Born in the first year of Emperor Yongding of the Southern Dynasties (557), he died in the fifteenth year of Zhenguan of Emperor Taizong (64 1). He was born in Linxiang (now Hunan) in Tanzhou. Known for regular script and running script. As the largest official calligrapher in the history of calligraphy, his handwriting is called "European style", which is as famous as Yan (Zhenqing), Liu (Gongquan) and Zhao ().