Liu Gongquan is famous for his regular script. Together with Yan Zhenqing, he is also known as "Yan Jin Liu Gu". His representative works include: "Shence Army Stele", "Mysterious Tower Stele", etc. But Liu Gongquan is not just a calligraphy style called "Liu Ti", like the running script works mentioned on the first floor.
Liu Gongquan was born in the 13th year of the Dali calendar of Emperor Daizong of the Tang Dynasty (778 AD) - the 6th year of Xiantong Yizong of the Tang Dynasty (865 AD). He was 88 years old. He was a native of Jingzhao Huayuan (now Yaoxian County, Shaanxi Province). Gong To Prince Shaoshi, he was known as "Liu Shaoshi" in his later life. He first studied Wang Xizhi and studied the calligraphy of Ouyang Xun and Yan Zhenqing, and then became his own regular script writer. Therefore, it is known as "Yan Jin Liu Gu". Mu Zong asked Liu Gongquan about the method of using the pen, and Gongquan replied: "Use the pen with the heart, and the heart will be straight, and the pen will be correct." Mu Gong changed his appearance, just like his pen advice. "Mo Chi Bian" said: "Gongquan's official script and running regular script are the most exquisite, and the grass cannot be mastered. The method comes from the appearance, but adds strength and richness, and comes from the famous master." He first learned Wang Xizhi's brushwork, and then read it all over In modern calligraphy, he tried his best to change his military style, learned from Yan Zhenqing, and incorporated his own new ideas, so that his calligraphy avoided the trend of being thin horizontally and thick vertically. With a tight structure, many calligraphers in later generations took Liu Zi as a model.
He passed the imperial examination at the age of twenty-nine and served as a low-level official in the local area. Later, Emperor Mu Zong of the Tang Dynasty accidentally saw his handwriting. When he was a calligrapher, he was summoned to Chang'an by the imperial court. At that time, Liu Gongquan was already in his forties. His character was both strong-minded and meticulous, and his handwriting also revealed this part of his character. , which improved his reputation and status in Chang'an, and the princes and nobles spent huge sums of money to hire him.
After the prosperity of the middle Tang Dynasty, calligraphy in the late Tang Dynasty flourished and declined. Although Liu Gongquan had a temporary revival, However, compared with Yan's calligraphy, there is still a slight distinction between calligraphy and calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty. The brushwork is thin and sharp, and although it was written by Yan Zhenqing, it is different from Yan Zhenqing's broad and generous style, which makes him particularly heroic.
Liu Gongquan died at the age of eighty and served seven emperors in his lifetime. , and finally the prince died in office.
His many writings have been handed down from generation to generation, among which the most prominent ones include "The Mysterious Tower", "The Tablet of Shencejun", and "The Diamond Sutra". /p>
1. "Shence Jun Stele": regular script, established in the third year of Huichang in Tang Dynasty (AD 843). It is one of Liu Gongquan's masterpieces. It has a more distinctive calligraphy style than the "Mysterious Tower" known to later generations. , the structure is smooth and even, tight on the left and relaxed on the right, which is also a good example for writing.
2. "Liu Shu Diamond Sutra": regular script, inscribed in April, Changqing year of Tang Dynasty (AD 824). The original stone was destroyed in the Song Dynasty. There is an only copy of the Tang inscription from the Dunhuang Stone Chamber in Gansu Province, which is now in the Paris Museum in France. Critics believe that the Diamond Sutra in regular script has the characteristics of Zhong (Yao), Wang (Xizhi) and Ou (Yang Xun). , Yu (Shinan), Chu (Suiliang), and Lu (Dongzhi) have high artistic value.
3. "Xuanmi Pagoda Stele": regular script in the first year of Huichang in the Tang Dynasty. It was erected in February of last year (AD 841). The original stele is now in the Forest of Steles in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. This stele is one of the most influential regular script examples in history.