Because he is talented and writes good poems! Xu Zhenqing's low attainments in calligraphy and painting are not a "deduction", because he could not help himself and only lived to the age of 33. If he wanted to achieve success in calligraphy and painting, he would not be able to achieve it. Don't think that the achievements of calligraphy and painting can be as high as poetry at the same time. Xu Zhenqing is more interested in poetry and articles, which makes his poetry very famous. The reputation of his poetry alone can rank him among the "Four Great Talents in Jiangnan". , you can see his height in poetry.
If you are more interested in poetry and work harder, time is limited, so naturally you will not spend enough energy on calligraphy and painting. However, this does not mean that his calligraphy and painting are poor! His calligraphy and painting are not bad, but his reputation for poetry is too great, which overshadows his calligraphy and painting. And although his calligraphy and painting are good, they are still a little worse than others of the same period.
However, this little achievement in calligraphy and painting was not recognized by others, and his footsteps stopped here. Because at the age of 33, calligraphy and painting are just the beginning! Yan Zhenqing, a great calligrapher, was only a minor success in calligraphy when he was 30 years old. When Wang Chong was 40 years old, his calligraphy reputation was world-renowned.
When Xu Zhenqing was 33 years old, his poetry was already famous all over the world. If his calligraphy and painting were so high at this time, then he would definitely not be among the "Four Great Talents in Jiangnan". He should be among the "Four Great Talents in Jiangnan". Ranked first in the world. To put it bluntly, it is embarrassing for people to let Xu Zhenqing, who passed away at the age of 33, have high attainments in calligraphy and painting at the same time!
No one will doubt that if Xu Zhenqing had not died at the age of 33, his calligraphy and painting achievements would have also grown to a very high level when he was 40 or 50 years old, and would not be better than the other three talents. low. Don’t think that 40 or 50 years old is a very high age. You need to know how many people are accomplished in one area when they are 40 or 50 years old. It is already very good.
To sum up, the reason why Xu Zhenqing’s attainments in calligraphy and painting are not high is mainly because he died young. If he had not died, no one would doubt his achievements in calligraphy and painting, so he could be ranked among the four great talents in Jiangnan.