Liu Gongquan was one of the famous calligraphers of the Tang Dynasty. Gongquan was the successor of Yan Zhenqing, but his calligraphy style was unique. So, how much do you know about Liu Gongquan? The following is an introduction to Liu Gongquan that I compiled for you. I hope it can help you.
Liu Gongquan’s growth experience
Liu Gongquan’s success in calligraphy was by no means achieved overnight. His journey can be roughly scanned in four phases (this only describes his regular script, see Liu Gongquan for cursive writing) View of book flow? Part).
Early Years
This period is from the twenties to the sixties. Song Zhao Mingcheng's "Jinshilu" records: In the seventeenth year of Zhenyuan (801), when Liu Gongquan was 24 years old, he wrote the stele "Hedong Jieduli Li Shuo Stele"; this stele was written by Zheng Dan, and the original stone was lost in Luoyang, but One might imagine that it is the book of young Yanhua. In the fifteenth year of Yuanhe, at the age of forty-three, Liu wrote the "Stele of Zuo Changshi Xue Ping"; in the fourth year of Changqing (824), when he was forty-seven, he wrote the "Inscription on the Pagoda of Zen Master Dajue" and so on. Although these writings no longer exist, it can be seen that his calligraphy skills in his twenties have been valued by the society, otherwise he would not be favored by these powerful people. Liu Zai's works before he was fifty years old can only be seen today in "Thirteen Lines Postscript to Luo Shen Fu" and "Diamond Sutra Engraved on Stone" (Dunhuang version) (see introduction below). It can be seen from this that he learned the calligraphy style of Chui Yao and Wang Xizhi, and imitated the postures of Yu Shinan, Ouyang Xun, Chu Suiliang, and Lu Jianzhi.
Liu Gongquan’s works after he was fifty years old, according to "Inscriptions on Gold and Stone", include: "Monk Nirvana Stele" (51 years old), "Li Sheng Stele" (52 years old), " Wang Bo's Monument" (53 years old), "Epitaph of Wei Wenke, the Supervisor" (54 years old), Taiqing Palace Bell Inscription (54 years old), "Mr. Shengxuan Liu's Monument" (56 years old) , "Inscription on the Bell Tower of Huiyuan Temple of the Tang Dynasty" (59 years old), "Stele presented to Taiwei Wang Zhixing" (59 years old), etc. After Liu turned fifty, he only had the "Li Sheng Stele", the "Bell Tower Inscription of Huiyuan Temple of the Tang Dynasty" and the ink "Postscript to Sending Pear Posters", showing the general appearance of his regular script. Although it can be seen and progressed, it has not yet been completed. Kang Youwei said: "Liu Chengxuan studied "Pingxiwang Stele" from "Yique Stone Niche" but did not have the spirit to do so, and his physique was not yet mature. Liu Gong was already over forty years old at that time, and the book was like this. It can be seen that it is not easy for famous writers in ancient times to do it. , later generations may call this stele, but they have not yet understood the calligraphy. ? ("Guang Yi Zhou Shuang Yi") If Liu Gongquan could not live a long life, then before the age of sixty, although he had a good reputation, he could not become a giant in the book world.
Heyday
In the ten years after the age of sixty, Liu Shu entered its heyday, like the sun in the sky. During this period, the documents contained nearly twenty steles, such as the "Feng Su Stele", the "Stele of Cui Zhen, the Doctor of the Jin Department", the "Stele of Wei Yuanyu, the Supervisor of the Huainan Army", and the "Stele of Fu Phosphorus, King of Yiyang County". "Mysterious Tower Stele" and "Shence Army Stele" are typical examples of willow style and are the most famous.
By the time "Mysterious Tower Stele" and "Shence Army Stele" were completed, their willow bodies had been completed. It changed into the plump style of the mid-Tang Dynasty, with deep pen force, sharp and fast, focusing on squares and supplementing them with circles, and showing thin, hard and strong lines between the squat front and the thin lines. This is ?Willow bone? (explained below). The strokes have their own faces. The longer horizontal strokes are thin and stretched, while the shorter horizontal strokes are thicker and more powerful. The vertical strokes are thicker than the horizontal strokes, so they are used as the main strokes to look for changes. The longer strokes are lighter and the shorter strokes are different. Heavy; the attack must be heavy, showing strength; the hook, kick, and challenge must be sharp and then come back quickly. The willow script on the knot is also similar to Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy that shows people from the front. The left and right sides are more evenly balanced, but the length is long and the momentum is dense in the middle and sparse in the outer. In terms of the overall style of calligraphy, the willow style is like "Yuanmen Private Soldiers, and the environment is guarded" (Cen Zongdan's book review): "The calligrapher said that when the hawk is frightened, it avoids the approaching bird, and the hungry eagle descends (Wei Xie), which is not enough to describe its eagerness." (Wang Shizhen's "Chibei Ou") talk"). Willow style has strict laws and regulations, and the face has changed from the fatness of face to body, and it has become fresh, straight, thin, hard and spiritual. In the late Tang Dynasty, it aroused people's appreciation for willow style with a new calligraphy style and its charming beauty.
