Cai Yong in Han Dynasty was not only a writer, but also a famous calligrapher. Flying White Paper is his original work. What is a "flying white paper"? You will know after listening to this story.
Cai Yong is not a person who reads and writes behind closed doors. He travels a lot in order to capture inspiration and rich experience. On this day, he sent the written article to Hongdumen of the Royal Library. The people there are very arrogant, so anyone who comes will have to wait outside the door for a while. While Cai Yong was waiting for an interview, several craftsmen were painting the walls with brooms dipped in this lime water. He just stood by and looked at it.
At first, he just wanted to kill time. But looking at it, he can see some "doorways". I saw the craftsman go down with a broom, and a white mark appeared on the wall. Because the broom seedlings are thin, they can't be soaked with too much lime water, and the wall is not very flat, so after a broom goes down, there are still some places on the white road that show the wall. Cai Yong's eyes lit up when he saw it. He thought that before writing with a pen dipped in ink, the strokes were all black. Isn't it more vivid and natural to show some silk or paper with a black pen like a craftsman painting a wall? Thought of here, he suddenly fell into a mood. Hand in your article and run home at once.
Cai Yong returned home, forgot to rest, and prepared his own pen and ink. Thinking of the craftsman painting the wall, he began to write. Who knows it's easier to think of than to do? At first, the paper was not exposed or the exposed part was too hard. Far from being discouraged, he tried again and again. Finally, he mastered proper limit from the aspects of how much ink he dipped in, how much ink he used, and how fast he wrote. He wrote a faint white brush stroke in black, which made the words elegant and flying, and had a unique flavor.
Cai Yong's original style of writing soon spread and became a "flying white book". Until today, it has been used by calligraphers.
2 Xi is a goose (Jin)
Wang Xizhi loved writing since he was a child. It is said that when he usually walks, he also practices calligraphy with his fingers at any time. After a long time, even his clothes were cut. After studying hard and practicing hard, Wang Xizhi's calligraphy has reached a high level. Because of his noble background and outstanding talent, all the ministers in the imperial court recommended him to be an official. He is the secretariat and general of the right army (people also call him Wang Youjun). Later, he became an official in Huiji County. He doesn't like living in the bustling capital. He likes the beautiful scenery of Huiji very much. Whenever he is free, he will travel with his friends. On one occasion, Wang Xizhi and his friends gave a banquet in Yinshan Lanting, Huiji County. Everyone writes poems while drinking. Finally, Wang Xizhi wrote an article on the spot to commemorate this banquet, which is the famous Preface to Lanting Collection. Wang Xizhi's Preface to Lanting Collection has always been regarded as a treasure of China's calligraphy art, but its original work has been lost.
Wang Xizhi's calligraphy is becoming more and more famous. People at that time regarded his calligraphy as a treasure. It is said that once, he went to his protege's house, and the protege warmly received him. Sitting next to a new case, he saw that several cases were smooth and clean, which aroused his interest in writing, so he asked his protege to bring pen and ink. The pupils were so happy that they immediately brought the pen and ink to Wang Xizhi. Wang Xizhi wrote a few lines on several boxes as a souvenir and went back.
A few days later, the protected person was on a business trip. His father went into the study to tidy up, and when he saw that the new book case was stained with ink, he scraped off the words with a knife. When the protected person came back, the handwriting on several boxes had disappeared. The protected person has been worried about this for several days.
Another time, Wang Xizhi went to a village. An old woman went to a charity sale with a basket of hexagonal bamboo fans. That kind of bamboo fan is very simple, without any decoration, which can't attract the interest of passers-by. It seems that it can't be sold, and the old woman is very anxious. Seeing this situation, Wang Xizhi felt sorry for the old woman, so he went up to her and said, "You can't sell this bamboo fan because there are no pictures or words on it." How about I write an inscription for you? " The old woman doesn't know Wang Xizhi. Seeing his enthusiasm, she wrote him a bamboo fan.
Wang Xizhi took a pen, wrote five words on each fan and gave them back to the old woman. The old woman can't read, and she feels that his handwriting is scrawled, so she is very unhappy. Wang Xizhi comforted her and said, "Don't worry. You only tell the fan buyer that this is written by Wang Youjun. " As soon as Wang Xizhi left, the old woman did as he said. Collectors rushed to buy Wang Youjun's calligraphy after seeing it. A basket of bamboo fans soon sold out.
