Yan Zhenqing (a famous official and calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty)
Yan Zhenqing (709-August 23, 784), whose courtesy name was Qingchen, nicknamed Xianmenzi, and nicknamed Ying Fang, a native of Jingzhao Wannian (now Xi'an, Shaanxi), whose ancestral home is Langye Linyi (now Linyi, Shandong), is the grandson of the fifth generation of Yan Shigu and the younger brother of Yan Gaoqing. He was a famous official and outstanding calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty.
In the 22nd year of Kaiyuan (734), Yan Zhenqing ascended to the rank of Jinshi. He was appointed as the supervisory censor four times and moved to the palace to serve as the censor. Because he was rejected by the powerful minister Yang Guozhong, he was demoted to the prefect of Pingyuan and was known as "Yan Pingyuan". During the Anshi Rebellion. Rebels versus rebels. After Suzong of the Tang Dynasty came to the throne, he paid homage to the minister of the Ministry of Industry and the imperial censor to recruit envoys for Hebei. When he arrived at Fengxiang, he was awarded the title of Minister of the Ministry of Constitution and later moved to the imperial censor. During the reign of Emperor Daizong of the Tang Dynasty, he became the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, the Crown Prince and the Grand Master, and was granted the title of Duke of Lu County, and was known as "Gong Yan Lu". In the first year of Xingyuan (784), he was framed by Prime Minister Lu Qi and sent to the rebel general Li Xilie's ministry to inform him. He sternly resisted the thieves and was eventually hanged.
Yan Zhenqing has exquisite calligraphy and is good at running and regular script. He created the "Yan style" regular script and is known as the "Four Masters of Regular Script" together with Zhao Mengfu, Liu Gongquan and Ouyang Xun. It is also called "Yan Liu" together with Liu Gongquan, and is also known as "Yan Jin Liu Gu". He was good at poetry and prose, and had many works, including "Yunhai Jingyuan", "Liyue Collection", "Wuxing Collection", "Luling Collection" and "Linchuan Collection", all of which are lost. The Song Dynasty people compiled "Yan Lu Gong Ji".
Liu Gongquan
Liu Gongquan (778-865), courtesy name Chengxuan, Han nationality, was born in Jingzhao Huayuan (now Yaozhou District, Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province). The younger brother of Liu Gongchuo, Minister of the Ministry of War, he was a famous calligrapher and poet in the Tang Dynasty. He served as an official in the seven dynasties of Xian, Mu, Jing, Wen, Wu, Xuan, and Yi. He was promoted to Prince Shaoshi, and was granted the title of Duke of Hedong County. He became an official as Prince Taibao, and was known as "Liu Shaoshi" in his later life. He died in the sixth year of Xiantong (865) at the age of eighty-eight and was presented to the prince and grand master.
Liu Gongquan's calligraphy is famous for his regular script. He is as famous as Yan Zhenqing and is known as "Yan Liu". He is also known as the "Four Masters of Regular Script" together with Ouyang Xun, Yan Zhenqing and Zhao Mengfu. He first learned calligraphy from Wang Xizhi. Later, he looked at the calligraphy of famous calligraphers in the Tang Dynasty and thought that the calligraphy of Yan Zhenqing and Ouyang Xun was the best, so he absorbed the strengths of Yan and Ou. Between the Jin people's charm and Yan Shu's grace and majesty, he created his own "Liu" "Physical body", famous for its strong bones, and later generations had the reputation of "Yan Jin Liu Gu". Liu Gongquan is also a poet. Five of his poems are preserved in "The Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty" and one poem is preserved in "The Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty".
Zhang Xu (Tang Dynasty calligrapher)
Zhang Xu (675 to about 750), also known as Bo Gao and Ji Ming, was a Han nationality and lived in Wuxian County (now Jiangsu Province) during the Tang Dynasty. A native of Suzhou, he was alive during the Kaiyuan and Tianbao periods. He served as a county captain in Changshu and was a long history official in Jinwu.
Famous for cursive script, Li Bai’s poems and Pei Min’s sword dance are known as the Three Wonders. The poem is also unique, and is famous for its seven unique features. It is ranked among the Eight Immortals in Drinking along with Li Bai, He Zhizhang and others. Together with He Zhizhang, Zhang Ruoxu and Bao Rong, they are known as the "Four Scholars of Wuzhong". Calligraphy is as famous as Huai Su.
He was fond of drinking. According to records in the "Old Book of Tang Dynasty", when he was drunk, he would run wildly, howling and swaying his pen, and was sometimes called Zhang Dian. This fact also shows that he was passionate about art and was honored as the "Grass Saint" by later generations.