■ Special contributor Ren Daobin (professor and doctoral supervisor of China Academy of Fine Arts)
From the age of five, Zhao Mengfu began to learn calligraphy, and he kept reading and writing until his death. It can be said that his love for calligraphy has reached a soft spot. Taking Wang Xizhi's Preface to Lanting Collection and Zhiyong's Collected Works of Wang Xizhi as examples, he began to learn calligraphy. Later, he studied Wang Xianzhi, Zhong You, Li Yong, Song Gaozong and so on. And read hundreds of calligraphy works widely. He has always been dominated by two kings, dating back to the style of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. With Zhao Mengfu's vigorous advocacy, the situation that the "book style" of Su, Huang, Mi and Cai dominated the whole country has been improved since the Song Dynasty, and Wang Xizhi's calm book style, which is not radical, beautiful and correct, has been revived.
Among Zhao Shu's books, the greatest achievement should be the earliest person to spread cursive script, which has been handed down from generation to generation and has the greatest influence on future generations. His cursive script went straight into the room of the right army, beautiful and natural, just like a famous person in Wei and Jin Dynasties, with a charming charm and a farewell speech handed down from generation to generation (now in Liaoning Provincial Museum). Thirteen Prefaces to Lanting Collection (now in Kojima)? "Red Cliff Fu" (now in the National Palace Museum in Taipei) can be seen. His cursive script is free and easy, elegant and elegant, and his brushwork is skillful, but there is no hasty disadvantage, which can be seen in his letters, such as Ming with the Book,? "He Xian Zai Shu" (now in the National Palace Museum in Taipei) and so on.
Zhao Mengfu's regular script works are also wonderful, among which small script is particularly important to the world. Writing Buddhist scriptures, Taoist scriptures and famous Confucian articles often ends with a thousand words, and the words are beautiful, vigorous, smooth, continuous and vivid. And Hokkekyo? Heart Sutra (now in Liaoning Provincial Museum)? Tao Te Ching? Luo Shenfu (now in the Palace Museum) has been handed down from generation to generation. Zhao's big letters, however, never lose the Tang Dynasty's face pen and Liu's frustration, but increase the strength of soaring and steep drawing, and the charm flows, winning the hearts of Jin people, such as "Master Danba Monument" and? Qiu Hua Tombstone Inscription? Epitaph of the late general manager Zhang Gong (now in the Palace Museum), etc.
Among Zhao's specialties, it is quite distinctive. He mainly wrote the emperor's urgent chapter, although it was engraved, but because he was familiar with the statutes of the two kings, his urgent chapter (now in the Liaoning Provincial Museum) had no jujube flavor, and his pen was strong and powerful; Books in his later years are vast, elegant and simple. Although Zhao's is different from the simple style of Han bamboo slips, from the perspective of literati calligraphy, its style is unique, exquisite and quite creative. His dear John letter? Cursive scripts such as Ode to Wine and Morality have also been incorporated into many brushstrokes of Cao Zhang, and become the pioneering arrows of calligraphers Kang Lizi, etc. in Yuan Dynasty and Ming Dynasty.
Zhao Mengfu is also good at seal script, which is simple and elegant, yet elegant and beautiful. He combines the taste of stone with the taste of pen and ink, such as the epitaph of Zhang Gong, the general manager? Wait; His official script method, Liang Hu and Zhong You, is graceful, steady, smart, flexible and full of bones and muscles. We can appreciate the graceful and dignified charm of his official script in Six Topics of Ganzi Wen.
Throughout Zhao's calligraphy, there is always an elegant charm. In the process of learning ancient law, no matter what he learned from ancient law, he replaced it with a "neutral" attitude. Zhong You's simplicity and composure, implication and elegance in meaning, and Li Yong's rising and arrogance can all be integrated into his works, but there is no lack of strength in luxuriance, sweetness and vulgarity in elegance, elegance in elegance and elegance in elegance. Amin He called him "a great calligrapher after the Tang Dynasty" in The Four Friends. Wang Shizhen called him "up and down for 500 years, a Wan Li vertically and horizontally" in Notes of Mountain Hall. "Two kings of retro style, creating a generation of ethos" is not empty talk.