Stories about calligraphers:
1. In the Western Han Dynasty, a minister named Xiao He assisted Liu Bang in establishing the Han Dynasty. Because of his great achievements, Liu Bang named him He was praised as a minister, and later he was promoted to prime minister. Xiao He's calligraphy was very good, and he was especially good at writing on plaques with a bald pen.
Once, someone asked Xiao He to inscribe a name for a newly built palace. Xiao He thought hard for three months before he started writing. On the day of writing, some people heard that Xiao He had thought about it for three months before writing it, and they all came from far away to read it.
2. Zhang Zhi, the great calligrapher of the Eastern Han Dynasty, studied calligraphy very hard when he was young. He practiced calligraphy diligently every day, forgetting sleep and food. His pen became bald after a few days of writing, and he used up several ingots of ink a month. After finishing writing every day, Zhang Zhi went to the pond in his backyard to wash his pen and inkstone. Over time, the water in the pond turned black. There have been many famous calligraphers throughout the ages. They relied on their hard work to earn the title of calligrapher.
3. Zen Master Zhiyong was born between the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and was the seventh generation grandson of Wang Xizhi. Because he practiced calligraphy very hard, he discarded all the worn-out brushes in big bamboo baskets. Over the years, he accumulated five large sums of money. Basket, so he made the inscriptions himself and buried these pens, which was called a pen tomb, which shows his love for books and cherishing things.
Zen Master Zhiyong is good at regular script and cursive script, and can imitate Wang Xizhi's style. Although he practiced in Yongxing Temple, his reputation for calligraphy became more and more famous. Many people came and asked for his calligraphy works through various connections. There was an endless stream of people coming and going, and the threshold was trampled down. He had to wrap the threshold with iron sheets, and people laughed and called it "Iron Gate".
4. Xiao He, the minister of the Western Han Dynasty, assisted Liu Bang in establishing the Han Dynasty. Because of his great achievements, Liu Bang named him the Marquis of Zan, and later promoted him to the position of Prime Minister. Xiao He's calligraphy was very good, and he was especially good at writing on plaques with a bald pen. Once, someone asked Xiao He to inscribe a name for a newly built palace. Xiao He thought hard for three months before he started writing.
On the day of writing, some people heard that Xiao He thought about it for three months before writing it, and they all came from far away to see it. I saw that Xiao He was like leading troops to fight. The movements of his wrists seemed to be commanding thousands of troops. The words he wrote were like the civil servants and generals he led. Every word was so powerful. Everyone present was impressed by his wonderful gestures. Deeply impressed.