Many artists have their own hobbies, some love to grow flowers and some love to keep birds. But Wang Xizhi has his special hobbies. Where there are good geese, he is interested in seeing them, or buying them to enjoy. There is a Taoist in Yinshan. He wants Wang Xizhi to write a moral classic for him. But he knew that Wang Xizhi would not copy scriptures for others easily. Later, he found that Wang Xizhi liked white geese, so he specially raised a number of geese with good varieties. Wang Xizhi heard that there were good geese in Taoism, so he really went to see them. When he approached the Taoist priest's house, he saw a flock of geese floating leisurely on the surface of the river, with white feathers and high red tops. It was really cute. Wang Xizhi watched by the river and was reluctant to leave, so he sent someone to find a Taoist priest and asked to sell him the goose. The Taoist priest said with a smile, "Since the princes love eating so much, they don't have to spend any money. I'll give you all these geese. But I have a request, that is, please write a volume of scriptures for me. " Wang Xizhi did not hesitate to copy a scroll of scriptures for Taoist priests, and the goose was taken back by Wang Xizhi.
3 Wang Xizhi and Swan crossed swords.
Wang Xizhi loved to practice calligraphy since he was a child. When he was 7 years old, he learned calligraphy from the calligrapher Mrs. Wei. He concentrates on his efforts and makes progress every day. In less than three years, his pen was heavy and frustrated. In the calligraphy competition held by Langya Taishou, he won the first prize in one fell swoop, which shocked the famous calligraphers in Fiona Fang Baili. For a time, the praise was constant and the guests were full. Wang Xizhi, who just turned 10, can't help feeling proud under such circumstances.
One day, Wang Xizhi passed an alley and saw a group of people making noise in front of a restaurant. Especially the couplets on the shop door are particularly eye-catching. It says: delicious, famous, handsome and loved by everyone. The horizontal plaque says "Swan Jiaozi". But the words are lifeless, lack of kung fu and plain.
After reading it, Wang Xizhi curled his lips and thought, this kind of word that lacks kung fu can only be used in front of this humble alley shop to make a fool of himself! But he also thought: delicious, famous and handsome, everyone loves it. What's so surprising about jiaozi? Whose shop is this in jiaozi? How dare you be so arrogant!
When Wang Xizhi walked into the shop, he saw four large iron pots filled with boiling water and placed them under a screen. The wrapped jiaozi flew over the screen like white birds, and landed in the boiling pot impartially. The waiter in jiaozi's shop is busy greeting the diners. Each waiter is in charge of a pot. Count off: No.1 pot is half a catty, ok, 1 catty again. ""No.2 pot weighs half a catty. " "No.3 pot is 92 liang ..."
Curious, Wang Xizhi conveniently took out a few coppers, asked for half a catty of jiaozi and sat down. Jiaozi soon served on the table. He looked at it carefully. jiaozi here is really different, delicate and delicate, like a white swan frolicking in the water. Xiang Tiange is really great. He picked up a jiaozi with chopsticks, gently took a bite and sent it to his mouth. Ah, suddenly it's delicious. Before I knew it, I swallowed all the plates of jiaozi. After a full meal, it was really memorable.
Wang Xizhi couldn't help saying to himself, "This swan jiaozi really deserves its reputation." I thought to myself: It's just that the couplet at the door is so badly written that it really doesn't deserve this jiaozi. Why don't I, Wang Xizhi, take this opportunity to write another couplet for the hotel and live up to this delicious meal? Thinking of this, he asked the man, "Where is the shopkeeper?" The clerk pointed to the screen and said, "Hui Xianggong, the shopkeeper is behind the screen."
Wang Xizhi bypassed the screen and saw a white-haired old woman sitting in front of the chopping board, rolling dough and wrapping jiaozi. Fill in the stuffing, pinch it a few times quickly, and instantly turn into a skilled white swan. To his surprise, after jiaozi wrapped it, the white-haired woman threw jiaozi at the screen. Swan jiaozi flew over the screen one by one and landed in the pot. Every two or five, according to the number reported by the buddy, how much is put in each pot and the weight is exactly the same.
Wang Xizhi was amazed by the superb skills of the white-haired old woman. Quickly asked: "old man, how long will it take to practice your kung fu?" The white-haired woman replied, "To tell you the truth, it takes forty years to master it and a lifetime to practice it deeply."
