Anyone who knows Mr. Liu knows that Mr. Liu has a good memory and is very talkative. No matter how funny and humorous he is, he is not disgusted by any words no matter how harsh. But one important characteristic is that I rarely talk about calligraphy.
I have been in contact with Mr. Liu many times, and I feel that Mr. Liu’s understanding of calligraphy, his pursuit of calligraphy, his evaluation of contemporary calligraphers, and his understanding of calligraphers active in Shaanxi calligraphy circles are all very important. Very clear. But on most occasions, he remained silent, "not angry, not outraged, not angry," and often said innocuous words such as "Hahaha about the weather today." Mr. Liu's attitude towards calligraphy enthusiasts is: "Don't enlighten Chaos." He borrowed the words from "Zhuangzi", "If you enlighten Chaos, he will die." Another sentence has a similar meaning: "If you can teach, teach it; if you can't teach, try it (meaning to deceive)." These two sentences may seem harsh, but in fact they clearly show that Mr. Liu has some blind comments. "A blind donkey eats grass" is the attitude of a beginner who does not pay attention to strengthening the cultivation of traditional cultural skills. The ancient sages believed that there are "three joys" in life, one of which is "to obtain and educate talented people from all over the world." This kind of "talents" are hard to come by. Mr. Liu understands this better than anyone else. He does not talk about calligraphy with others, mainly because he has not found anyone to talk to. One year (June 13, 1997), Mr. Li Zhengfeng came forward and invited Mr. Liu to gather with his colleagues from the "Calligraphy Education News". Mr. Liu talked about calligraphy from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m., during which time he even wrote a few words. Vice couplet, and then everyone asked questions and he answered. Mr. Liu has a quick mind and a wealth of knowledge. He has no problem with calligraphy. This is the long article "Liu Zicheng on Calligraphy" that was later recorded by me (based on the recording at the time) and compiled by Mr. Li Zhengfeng, and published in "Calligraphy Education News" (Issue 99, December 1, 1997). This is a powerful counterattack to those who think Mr. Liu is "long-winded, confusing, and unclear in logic." Mr. Liu has never been confused all his life. He knows better than anyone else, but he just "doesn't enlighten chaos." Mr. Liu, a great calligrapher of his generation, passed away at the age of 88, which should be considered a rare longevity. I will discuss his contribution to contemporary Chinese seal script and his influence on later calligraphy in another article. In this article, it cannot be explained clearly in the short space.