Why are Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan's regular script called "Yan Gu"?

Yan Zhenqing (709-785) was born in Chen Qing and Linyi (now Linyi, Shandong). At the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, his ancestors crossed the river with the royal family to the south of the Yangtze River, and after Nanliang perished, his fifth ancestor Yan Zhitui (who wrote the famous Family Instructions of Yan Family) came to the north again. When Gao Zuyan arrived, he was awarded the position of "Qin" for his meritorious service in welcoming Li Yuan into the customs. His son Yan Shigu (famous for his annotation of Hanshu) is a supervisor from an official to a secretary. Therefore, Yan's ancestors were the founding heroes and emerging aristocrats in the Tang Dynasty, and they were the fourth generation when they arrived in Yan Zhenqing. Yan Zhenqing was born in Chang 'an, the capital of China. In the 22nd year of Kaiyuan (734), he was promoted to Jinshi, and once served as the censor. Later, because he was excluded by Yang, the powerful minister, he was demoted to be the governor of the plain, and later generations called him "Yan Plain". In the Anshi Rebellion, the loyal Yan Zhenqing led the local army to fight against the rebels. During the rule of Dezong, the court sent him to appease the rebellious buffer region. During this trip, he died heroically at the age of 77. Because he was once named the founding father of Luxian County, later generations respectfully called him "Yan".

The Yan family has a deep family background. Many scholars and politicians have emerged in several generations, many of whom are good at calligraphy. Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy attainments not only benefited from the family's edification and teaching, but also benefited from his study of each family's strengths: at first he studied under Chu Suiliang, and later he studied under Professor Zhang Xu, a "grass sage", and had in-depth discussions and exchanges with Huai Su, so he became a successful person. The emperors of the Tang Dynasty loved calligraphy more, which also promoted the ethos of the times and made the art of calligraphy flourish. Among many calligraphers, Yan Zhenqing's regular script can be said to represent the highest level of calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty, which is not only rigorous and dignified, but also contains the advantages of seal script and official script. Duota Monument, Magushan Fairy Altar, Yanbei and Yanjiamiao Monument are all his representative works. Among them, "Li Yanqin Monument" has strong brushwork, full and tough shape, full and round, open and close, magnificent and free and easy, which shows the elegance of "Yanjin" to the fullest; On the other hand, the inscriptions on Yan's family temple are simple and dignified, implying that people and books are old, which is the embodiment of his calligraphy art in his later years.

Liu Gongquan (778-865) was born in Hang Cheng, Jingzhao Garden (now Tongchuan, Shaanxi). His grandfather and father are both local officials, and his brother Liu Gongzhuo is also a famous minister. In the third year of Yuanhe (808), Liu Gongquan became a scholar, scholar and teacher of Hongzi, and served as a school bookkeeper for many years. Later, because of Tang Muzong's appreciation, he was appointed as the right scavenger and bachelor of Hanlin Bookstore. After respecting Zong and Wenzong, he served as a "book servant in the Three Dynasties" (that is, he served as the highest-level full-time calligraphy teacher in the imperial court) for 20 years and gained fame. But his talent is not limited to calligraphy. Even in his heart, he often feels that it is a shame to be famous for calligraphy. His real ambition is to express his ideas politically. But he is ambitious. When he realized that the emperor attached great importance to his calligraphy ability, he deliberately used a pen as a tool to remonstrate and carefully wrote down every word, even a picture, in order to remind the emperor to always adhere to the right path that should be followed as a monarch. Because of Liu Gongquan's integrity, he dared to speak before the emperor and was respected by the ruling and opposition parties. When Wu Zongchao arrived, his official rank was "Prince", so later people called him "Liu". Liu Gongquan lived in the late Tang Dynasty, and the era of calligraphers in the early Tang Dynasty has passed, and the calligraphy industry has gradually declined. At this time, Liu Gongquan was in its heyday, and his words were called "Liu Jiaxin Style". Some people think that his calligraphy originated from his own school and has a lot to do with his brother Liu Zongyuan. But some descendants, such as Su Dongpo, said that his calligraphy was inherited from Yan Zhenqing. We believe that it is the only way for every successful calligrapher to absorb the strengths of the previous generation and add their own ingenuity, and Liu Gongquan is one of the best. Liu Gongquan's Mo Bao, the masterpieces that can be seen today are Mysterious Tower Monument and Shence Army Monument; The Diamond Sutra and Hui Yuan Guan Zhong Lou Ming were discovered or unearthed in modern times. Although the Mysterious Tower Monument is the most famous, it has been criticized by later generations because of its too exposed bone strength (Liu Shu's most "explicit" work), while the Shence Army Monument is much more gentle and euphemistic, and we can already see the traces of changes in communication. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Fan Zhongyan used the word "Yan Gu" when commenting on other people's calligraphy, and later generations used it as a conclusion to evaluate the calligraphy styles of Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan. In the history of calligraphy, Yan Liu and Yan Liu are known as each other, and their works have become models for future generations to learn regular script.