Hearing this, Wang Xizhi couldn't help thinking silently and savoring the taste of this sentence. Then he asked, "You are so skilled, why don't you ask the people at the door to write better?" Not with this swan jiaozi! "
Wang Xizhi didn't ask how she was, but when she asked, the white-haired old woman became angry. She said angrily, "xianggong" doesn't know. It's not that I'm too old to invite, but it's not easy to invite! Take Wang Xizhi, who just appeared, for example. He was praised! To tell the truth, his little efforts in writing are not as profound as those I threw at jiaozi. Don't learn from him, as the saying goes: learning the sea is endless, and diligence can make up for it. The first row is proud and will eventually fall behind. "
The words of the white-haired girl made Wang Xizhi blush and feel ashamed. He respectfully wrote a couplet to the old woman. Since then, this swan jiaozi shop has hung up the couplets written by Wang Xizhi, and its business is getting more and more prosperous. This incident also changed Wang Xizhi's life and made him attached to geese all his life. Practise calligraphy more humbly and assiduously, learn from others' strengths, study the physical situation intensively, bring forth the old and bring forth the new, and create a vigorous and changeable new body with both form and spirit, which is famous all over the world. Become a famous calligrapher in the history of China.
Study hard and eat ink as a meal.
When Wang Xizhi was about five or six years old, Mrs. Bai Wei studied calligraphy for her teacher. His calligraphy has made rapid progress. At the age of seven, he was famous in the local area for his writing, which was very popular and praised by his predecessors.
When Wang Xizhi was 1 1, he read The Story of the Pen, which only adults could understand. He got up every morning and practiced writing in the dark according to the method described in Pen Shuo, which was simply fascinating. After a while, I looked at my handwriting, and there were some changes compared with what I wrote before. One day, his teacher, Mrs. Wei, was taken aback and said, "The child must have seen the secret of calligraphy. I found that his calligraphy has recently reached the level of an adult. In this way, my child's future achievements in calligraphy will definitely drown my reputation. "
Wang Xizhi was not complacent because of the teacher's praise. He worked harder and harder, even forgetting to eat and sleep.
Once at lunch, bookish, he brought his favorite garlic paste and steamed bread and urged him to eat it quickly several times. He still didn't even look up, as if he didn't hear, absorbed in reading posts and writing. The meal was cold, so Jibang had to ask Wang Xizhi's mother to persuade him to eat. Mother came to the study, only to find Xihe holding a steamed bread stained with ink and sending it to her mouth, making her mouth black. It turned out that when Xi Zhi was eating steamed stuffed buns, he was still looking at the words and thinking about how to write them in his mind. As a result, he mistook the ink for garlic. Mother couldn't help laughing when she saw this scene. Wang Xizhi still doesn't know what's going on Hearing his mother's laughter, he also said, "today's mashed garlic is really fragrant!" "
Wang Xizhi persisted for decades, studied hard, kept posting, and practiced very solid kung fu, which laid the foundation and paved the way for his future development.
Five night couplets
One year on New Year's Day, Wang Xizhi posted couplets three times in a row, and those who loved his words stole them. On New Year's Eve, I had to write another letter. He was afraid of being exposed again, so he cut it up and down and put it in half first. The first part is "double happiness" and the second part is "double misfortune". In this way, it really worked. When people saw that what he wrote was unlucky and not rich, they stopped revealing it. At the beginning of the new year, Wang Xizhi posted half a sentence each, and the couplet became: "Happiness never ends today, but it never rains but it pours last night." Hearing this, passers-by clapped their hands and sighed.
Six minutes into the Woods
Shops that used to do business generally had signboards, and they always gave their shop numbers auspicious names, such as "Guangyuan Ji", "Mao Yuan Ji" and "Kangtai Ji", and so on. Just say that there is a store that has a good business, expanded its facade, added goods and wanted a new signboard. Don't underestimate this signboard, it has a considerable impact on business. Therefore, signboards are generally made of good plates. Coincidentally, someone found a board that was once used to worship the gods, and the board was full of sacrificial words. At first, people didn't care. The shopkeeper had the strokes on the blackboard cleaned so that he could write new content. But after rubbing for a long time, the strokes on the board did not erase, but became clearer. If it can't be washed out, it will be planed, and the board will be planed for a layer, and the handwriting will be faintly visible; After scraping the board twice, the handwriting can still be seen. People are surprised: who wrote this word? It was so profound and powerful that an old gentleman who knew calligraphy came to see it and immediately cried in amazement. Looking at his amazing appearance, all the people present were very strange and gathered around to see. The old man said, "This is the handwriting of the great calligrapher Wang Xizhi! This word is too deep and powerful, really penetrating! "
Why is Wang Can Xi Zhi's calligraphy so extensive and profound? This is related to his regular exercise. There is a story of "abstaining from beads" to illustrate this point from the side.
