on "honest" attitude. On one occasion, Tang Wenzong talked about the frugality of Han Wenzong's living habits, taking his sleeves as an example, claiming that he had washed this dress three times. All the ministers present praised the thrifty character of literate Sect, only Liu Gongquan remained silent. Wenzong asked him why he didn't speak. Liu Gongquan said that the monarch's big festival is to appoint talents and listen to the advice of loyal ministers. Washing clothes is just a trivial matter, and the monarch should not take a fancy to it. Tang Wenzong appreciated Liu Gongquan's remonstrance and appointed him as remonstrance doctor.
Liu Gongquan wrote the "posture of willow bones" lamented by the world with "mindfulness", and he also admonished the emperor with "mindfulness" and became a generation of famous ministers. And his thought of "correcting the heart and writing correctly" is even more respected by later generations. Su Shi, a great writer in the Song Dynasty, once wrote an article praising Liu Gongquan's thought of "correcting the heart and writing correctly".