Mid-term
Liu Gongquan
In the ten years after he turned seventy, Liu Gongquan entered a new period of development.
There are many records in books and tablets at this stage. According to the Records of Gold and Stone, there are "Shang Yu Xinyi Ji" written when he was seventy years old, "Stele of Wang Qi, the Jiedushi of Shannan West Road", etc., written at the age of seventy-one. There are nearly ten works including the "Niu Sengru Monument", the "Prince Taifu Liu Mian Monument", and the "Puguang Wang Temple Monument" written by the 73-year-old. Only the "Prince Taifu Liu Mian Stele", "Wei Gongxian Temple Stele", "Gao Yuanyu Stele" and so on can be seen.
From the above steles, we can see that Liu Gongquan seems to want to create a new realm after the "Mysterious Tower Stele" and "Shence Army Stele" which vividly exposed the willow body. I want to use lightness and clumsiness to penetrate the brushwork, simplicity to penetrate the structure, and elegance to penetrate the charm. Therefore, in the middle period, the brushwork that was like a knife cutting steel was somewhat restrained, the exposed ribs and bones were somewhat hidden, and the severe and severe wind edges were restrained somewhat. Yang Shoujing of the Qing Dynasty had a particularly deep understanding of this. He said: "Fu Lin Stele", "Wei Gong Xian Temple Stele", "Liu Mian" and "Feng Su" all restrained their talents and ended up being elegant. ("Xue Shu Yi Yan") He even believed that the monument "Gao Yuanyu" was particularly perfect. Although "Fu Lin Stele" (61 years old) and "Feng Su Bei" (60 years old) were both written before the age of 70, the changes after the age of 70 have their ideological roots already hidden there. However, the "willow bones" have been forged over many decades, and Liu Gongquan has never been able to take on a new look. I can only see the charm of Liu Shu during this period.
Late period
In the eight years after the age of eighty, Liu Gongquan entered the late period of his life and calligraphy creation. He still allows life and calligraphy art to nourish each other: life moves forward in the creation of calligraphy art, and calligraphy art embellishes and shines on life. When he was eighty-seven years old, he still wrote the "Stele of Wei Mo, the Prince's Taibao" (recorded in "Bao Ke Lei Bian"). From his representative work "Fudonglin Stele", we can see that the sunset glow of the last period of his life was reflected in the words of the stele. That kind of style is no longer like the brilliance of the morning sun, full of vitality, nor like the scorching sun at noon, but a brilliant sunset; the sharpness of the pen turns to the inside, the charm is close to nature, and the purpose of the whole article is the same as the grandeur. Transformation of affinity is the result of Zongjiang's mental realization in his later years and his old writing style. Like an enlightened man, Liu Gongquan walked deep into the green mountains, climbed to the top, and finally disappeared in Shan Ali, carving the soul of his books into the peaks of calligraphy. The story of Liu Gongquan
1. Liu Gongquan’s apprenticeship? The old man with calligraphy?
Liu Gongquan, a great calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty, could read poems and write articles at the age of twelve, and he could write well. He was called a child prodigy, so he gradually became proud.
One day, Liu Gongquan and his friends were sitting under a tree with writing bowls. At this time, an old man selling tofu bread came over. Liu Gongquan proudly took his handwriting and said to the old man: "Grandpa, look at me." Is the writing great? The old man said: "The writing is like my tofu brain, soft and without bones." Liu Gongquan was very unconvinced and insisted on asking the old man to write a word and read it. The old man said: "I can't write well, but there are people who can write better with their feet than you can with their hands. If you don't believe me, go to the city tomorrow and have a look." ?
The next day, Liu Gongquan came to the county town. As soon as he entered the city gate, he saw a sign hanging on the big locust tree on North Street. There were three big words: "calligraphy and painting soup", and many people gathered under the tree. . I saw a thin, dark old man with no arms, sitting on the ground with his bare feet, pressing the paper on the ground with his left foot, and holding a pen between his right foot to write couplets. He wrote very well.
Liu Gongquan was both ashamed and admired when he saw it. He wanted to become his teacher and ask him for the secret of writing. This old man only used his foot to pick up the pen and wrote: "After writing Eight Tanks of Water, I dyed one pool of water black and learned from the strengths of others." He also said: "I was born without hands and have been writing with my feet for more than 50 years. I am still far behind!" ? Liu Gongquan was deeply touched after hearing this. He worked hard from then on and finally became a great calligrapher of a generation.