It is said that Wang Xizhi has a beloved pearl. This pearl is not only for entertainment, but also for viewing. Wang Xizhi often rubs his hands when writing to enhance his wrist strength. One day, the pearl suddenly disappeared. I looked and looked, but I couldn't find it. Wang Xizhi is very upset. Who stole it? Except for a monk who lives in his house, no stranger has been around him ... so he became cold to the monk. The monk found that Master was suspicious of him, so he starved to death in the name of "making China". Later, when the family slaughtered the white goose, pearls were found in the belly of the big white goose. It turned out that the big white goose swallowed the beads. When things were made clear, Wang Xizhi deeply felt that he had wronged the monk, regretted it and was very sad. In memory of this innocent monk, he converted his house into "Zhu Jie Temple", saying that he should take the incident of throwing pearls as a lesson, treat his friends with sincerity, and don't easily doubt others and let them be wronged. As a calligrapher, Wang Xizhi not only pays attention to exercising wrist strength and enhancing writing ability, but also strictly demands future generations. His son Wang Xianzhi studied calligraphy under the guidance of his father when he was very young. On one occasion, Wang Xizhi stood quietly behind him in order to check his dedication. While he was concentrating on writing, he suddenly held the writing brush in his son's hand with his fingers and pulled it up. Who knows that the pen is tight and the brush is not taken off. Wang Xizhi was very satisfied with this, and he said happily; "This child will become a calligrapher in the future." And wrote a word on the spot to present it. This incident shows that the calligrapher's brushwork has been developed through hard work.
7 Bizhong (Tang Dynasty)
Zhiyong Zen master, born in Sui and Tang Dynasties, is the seventh grandson of Wang Xizhi. Because he practiced calligraphy very hard, all the broken brushes were discarded in the bamboo basket. After years of life, he accumulated five baskets, so he wrote an inscription and buried these pens, which is called the pen grave. It can be seen that he loves books and treasures things.
8 tiemen line
Master Zhiyong is good at regular script and cursive script, and can master Wang Xizhi's demeanor. Although he practiced in Yongxing Temple, his calligraphy became more and more famous. Many people ask for his calligraphy works through various relationships. People came and went in an endless stream, and the threshold was trampled, so he had to wrap the threshold with iron sheets. People laughed and called it "iron gate limit".
9 Ouyang Tong learned to buy the word father (Tang)
Ouyang Tong is the son of Ou Yangxun. Ou Yangxun died when he was very young. After Ouyang Tong became sensible, his mother began to teach him to learn his father's calligraphy. Ouyang Tong is small and has been practicing calligraphy for a long time. He wants to go out to play, and his handwriting is average. Mother said to him, "son, your father's handwriting is very good, and many people pay high prices for his handwriting." You should write as well as your father. "Ouyang Tong listened and said," I can write as good as my father's handwriting, but I don't know what my father's handwriting looks like when he buys it. "After that, he often accumulated the exotic flowers and plants given by his mother and bought back the words that Dad had sold to others before. When people refused to sell, he paid a high price. Knowing that his father's handwriting is really good, he stopped being lazy to practice it. After several years of hard study, Ouyang Tong's handwriting is as good as his father's, and more people come to buy his handwriting.
10 begging post (Tang)
Yan Zhenqing, an old minister of three dynasties in Tang Dynasty, is honest and upright, and enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad. But because of honesty and self-sufficiency, I will never be greedy, so I often can't eat and wear. He once wrote a begging letter to Li Taibao at that time, saying that he was poor in production and had many index fingers at home. The whole family has been drinking porridge for several months, and now there is no rice, which is very annoying. I hope to ask for some food relief for the sake of old friendship. That situation is really pitiful. Yan Zhenqing's achievements in calligraphy have always been admired by later generations, and also inspired by his personality to some extent.
1 1 Liu Gongquan studied calligraphy hard (Tang)
One day, Liu Gongquan and several friends held a "reading club". At this time, an old man selling tofu saw his handwriting, "I can write about Feng Fei's family background and dare to boast in front of people." He thought the child was too proud, so he frowned and said, "This word is not well written, just like my tofu, it is soft, flat and spineless. Is it worth boasting in front of people? " Hearing this, Hsiao Kung chuan said unhappily, "Write some words for me if you can."
