The calligraphy of the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties can be divided into three stages.
① From the Sui Dynasty to the early Tang Dynasty
The Sui Dynasty unified China and integrated the culture and art of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. By the early Tang Dynasty, politics flourished, and the art of calligraphy gradually evolved from the legacy of the Six Dynasties. Come out and show yourself in a new way. In the early Tang Dynasty, regular script was the mainstream, and its general characteristic was a rigorous and orderly structure.
②The prosperous Tang and mid-Tang periods
The calligraphy of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, as the social form at that time pursued a romantic and oblivious way, such as "subverting drunkenness", Li Yongzhi's running script . In the mid-Tang Dynasty, regular script once again made new breakthroughs. With Yan Zhenqing as the representative, he laid the standard for regular script, established an example, and became orthodox. So far, our country's calligraphy style has been completely determined.
③The legacy of the Tang Dynasty remains in the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties period
In 907, the separatist Zhu Quanzhong destroyed the Tang Dynasty and established the Later Liang Dynasty. From then on, the Later Tang Dynasty, the Later Jin Dynasty, the Later Han Dynasty and the Later Zhou Dynasty were called the Five Dynasties. Due to the country's weakness and chaos, culture and art also declined. Although the art of calligraphy continued from the late Tang Dynasty, it has formed a general trend of decline due to the influence of war and war.
During the Five Dynasties, Yang Ning style should be commended for his calligraphy. His calligraphy was a mainstay during the Five Dynasties when calligraphy was in decline. There are also accomplished calligraphers such as Li Yu and Yan Xiu. At this point, the upright and rigorous calligraphy style of the Tang Dynasty had ceased, and the "Four Schools" of calligraphy in the Northern Song Dynasty followed, setting off a new era of waves.