2. Fearless spirit
Liu Gongquan was a great calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty. Once, when he went to the capital for business, the then emperor Tang Muzong said: "I have seen your calligraphy in the Buddhist temple, and I have long wanted to see you."
In order to commend Liu Gongquan, the emperor promoted him Then he asked Liu Gongquan how to use the pen. He replied: "Only when your heart is upright can you hold the pen correctly, and only then can it be called calligraphy."
"
Tang Muzong immediately changed his expression, thinking that Liu Gongquan was using his writing skills to give him advice. In ancient times, subordinates would be easily beheaded if they said a bad word. Liu Gongquan dared to say this, and it showed His fearless spirit in telling the truth. Liu Gongquan’s famous works
Liu Gongquan wrote a lot of books and monuments in his life. Here is an introduction to some of his representative works:
1. "Diamond Sutra Engraved on Stone" (824, when he was forty-seven years old) Liu Gongquan's official script was engraved on a horizontal stone, with twelve pieces and eleven characters in each line. The original stone was destroyed in the Song Dynasty. The only Tang rubbing was found in the Dunhuang Grottoes. Now in the collection of the Paris Museum. This is an early representative work of Liu Shu (it may be said that it was written by Liu Gongquan, a scholar from the Dunhuang Grottoes, but it is undoubtedly of the Liu style). His writing is precise and meticulous, and his writing is thin, powerful and charming. The structure is meticulous, with a long and longitudinal shape, a narrow central palace, and spread out in all directions. The "willow bones" can be seen for the first time here, and the collection of Liu's books can also be seen here: "Cheng Xuan Shu Jingang". Liu Jue said that there are styles written by Zhong (Yao), Wang (Xizhi), Ou (Yangxu), Yu (Shinan), Chu (Suiliang), and Lu (Cambodia). Now that I have examined his calligraphy, it is truly a masterpiece. , especially valuable? ("Guangchuan Book Postscript")
2. "Li Sheng Stele" (829, when he was fifty-two years old) The stele is located in Gaoling County, Shaanxi Province. The stele is one foot high from the forehead. It is four feet two inches wide and five feet eight inches wide. It has thirty-four lines and sixty-one characters. It is written by Liu Gongquan and has a seal seal on it. "Gengzi's Notes on Spending Summer" says: "Although the characters are peeling off, they are still upright and distinctive, and can still be discerned." Compared with the "Diamond Sutra", they are more decisive, sharp and sharp, and the stipples are crisp and clear. , upright and unconventional, but the knotting in some places seems restrained and cramped
3. "Inscription on the Bell Tower of Huiyuan Temple" (836, when he was fifty-nine years old) The stone is placed horizontally, with four sides. Eleven lines, two crosses, engraved by Shao Jianhe and unearthed outside Hepingmen, Xi'an City in November 1986. This stele is meticulous and meticulous, using mainly square pens, supplemented by round pens. , strong, clear and healthy. Its structure is often misaligned to seek changes. For example, the left radical of the left-right structure of the characters "Qiao", "Zhong", "Lou", etc. is moved upward to form a knot with a short left and a long right. Seeking charm and interest in balance.
4. "Feng Su Bei" (837, when he was sixty years old) was written by Wang Qi, and was written in seal script by Liu Gongquan. Forty-one lines and eighty-three characters are preserved in the forest of steles in Xi'an. The book is refreshing and vigorous, and seems to indicate that a more refined "Liu style" will be born in the next five or six years. Among them, "Xuanmi Pagoda" and "Shen Cejun" were published one after another, becoming the standard of regular script for thousands of years. "Gengzi Xiaoxia Ji" quoted Yang Yongxiu as saying: "Chengxuan's Feng Shangshu Stele" is inferior to (Yu Shinan's) "Tiantang". ?"Graphite Engraved Hua" says:?The willow script on this stele is slightly better than that of the "Xuanmi Pagoda Stele", and it is not as good as Xue Jiyan's "Temple Stele". ?
5. "Fu Lin Stele" (838, when he was sixty-one years old) Li Zongmin wrote the text, Liu Gongquan wrote it with seal script on the forehead, and Shao Jianhe engraved it. There are thirty-one lines and sixty-two characters. The stele is one foot high and four feet five inches wide. It is the most important of the willow stele. The stone was destroyed in Fuping County during the ten years of turmoil. This stele has enjoyed a great reputation throughout the ages, and is recorded in "Inscriptions on Stones", "Mysterious Pagoda Stele", "Bao Ke Lei Bian", "Jiu Gu Qiu Zhen", etc. Although the characters of this stele and the "Fengsu Stele" are smaller than that of the "Mysterious Tower Stele", they are equally powerful, profound in calligraphy, meticulous in structure, and full of spiritual principles. Sun Chengze's "The Gengzi Spends Summer" says: His book also has the feeling that the beauty of Chanjuan is overwhelming to Luoqi. ?This means that there is a beautiful color in the vigorous.