The old man smiled heartily and said, "No, I dare not. I am a clown and can't write well. " However, some people write with their feet much better than you! If you don't believe me, go to Huajing. "
The next day, Xiao Gongquan got a Geng and went to Huajing alone. As soon as he entered the capital of China, he saw many people gathered around a big pagoda tree. He squeezed into the crowd and saw a black and thin old man, without arms and barefoot, sitting on the ground, his left foot pressing paper, his right foot holding a pen, writing couplets freely, and his handwriting was like a galloping horse, dancing with dragons and phoenixes, winning cheers from the onlookers.
Xiao Gongquan plopped down on his knees in front of the old man and said, "I would like to worship you as a teacher, please tell me the secret of writing ..." The old man quickly pulled Xiao Gongquan up with his feet and said, "I am a lonely man, born without hands, and I can only live skillfully with my feet. How can I be a teacher? " Xiao Gongquan begged, and the old man put a piece of paper on the ground (Pu) and wrote a few words with his right foot: "Write eight jars of water, and the inkstone (Yan) is black (old); Bo (Bo) takes a hundred relatives (Chang) before he can fly. "
Liu Gongquan kept the old man's words in mind and worked hard to practice calligraphy. Thick cocoons were ground on the hands, and the elbows were mended layer by layer. After hard training, Liu Gongquan finally became a famous calligrapher in China.
12 Character and Calligraphy (Song Dynasty)
There were four great calligraphers in Song Dynasty, namely Su, Huang, Mi and Cai. Su is Su Shi, namely Su Dongpo; Huang is Huang Tingjian; Rice is mifei; This is beyond reproach. But what about Cai? Some people say it's Cai Jing, others say it's Cai Xiang. who is it? Opinions vary.
The most common saying is that this Cai was originally Cai Jing. Although people recognize his calligraphy attainments, they especially hate his character, so they are unwilling to recognize his status as a calligrapher. In Yuan You, Song Zhezong, in order to crowd out dissidents, he called Sima Guang and others "traitors", and wrote down their "crimes" in his own handwriting, engraved on monuments all over the country. At that time, many masons refused to carve this monument and were executed by Kantou. When Cai Jing died, people immediately smashed the "Yuan You Monument to the Party History". People also called him "the four treacherous court officials" together with Gao Qiu, Tong Guan and Emperor Wen of Sui, who were in charge of state affairs at that time.
Cai Jing's character is extremely bad. Among the "four great calligraphers", how can people tolerate him? So I fired him. But "Su Huang Camouflage" is easy to say, so let Cai Xiang take its place.
Cai Xiang is good at absorbing the essence of his ancestors, and he works very hard. His calligraphy is very distinctive. So people think that he should be at the top of the "four schools" and should not be dragged down by Cai Jing.
Cai Xiang not only has a high attainments in calligraphy, but also has an excellent personality. When he was an official in the DPRK, he dared to speak frankly, and even some powerful ministers were afraid of his three points. When he was an official in Quanzhou, Fujian, he built the famous Luoyang Bridge and Qili Avenue, which were welcomed by the local people.
From this perspective, character is more important than books. If a person can only write good words but can't do good deeds, the people will certainly spit on him, even if they don't leave him a small place in the world of books.
13 learn calligraphy (Qing)
Zheng Banqiao, one of the Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou in Qing Dynasty, loved calligraphy since childhood. He copied the calligraphy styles of famous ancient calligraphers. After some hard work, he finally wrote something almost identical to his predecessors, and it can confuse people. But people don't appreciate his calligraphy very much, and he is in a hurry. He studies and practices harder than before.
One summer night, he and his wife were sitting outside enjoying the cool. He wrote on his thigh with his finger and on his wife. His wife hit his hand angrily and said, "You have your body, and I have my body. Why not write about your own body and write about other people's bodies? " When sleeping at night, Zheng Banqiao thought, everyone has his own body, and writing has his own font, which is different! Why do I always learn other people's fonts instead of writing my own style? Even if you learn the same as others, it's just someone else's font. What's the point without innovation and your own style? From then on, he learned from the strengths of various schools, combined official script with seal script, grass, lines and model letters, and used painting to write, and finally formed a "six books and a half" which was highly praised by people and often called "rocky pile", and became a famous painter and calligrapher with high reputation in Qing Dynasty.