Yan Jin Liu Gu
Overview
"Yan" refers to Yan Zhenqing, and "Liu" refers to Liu Gongquan. Chinese calligraphy reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty, and a number of famous calligraphers emerged, among whom Yan and Liu were the representatives.
Yan Zhenqing, courtesy name Qingchen, was born in Jingzhao Wannian (now Xi'an, Shaanxi Province). He learned calligraphy at home, but he was dissatisfied with it. He once worshiped the calligrapher Zhang Xu as his teacher, and also learned from the calligraphers Cai Yong, Wang Xizhi and others of the previous generation. He took the strengths of hundreds of schools of thought and integrated them into a coherent whole. His regular script is solemn and majestic, with strong writing power, mellow and full-bodied.
Liu Gongquan, courtesy name Chengxuan, was born in Huayuan, Jingzhao (now Yaoxian County, Shaanxi Province). He first learned Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, and later studied the calligraphy of Ouyang Xun and Yan Zhenqing, incorporating his own ideas into his work. His regular script style is powerful and charming, his bones are strong and his body is tight, which makes him particularly heroic.
Later generations commented that Yan Zhenqing's characters had many "tendons" and Liu Gongquan's characters had many "bones", so there is a saying of "Yan Jinqing Liu Gu".
"Steel" has multiple meanings. It may refer to the edge of the pen, or it may refer to the connection of the tendons and veins when writing with the pen hanging from the wrist. Yan Shu has more muscle strength, so it is called "Yan Jin". "Bone" refers to the word "bone" which is strong, powerful and powerful. Liu Shu is obviously explicit, so it is called "Liu Gu". Generally speaking, Yan Shu's strokes are plump and upright, while Liu Shu's strokes are clear and skeletal.
Story Tips
Yan Zhenqing was very talented when he was a child, and his grandfather began to teach him to read and write very early. During his studies, Yan Zhenqing became obsessed with calligraphy.
At the age of twenty-six, he passed the Jinshi examination and was sent to Liquan County (today's Shaanxi Province) as a county captain in charge of local security. Although he is usually busy with official duties, he never forgets to practice calligraphy. Later, he simply resigned and came to Luoyang, hoping to become a disciple of calligrapher Zhang Xu. Zhang Xu looked at Yan Zhenqing's handwriting and said, "Your handwriting is already very good. As long as you practice diligently, you will make progress. There is no need to become a disciple." Seeing that Zhang Xu refused to take him in, he left. Soon, he came to apprentice again. Zhang Xu was moved by his sincerity and happily accepted this apprentice.
Yan Zhenqing’s calligraphy has made great progress since becoming a disciple of Zhang Xu. One day, Zhang Xu asked Yan Zhenqing: "Zhong Yao of the Three Kingdoms summarized the method of writing books in twelve words. Do you know?" Yan Zhenqing said "flat, straight, even, dense, sharp, powerful, light, decisive, supplementary, and damaging." These twelve words are "qiao, qiao". Zhang Xu asked again: "Then do you know what it means?"
Yan Zhenqing shook his head in confusion. Zhang Xu said: "These twelve characters are the essence of calligraphy. Now I pass them on to you. The word 'flat' means that the horizontal strokes must be written flat, but not too flat, and must be vigorous and not rigid; the word 'straight' means It means that when drawing vertically, the strokes should be relaxed, not skewed or distorted, and should be straight even if they are not straight; 'even' means that the gaps between the strokes should be even and natural, not too dense or sparse; 'dense' means that the joints of the strokes should be No trace should be revealed; 'Feng' means that the end of each stroke must be well written to make it strong and strong; 'Li' means that the words should be written with strong bones; 'Light' means that the strokes should be written at the turning point and should be strong. Pass it over gently; the word 'jue' means that you must be bold and resolute when writing, and not be timid and hesitant; the word 'make up' means that if the first few strokes are not written well, you must try to make up for it with the following strokes; the word 'loss' is When it comes to writing, it should make people feel that there is more meaning that has not yet been expressed, and make people think about it; 'qiao' means that the shape and structure of the characters should be varied; 'proportion' means that the stroke structure of the characters should be well-proportioned, The layout of the article must also be of appropriate size and density, so that the words will look balanced. When practicing calligraphy, as long as you pay attention to writing according to the requirements of these twelve words, you will be able to write them well. ”
After hearing this, Yan Zhenqing said thoughtfully: "Sir, you spoke so well. I understand the method and essence of writing."
After that, Yan Zhenqing followed the teacher's instructions and The handwriting is better. Gradually, he was no longer satisfied with imitating other people's works, so he integrated the strengths of his predecessors and created a new font, which later generations called "Yan Ti". Beginners to calligraphy can avoid detours by learning to write Yan style characters.
Knowledge Base
Liu Gongquan became a disciple of the "Old Man of Script Calligraphy"
Liu Gongquan, a calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty, was able to write well at the age of twelve and was known as child prodigy.
One day, Liu Gongquan and his friends were writing and playing under a tree. An old man selling tofu came over. Liu Gongquan took his handwriting and proudly said to the old man: "Grandpa, do you think my writing is great?" The old man said: "This character is written like my tofu, soft and without bones." Liu Gongquan was not convinced and asked the old man to write it. The old man said: "I can't write well. There are people who can write better with their feet than you. You can go to the city tomorrow and have a look."
The next day, Liu Gongquan came to the city and left. After a while, I saw many people gathered under a big locust tree. A thin, dark old man who had lost both arms was pressing the paper on the ground with his left foot. He was writing a couplet with a pen under his right foot. The handwriting was very good. Liu Gongquan felt very ashamed and wanted to become his teacher and ask him for the secret of writing. The old man picked up the pen with his foot and wrote: "After writing eight tanks of water, one pool of water was dyed black." After hearing this, Liu Gongquan was very touched. From then on, he worked hard and finally became a great calligrapher of the generation.