The four masters of regular script are the collective names of four calligraphers who are famous for regular script in the history of calligraphy, also known as the four regular scripts. They are Ou Yangxun (European style), Yan Zhenqing (Yan style), Liu Gongquan (Liu Ti) and Zhao Mengfu (f incarnation) (Zhao Ti) in the Yuan Dynasty.
Ou Yangxun's style features
Ou Yangxun's calligraphy can be said to adopt the strengths of various schools because it has fused the characteristics of han li and Jin Dynasty's regular script, and also joined the Six Dynasties' inscriptions. The main features of Ou Yangxun's calligraphy style are preciseness, neatness, uprightness and vigor. Although the glyph is a little longer, it is divided into white, neat and rigorous, the middle palace is tight, the main pen is elongated, and it looks bold and unrestrained, sparse and dense, all around, exquisite and vivid, just right.
The combination of stippling and painting, and the structural arrangement, are bold in the middle of the flat, and most of the fonts are extended to the right, but the center of gravity is still very stable, and there is no sense of tilting, so it is interesting to combine danger with righteousness.
characteristics of Yan Zhenqing style
Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy, known as Yan style, has his unique style and brushwork. There are many inscriptions left by him, and later calligraphers think that the trace of "round pen" can be found in some of his inscriptions, which is different from other calligraphers' "Fang Bi".
Yan Zhenqing is regarded as a pioneer by calligraphers who use round pens. Both he and Wang Xizhi, who used Fang Bi, had a profound and far-reaching influence on later generations.
Liu Gongquan's style characteristics
Calligraphy in the late Tang Dynasty flourished and declined after it flourished in the mid-Tang Dynasty. Although Liu Gongquan's name flourished for a while, it was still slightly better than Yan Shu's. Calligraphy flourished in the Tang Dynasty, but now it has declined.
Liu Gongquan's regular script involves Ou Yangxun's brushwork, and some strokes are often closely interspersed, making it particularly broad, with fine strokes and sharp edges and corners. Although the pen comes from Yan Zhenqing, it is different from Yan Zhenqing's vigorous and broad style, which is particularly heroic.
Zhao Mengfu's style characteristics
He also visited Dingding Monument in Yuan and Wei Dynasties, Yu Shinan in Tang Dynasty, Chu Suiliang and others, which was a masterpiece of previous generations. Therefore, Zhao's success in calligraphy is inseparable from his ability to learn from others' long-term punishment. What is particularly valuable is that most calligraphers in the Song and Yuan Dynasties were only good at lines and cursive styles, while Zhao Mengfu was able to delve into various styles.
His article is out of fashion, and it bypasses the study of Buddhism and Taoism. Many people learned Zhao Mengfu's calligraphy in later generations, and Zhao Mengfu's words were very popular in Korea and Japan.
Extended information:
The four masters of regular script have had a far-reaching influence on the history of calligraphy and painting in East Asia, pushing our calligraphy art to a historical climax and laying a solid foundation for later calligraphy writing.
Yan Zhenqing
Founder of Round Pen Calligraphy: Yan Zhenqing occupies a special position in the history of calligraphy in China, and the only one who can compete with the great calligrapher Wang Xizhi is Yan Zhenqing. His calligraphy is characterized by regular script and cursive script. The tablet written in regular script is correct, beautiful and powerful. He was born at the time of the popularity of regular script, which was opposite to Wang Xizhi's typical example and led to a new trend of calligraphy.
His official book is famous for its rich and strong personality, and is represented by the Yan Family Temple Monument. As for everyone on the cliff, it is magnificent, especially in the Tang Dynasty.
to the highest level, those who express the charm of rushing and being far away will push the tablet of Li Xuanjing. The grass is full of vigor and beauty, full of ancient meaning, and the manuscript of offering sacrifices to nephews is the first. Yan Zhenqing was regarded as a pioneer by calligraphers who used round pens. Both he and Wang Xizhi, who used Fang Bi, had a profound and far-reaching influence on later generations.
Liu Gongquan
The role model of scholars in the world: Liu Gongquan once used the opportunity of explaining calligraphy to the emperor to explain the truth of being a man. In his view, the method of writing and the principle of being a man are unified. As long as a man is honest, the calligraphy in his pen also has the atmosphere of honesty and integrity. They believe that calligraphy not only makes people happy physically and mentally, but also helps to cultivate noble morality.
He learned from Wang Xizhi at first, and studied the brushwork of Ou Yangxun and Yan Zhenqing, and then became his own family. The regular script written is attractive in body and strong in bone. Compared with Yan Ti, Liu Zi is slightly thinner, so it is called "Yan Jin Liu Gu". Mu Zong tried to ask Liu Gongquan how to use a pen. He learned Wang Xizhi's brushwork at first, and then read modern calligraphy, so he tried his best to change the right army method and learn from Yan Zhenqing.
He also absorbed his own new ideas, so that his calligraphy avoided the trend of being horizontal, thin and vertical, and took a balanced, thin and hard style, followed Wei Bei's resolute trend, and his brushwork was crisp and graceful, with strong bones and tight structure. Many scholars in later generations took Liu Zi as a model.
Zhao Mengfu
Zhao Mengfu, one of the most outstanding calligraphers in Yuan Dynasty, was born in a noble family and experienced the changes of Song and Yuan Dynasties all his life. His beautiful calligraphy is in sharp contrast with the vigorous style of the other three famous regular script writers.
Zhao Mengfu is a well-rounded artist, and his accomplishments in painting are often praised by art historians. Zhao Mengfu is well-read, good at poetry and prose, knowledgeable in economy, industrial calligraphy, fine painting, good at epigraphy, fluent in temperament and understanding appreciation. In particular, calligraphy and painting achieved the highest achievements and created a new painting style in the Yuan Dynasty, which was called the "crown of Yuan people".
In painting, landscapes, figures, flowers and birds, bamboo stones and pommel horses are omnipotent; Meticulous brushwork, freehand brushwork, turquoise, ink and wash, and everything is fine. He has occupied an important position in the history of Chinese calligraphy.
References: Baidu Encyclopedia-Four Masters of Regular Script.