Yu Shinan was born in the second year of Chen Yongding in the Southern Dynasties (558). His father Li Yu, his brother Yu Shiqi and his uncle Yu Ji are all famous. Yu Ji had no children and Shinan adopted him, so the word "Bo Shi" was used.
Yu Shi Nan 'an has no desire, and concentrates on his studies. When he was young, he studied under Mr. Gu, a county writer. After studying hard at the cold window 10 years, he never forgets to eat and sleep. Chen Wendi knew that he was well-read, so he called Wang Fa Cao of Jian 'an to join the army. Chen and his brother, Shijie, entered Chang 'an with the same name. In the great cause of the Sui Dynasty, he was awarded the Secretary Lang and moved to Sheren. But Yang-ti thought it was just and upright, so he refused to move up at 10. Yu Shiqi was regarded as a confidant by Emperor Yangdi because he was good at flattery. As a result, he and Yang-ti were killed by Yu Wenhuaji. In the fourth year of Wude (62 1), Li Shimin, king of Qin, appointed Yu Shinan as the Qin government to join the army, and then moved to the Prince's government. After Li Shimin acceded to the throne, he became a writer and bachelor of Hong Wen Pavilion, and later he was transferred to the post of secretary supervisor.
Yu Shinan studied calligraphy from Shaoxing master Zhiyong when he was young. Zhiyong is the seventh grandson of Wang Xizhi, a book sage in Jin Dynasty, and he has Wang Xizhi's original works handed down from generation to generation. Thus, Yu Shinan got the essence of Wang Shuzhen and became a great master. The Monument to the Confucius Temple written by him in his later years was called the treasure of calligraphy art in China, so that Huang Tingjian sighed "Where can I buy two thousand gold?". It is said that when Emperor Taizong studied calligraphy from Yu Shinan, he found the "Ge" method the most difficult to operate. Once he wrote the word "Yan", he left the right side blank, asked Yu Shinan to make it up, and then asked for comments. Wei Zhi said: "The words written by the emperor are only as eye-catching as those written by Ge and Shinan!" After hearing this, Emperor Taizong was greatly surprised.
Yu Shinan is weak in appearance, but strong in will. He argued and dared to remonstrate. He used natural disasters such as the Longyou landslide to persuade Emperor Taizong to rectify the prison and help the victims. He also used astrological variation to persuade Taizong to guard against arrogance and rashness, and to be as cautious as before; When Emperor Taizong was preparing for a thick burial, he quoted the previous code law and advocated a thin burial. In his later years, Emperor Taizong liked to hunt in the wild, and also advised him to "stop hunting cars" so as not to disturb the people. Emperor Taizong praised this: "If all the ministers are in the south, why should the world care!" It is also said that Shinan has five unique qualities, such as morality, loyalty, erudition, and prose. He is a "contemporary famous minister, and his morality is accurate."
When he ascended the throne for the first time, Yu was nearly seventy years old. At that time, he asked to retire and was not allowed. It was not until the twelfth year of Zhenguan (638) that he was allowed to retire. He died in May of that year at the age of 8 1. Emperor Taizong "cried bitterly" for his death, and asked him to bury Zhaoling with him, give the history of rites and posthumous title Wen Yi, and paint his portrait on Lingyange. Yu Shinan is really "deeply grieved".
At present, there is a site of Dingshui Temple in Xiejia Village of Heming Town. According to legend, this was the former residence of Yu Shinan. Lidu Lake is in the east, and there are two mountains of Qinglong and Baihu in the northwest. The bamboo spring is green and the scenery is deep. This is a fascinating place. It is a good idea to establish a Cixi calligraphy art center here, not only to commemorate Yu Shinan, but also to prosper contemporary calligraphy art.