Cao Zhang was mainly popular from Han Dynasty to Jin Dynasty, similar to cursive script. Most of them are fluent in brushwork and beautiful in words, which belong to all the way. Except Lu Ji's Ping Fu Tie in the Jin Dynasty, other cursive scripts have more charm than others. Zhao in the Yuan Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty went from bad to worse. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, Ruan, Bao and Kang advocated the North Monument, and a large number of calligraphers inscribed it. Shen also explored the combination of cursive script and North Monument, and made some achievements. However, Shen Congming started with calligraphers such as Ni and Huang Daozhou, and his paintings were too artificial. The pen often points into the paper, making the stippling sharp and exposed. The knot was crooked and dropped on purpose. It was too arranged. Shen is famous because he has a high official position and outstanding academic talent. Shen created an atmosphere for future generations. Other cursive writers in this century, such as Wang Shitang, are basically confined to the study of calligraphy. Although Zheng Songxian absorbed some Han steles and a few North steles, he failed to go deep, and his characteristics were still close to calligraphy. They didn't develop along the path of the sacred stone, at best, they were able to inherit the fire.
The appearance of Wang Quchang changed the face of Cao Zhang. Wei Bei and cursive script are incompatible. One is led by Fang Bi, which has many twists and turns; One is mainly a round pen, which turns more and folds less. Without a square fold, there is no north monument, and without a round turn, there is no cursive script. However, since Mr. Nanhai put forward the theory of melting sheet and casting paste, many people have been fighting for it and trying to create a new situation in calligraphy. However, the grass is fresh and the monument is carved, so Mr. Nanhai finally lamented that "there is a god in the eye and a ghost in the wrist" ("Talk about Guang Yi and Zhou Shuang") failed to involve cursive script. Mr. Wang Quchang, on the other hand, made an all-out effort to tackle the problem, combining the dignified North Monument with the smooth Cao Zhang organically and perfectly. In terms of fonts, Mr. Wang is not only different from Shen Meizuo, but also different from any ancient calligrapher. Fonts are changeable and unpredictable. Of course, this change is not fabricated out of thin air, but a collection of traces of ancient calligraphy, turning the legacy of sages into their own, word for word, and the well-known source. Its glyphs are richer than those of all previous calligraphers, and it is really a master of Cao Zhang. The information wealth of modern society is far superior to that of ancient society, and the possession of French books by modern calligraphers is far superior to that of ancient calligraphers. But in fact, this advantage has caused a kind of information interference to most calligraphers. Many calligraphers are confused and impetuous, and their advantages have become unfavorable or even harmful. Mr. Wang Quchang is a modern calligrapher who is best at making use of this favorable factor. He almost applied the existing materials to the best condition, thus making the theory that modern calligraphers should surpass ancient calligraphers come true. Of course, Mr. Wang's real creation should also be his brushwork. We can't deny Shen Meizuo's influence on Wang Quchang, but mature Wang Quchang has been thoroughly remoulded, especially in brushwork, and his creativity has reached a new level. First of all, the pen is slow and astringent, and it smells like stone. Mr. Wang's pen is very strong and there is no empty pen. Once he washes away his bitterness, it is unparalleled in ancient and modern times. In particular, Mr. Wang's later works are old and astringent, straight as a knife and chisel, not by a soft pen. Secondly, the pen is centered, supplemented by the flank. Centering makes the strokes calm and clean, and even many astringent pens are clear and unambiguous, avoiding the defect that Cao Zhang is easy to drift; The use of wings makes it not lose the characteristics of Cao Zhang, and increases the richness of stippling. These are not to say that Mr. Wang has a great fantasy to create this appearance out of nothing, but from his extraordinary knowledge of the North Monument. Wang Quchang's research on Cuan Baozi and Cuan Long Yan deserves our attention. He is almost the only calligrapher who has never written these two inscriptions. From this, he also wrote the cursive purport of Fangzheng Han stele, and the mutual use of steles and stickers finally changed his cursive style.
Modern calligraphy can only be appreciated, not imitated. Only calligraphy, not calligraphy books. For example, Sha Menghai's books and Lin Sanzhi's books are not books. Except for a few calligraphers such as Wu Changshuo, master of Chinese painting Qi Baishi and Yu Youren in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, it is hard to think of anyone whose calligraphy can be called a calligraphy book. Wang Quchang Cao Zhang filled this gap. With Wang Quchang, there was a calligraphy book for future generations in the 20th century, and there was another way for future generations to study it, so China's calligraphy also had a calligraphy post. It can be said that Wang Quchang's calligraphy really enriched China's calligraphy, an already rich art treasure house. His calligraphy has also become an integral part of traditional calligraphy classics, and Mr. Wang has also become one of the few classic calligraphers in this century.
In the history of calligraphy in China, Cao Zhang had two peaks, one in the Han and Wei Dynasties and the other in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. The appearance of Wang Quchang marks the third peak of Cao Zhang. Cao Zhang in the Han and Wei Dynasties is similar to Han bamboo slips, with a light pen, a slightly flat structure and a strong sense of propriety. Cao Zhang in Yuan and Ming Dynasties was basically inherited by Cao Zhang in Han and Wei Dynasties. People in Yuan and Ming Dynasties often wrote Cao Zhang in regular script, but the ancient meaning has changed, and the overall level can no longer be compared with Han and Wei Dynasties. After the Ming Dynasty, Cao Zhang's style tended to decline, and few people paid attention to it. After the Republic of China, Wang Shitang succeeded, but failed to form a scale. To Zheng Songxian and Wang Quchang's generation, there was a slight improvement, but after the Cultural Revolution, calligraphy fever rose, and Cao Zhang reached the third peak. In contemporary book circles, the rhythm changes very quickly, and there have been Weibei fever, capital letter fever, Cao Zhang fever, Han bamboo slips fever, Pu Shu fever and so on. It is worth noting that among all kinds of imitation craze, only Cao Zhang is a modern man, and that is Wang Quchang Cao Zhang. People study Wang Quchang Cao Zhang as a dharma book. So, has Wang Quchang Cao Zhang surpassed the ancient dharma book and can replace it? The answer is yes. Cao Zhang in the Han and Wei Dynasties, like Han bamboo slips, was a simplification of official script, and simplification always had the characteristics of vulgarization. Therefore, Cao Zhang's representative works in the Han and Wei Dynasties, such as Suo Jing and Xiang Di, all have modern characteristics, and their styles are not very old. Wang Quchang's Cao Zhang is a stroke after the Tang Dynasty, but it is actually a stroke after the Eastern Han Dynasty. There are three generations of ancient ruins, and their books are full of rust and wind, rich in stone, ranking first in ancient and modern times.
However, the present brushwork is not ethereal, but ethereal, which is different from other calligraphers of the period and the aesthetic habits of his contemporaries, making Mr. Wang unable to win a good reputation like Sha Menghai. But with the passage of time, this situation should change.