Tan studied Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy all his life. During the Republic of China, his strict regular script, together with Yu Youren cursive script, Wu Zhihui seal script and Hu Lishu, was called "the four masters of official script of true grass seal script", and his strict accomplishment was comparable to that of Ganfeng in Qing Dynasty. Tan said: "If you look at the pens used by the ancients, you will know the right and wrong of today's people, and then art will progress." What is his "secret of success" in learning Yan calligraphy? It can be summarized as three aspects: first, "taking the law"; The second is "look in the mirror" and the third is "read more books".
Second place: Zekai Yan (Zi Zutong, calligrapher)
Tan's younger brother, like his older brother, learns calligraphy. Both of them are "taking law as the top priority" and Yan Zhenqing as their ancestor. In his early years, he studied Yan Zhenqing's "The Monument to the King of Jin" and "The Monument to Zang Huaike", from which he learned the soothing and powerful brushwork. Later, he learned Weng Tonghe's "clumsy and heavy" brushwork, which made his brushwork more vigorous and firm.
Third place: Duanmucai (sub-domain, writer)
Duanmu studied calligraphy since childhood and studied under Yan Zhenqing all his life. He can not only write big characters, but also small ones. The handwriting is beautiful and accurate. The meaning of writing in pen is similar to "Ma Gu Xian Tan Ji" and "Dong Fangshuo Hua Zan Bei".
Fourth place: (Father of Zhou, diplomat)
Wang Rongbao studied Yan Zhenqing's "Many Pagodas and Monuments" first, then Dong Fangshuo's "Painting Praise Monuments", and borrowed from the works of Qing Dynasty calligrapher Weng Tonghe. Its words are dignified and gentle, and the stippling is round and firm. Few famous artists are regular and not rigid.