Brush calligrapher
① Zhong Yao (151-230), whose character is Chang. A native of Changshe County, Yingchuan County, Yuzhou (now Changgedong, Xuchang, Henan Province). He was a famous calligrapher and politician from the late Han Dynasty to the Cao and Wei Dynasties of the Three Kingdoms. Zhong Yao works in a variety of calligraphy styles including seal, Li, Zhen, Xing and Cao. His calligraphy is simple and elegant, with alternating font sizes and an overall rigorous and meticulous layout. Zhang Huaiguan's "Book Break" said: "Yuan Chang's real calligraphy is peerless. It is more than a master's, and the cut is soft and ready. There are many different interests among the stipples and paintings. It can be said to be profound and boundless, and more than quaint. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, there has been only one person." He is famous for his calligraphy. He was quite accomplished in this field and promoted the development of regular script (small regular script), and was revered as the "originator of regular script" by later generations. Zhong Yao had a profound influence on later calligraphy, and Wang Xizhi and others once devoted themselves to studying his calligraphy. Together with Wang Xizhi, a calligrapher of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, he is also known as the "Zhongwang". Yu Jianwu of the Southern Dynasty ranked Zhong Yao's calligraphy as "above the top grade", while Zhang Huaiguan of the Tang Dynasty commented on his calligraphy as "a divine grade" in "Shuguan".
②Mrs. Wei, a famous female calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (272-349). A native of Anyi, Hedong (now Xia County, Shanxi Province), his first name was Shuo and his courtesy name was Maoyi. The ancestor of the clan, Wei Guan, was Sikong in the Western Jin Dynasty. He recorded the affairs of the ministers. He and Suo Jing were both good at cursive calligraphy. They were known as "Tai Yi Er Miao" and Wang Xizhi's teacher. He studied under the Taoist priest Zhong Yao and was especially good at regular script. The eight lines of regular script handed down from ancient times in "Chunhua Pavilion Tie" and the calligraphy theory "Bi Zhen Tu" were probably created by good people. There are "Mingji Tie" and "Wei Shihe Nan Tie" handed down from generation to generation. She once wrote poems about cursive calligraphy, and was commissioned to write "Jijiuzhang" for the imperial court. The shape of the characters has changed from Zhong Yao's flat square to a rectangular one. The lines are clear and gentle, elegant and graceful. The official script has long been gone, which shows that regular script has become mature and common at that time. Song Chensi's "Short History of Calligraphy" quoted a Tang Dynasty book review, saying that her calligraphy is "like a flower-arranging dancer, with a low attitude and beauty; also like a beautiful woman on the stage, a fairy playing shadows, red lotus reflecting water, and green marsh floating clouds."