However, the "ancient rhyme" in Zhao Meng's calligraphy has not been paid attention to by later calligraphers and theorists, and it is even quite critical.
For example, Xiang Mu commented on Zhao Meng's elegance in calligraphy:
Ruofu Zhao Mengzhi's book, gentle and elegant, seems to be passed down by the right army, charming and delicate, and is extremely lacking in big festivals.
Bao and Kang Youwei are even more impolite, calling (Zhao Meng's calligraphy) "pampering kindness" and "hurting cowardice".
Why do these calligraphers and theorists seem to disapprove of Zhao Meng's efforts at that time? What made them make such comments?
Let's go back to Zhao Meng and 1286.
Throughout Kublai Khan's life, there is a very special time point, that is, A.D. 1286, which is also the most important turning point in Zhao Meng's life. This year, Cheng Jufu, then 37 years old, visited celebrities in the south of the Yangtze River in the name of Kublai Khan and invited them to work for the imperial court. And before he left, Kublai Khan specifically told Cheng Jufu that he must invite Zhao Meng to come out of the mountain. In order to show his attention, he specially wrote a letter in Chinese to order him to bring it, and Cheng Jufu said that he would not bear the great trust.
In fact, this is not the first time someone has invited Zhao Meng to come out of the mountain. This time, however, Cheng Jufu seems ready. After a detailed conversation, Zhao Meng finally agreed to Cheng Jufu's invitation and promised to be an official.
Zhao Meng promised a strange thing, but it was not difficult to analyze.
If you want to answer all this clearly, you must start with Cheng Jufu.
Cheng Jufu is a typical Han Chinese who was born in the Southern Song Dynasty and appreciated the Yuan Dynasty. Different from Zhao Meng's distinguished life experience, Cheng Jufu lived in a typical bureaucratic family with a profound family background, but he was not a big official. The court in the Southern Song Dynasty was selfish and could not really use and tap talents, so Cheng Jufu had no chance of promotion.
1258, Kublai Khan sent troops south, and the Yuan Dynasty overthrew the Southern Song Dynasty. Finally, a huge ethnic minority country in the sense of territory was re-established, and this drastic political change gave Cheng Jufu an excellent opportunity.
1276 Yuan army will attack, and Cheng Feiqing will offer the city to lower Yuan, because Cheng Jufu is the heir of his uncle, and he will go to Beijing as a hostage. This is the most important turning point in Cheng Jufu's life. Shortly after this trip to Beijing, Kublai Khan suddenly met Cheng Jufu and someone asked him who he was. Cheng Jufu was so responsive that he was deeply loved by Kublai Khan. At that time, he said to Cheng Jufu:
I think this person's appearance should be different.
Therefore, Kublai Khan immediately entrusted an important task to Cheng Jufu, one of the few southerners who was reused by Kublai Khan. As a "southerner", Cheng Jufu was still discriminated against in the social atmosphere at that time, so he used his relationship with Kublai Khan to persuade Kublai Khan to reuse "southerners". To this end, he also wrote a special letter asking Kublai Khan to set up "Chinese studies" and attach importance to cultural construction.
In fact, these words are in Kublai Khan's heart.
Obviously, we are thinking about this matter from Kublai Khan's point of view. Although Yuan Zaju unified the Central Plains after the Battle of Yashan, it was only a temporary and stable unification in the territory. There is still a deep gap between people living in all corners of the Great Yuan Empire, especially between the Han people who were called "southerners" at that time and the rulers-Mongols, and there is a very sharp class division.
And these Kublai Khan are very clear. He knew that the unification of an imperial territory was not a long-term solution after all. Only by integrating and maintaining people in various places can we achieve long-term stability.
Therefore, it is natural for Cheng Jufu to be appreciated and reused.
Cheng Jufu is also very clear about how to maintain and maintain his communication with the Mongolian upper class and how to use his identity as a adherent of the Southern Song Dynasty to realize the unity of the two opposing groups.
So when Zhao Meng met Cheng Jufu, Cheng Jufu must have told Zhao Meng this truth, otherwise Zhao Meng wouldn't have agreed to go out so easily.
Judging from Zhao Meng's actions after Japan, Zhao Meng basically determined his political role in the Yuan Dynasty according to this idea. In the task of integrating and maintaining the two opposing groups of Jufu, the important task of cultural construction falls on Zhao Meng.
In his later years, Fu Shan was finally able to give Zhao Meng a fair evaluation from the perspective of pure art. Two souls who have been fiddled with the fate of the times also reached a real understanding on the night of Fu Shan's Holding a Candle.