At the beginning of his study, he was introduced by Yan Zhenqing, and then, under the guidance of Bao Theory, he turned to study inscriptions and made great efforts in sculpture in the Northern Wei and Six Dynasties. In this way, in the Northern Wei Dynasty, his calligraphy changed from a wide and flat painting to a tight and oblique painting, which was clean and refined and stood out from other schools. Zhao's seal cutting is not elegant, gloomy and brilliant, but presents a fresh, elegant and vivid style.
In the pursuit of ink painting effect, it is not only manifested in the fluency and variability of the pen, but also in the contrast of points, lines, surfaces and tones formed by the natural peeling of the parallel parts of the pen.
Zhao's study of the North Monument focuses on understanding its brushwork, rather than demanding the effect of knife marks, so he writes tactfully, which can turn rigidity into softness. It is characterized by "Yan Di Taste Mian" and "Qi Wei Yan San", with pen circles and sharp words. Compared with the Northern Monument, it lacks the spirit of Gu Zhuo, which seems to have a slight disadvantage. Therefore, Kang Youwei thinks: "Xuebei Monument is also a home, but it is weak. It would be a sin to talk more about the North Monument today and pretend to be an uncle. " In fact, this evaluation is not fair. Writing on paper with a brush will eventually be different from chiseling on a stone wall with a hammer. Different tools and materials have different aesthetic feelings of lines. It is important to fully realize the functional characteristics of the inherent tools and materials used, give full play to their advantages and avoid their shortcomings. It is difficult to imitate the effect of stone carving with a brush. Although it can win by surprise, it can't be better promoted. Zhao's Book of the Northern Wei Dynasty embodies the characteristics of writing with a brush, which is accepted by the vast number of stele scholars. Zhao's seal script is famous all over the world. Although his Zhuanli was influenced by Deng, it was different from Deng's artistic style, and his writing style was distinct. When Zhuan Xu first started painting, his horizontal painting generally went with the flow, while his vertical painting brought the trend to the left, which made Zhuan Xu mix the brushwork of the Northern Wei Dynasty and did not pursue the reverse stroke, so he was relaxed and lively. He does not pursue massiness and stubbornness, so his style stands firm. His works come from Liu Xiong, Feng Longshan, Wu Rong and Sangongshan. His book is black and white, full of reality and truth. The pen picks the swallow's tail and brushes it sideways, with twists and turns, and its own rhythm. Zhao's cursive script is also unique. "Grass is expensive and flowing", using the cursive script of the Northern Wei Dynasty is easy to be silly and artificial, but the cursive script of the pseudo-uncle can avoid its disadvantages, which is really ingenious and amazing. He's cursive script is "Wei San Yan Qi" and Zhao's cursive script is "Qi Wei Yan San". Zhao's cursive script is easier to see the clue of Yan character than the book of Northern Wei Dynasty.
The collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing is vigorous in brushwork, wide in folding width and moist in ink. It still retains the legacy of Yan Lu's open and open method, but it is chic and fluent, and has the rhyme of Deng. Call it the three changes of Deng school, and the letter is true.