6. "Mysterious Pagoda Stele" (841, when he was sixty-four years old) Pei Xiu wrote the text, Liu Gongquan wrote it and sealed it on the forehead, and Shao Jianhe and Shao Jianchu engraved it. ***Twenty-eight lines, fifty-four characters, the stone is preserved in the Forest of Steles in Xi'an. Wang Shu of the Qing Dynasty said in "Xuzhou Inscription and Postscript" that sincerity is a work of great refinement. ?Ming Dynasty Wang Shizhen's "Yanzhou Mountain Manuscript" says: ?This stele is the most exposed in the willow book.
?Its bones are strong, the muscles and bones are exposed, and it is strong and charming; the knots are long and thin, and the sizes are quite staggered. They are full of clever changes, looking forward to the flying spirit, and the Qi pulse flows through the lines. There is no imperfection in the entire stele, and it can be described as exquisite.
7. "Shence Military Stele" (843, when he was sixty-six years old) This stele was written by Cui Xuan, and Liu Gongquan received the imperial edict, recording that Li Yan, Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty, visited Zuo Shence's army. The stele was erected in a forbidden area of ??the imperial palace, and rubbings could not be passed on casually, so it was rarely circulated. The Beijing Library has a collection of rubbings from the Northern Song Dynasty. This stele and the "Mysterious Tower" are two years apart. The overall style is similar, the rules are rigorous, and the spirit is strong, but there are some differences. "Mysterious Tower" is very strong and strong, while this stele is strong; the former is very exposed, while the latter is condensed and gentle; the former is more charming, while the latter is more solemn. The engraving work on this stele is also extremely fine, and it may be considered that Liu Shu is the best one handed down from generation to generation. Sun Chengze said: The gentle and respectful tone of his calligraphy is his most proud stroke. ?Liu Gongquan's regular scripts have the most profound influence on "Shence Army Stele" and "Mysterious Tower Stele".
8. "Liu Mian Stele" (848, when he was seventy-one years old) Liu Gongquan's book, written by Wei Bo, Yuan Du's copy and seal script, thirty-seven lines in regular script, sixty-five characters in each line . The font of this stele is small, but the calligraphy style is strong and elegant. Yang Shoujing's "Xue Shu Yi Yan" noted its "elegant" characteristics. A closer look at the tablets reveals that most of them use round pens, such as the character "国". The right corner is rounded, and the right corner is straight down, also in the shape of a crossbow. From "Situ" to "Situ", the right side suddenly bends down, showing a clumsy attitude. The structure of the characters "Situ" and "道" are also wrong and show clumsiness. After the age of seventy, Liu Gongshu also changed. This stele and those with similar styles such as "Fu Phosphorus Stele", "Wei Gong Xian Temple", "Liu Mian" and "Feng Su" all have the style of restraining talent and subduing it, and ultimately being elegant.
9. "The Temple Monument of Duke Wei" (852, seventy-five years old) was written by Cui Yu of the Tang Dynasty and written by Liu Gongquan. The main script has 36 lines and six crosses. It was originally in Xi'an. The stele is broken and the stones are scattered, and the polishing is incomplete. Only five stones were originally added. The year when the stele was erected is unknown. Wang Chang's "Jin Shi Cui Bian" puts it at the end of Xiantong (874), and "Bao Ke Lei Bian" puts it at the sixth year of Dazhong (852). Cui Wen's stele is elegant and Liu's calligraphy is vigorous. If you look closely, it has reached a state of elegance. The strokes of the strokes are quite slanted, such as the horizontal character of ? on top and the horizontal character of 五?; the knot characters are quite tilted, such as the center of gravity of 事? In this business, you can play with the left and the right.
10. "The Stele of Gao Yuanyu" (853, when he was seventy-six years old), written by Liu Gongquan and written by Xiao Ye, in Luoyang, Henan. The stele is more than one foot high and four feet wide, with thirty-three regular scripts. OK, OK, seventy-nine words. The seal script on the forehead is a monument given by the former Minister of the Ministry of Officials of the Tang Dynasty to the Right Servant of the Minister She Bohai Gaogong Shinto Stele. It has four lines and twenty crosses. Kang Youwei said: "The Monument of Gao Yuanyu" has the atmosphere of a dragon jumping and a tiger lying down. ("Guang Yi Zhou Shuang Yi") "Xue Shu Yi Yan" written by Qing Yang Zhong Shoujing says: "Gao Yuanyu" is a particularly perfect monument. Since then, although there have been authors, they cannot open their own doors. ?The dragon is jumping and the tiger is crouching? This is a metaphor for the power of his calligraphy. The latter said that it was perfect and had reached the state of perfection.
11. "Fu Donglin Temple Stele" (857, when he was eighty years old)