Zhao Mengfu was a great calligrapher and painter in the early Yuan Dynasty. His calligraphy is beautiful, elegant and free, and he is known as Zhao Ti. Together with the Ou, Yan and Liu families, they are also known as the Four Families. It has a profound influence on the Ming and Qing Dynasties as well as modern and contemporary times.
He was originally a descendant of the royal family of the Southern Song Dynasty. After the fall of the Song Dynasty, he knelt down and became an official in the Yuan Dynasty. His national integrity has been criticized by future generations. In the Yuan Dynasty, he tried his best to please the Mongolian upper class in order to gain promotion. In addition, he was jealous that the great calligrapher Xian Yushu of his generation was more talented than himself, so he purchased a large number of Xian Yushu's calligraphy works and destroyed them so that they could not be circulated in the world. Finally, he was framed to death.
Therefore, some people think that Zhao Mengfu’s soft and charming handwriting reveals his servility. However, the contradiction between the art of calligraphy and his personality also made him the most controversial figure among calligraphy critics of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.