Cai Yong of the Han Dynasty was not only a writer, but also a famous calligrapher. "Fei Bai Shu" is his original creation. What is "Fei Bai Shu"? You will know after listening to this story.
Cai Yong is not a person who studies and writes behind closed doors. He often travels in order to capture inspiration and enrich his experience. On this day, he sent the article he had written to the Hongdu Gate where the royal library was kept. The people there are very arrogant, and anyone who comes has to wait outside the door for a while. While Cai Yong was waiting to be interviewed, several craftsmen were painting the walls with brooms dipped in lime water. He just stood aside and watched.
In the beginning, he just wanted to kill time. But as he looked at it, he could see some "knowledge". I saw the craftsman put down the broom, and a white mark appeared on the wall. Because the broom seedlings are relatively thin, they cannot be dipped in much lime water, and the wall surface is not very smooth, so when the broom is removed, some parts of the wall surface are still exposed in the white path. When Cai Yong saw it, his eyes lit up. He thought that in the past, when writing with a pen dipped in enough ink, every stroke would be completely black. Wouldn't it be more vivid and natural if some silk or paper were exposed in the black lines like a craftsman painting a wall? Thinking of this, he suddenly became emotional. Hand in the article and run home immediately.
When Cai Yong returned home, he prepared pen, ink, paper and inkstone without taking a rest. Thinking of the scene when the craftsmen were painting the walls, I started writing. Who knows that it is easy to think of it but difficult to do it. At first, either the paper couldn't be exposed, or the exposed part was too stiff. He was not discouraged at all and tried again and again. He finally mastered the right amount of ink, the amount of force used, and the speed of writing. He wrote a line of black and white, making the words become elegant and flying, with a unique flavor.
This writing method invented by Cai Yong soon became popular and became "Fei Bai Shu". It is still used by calligraphers to this day.
2. Xizhi changed the goose (Jin Dynasty)
Wang Xizhi loved writing since he was a child. It is said that when he was walking, he would practice calligraphy with his fingers at any time. As time went by, his clothes were even scratched. After diligent study and practice, Wang Xizhi's calligraphy reached a very high level. Because he came from a noble family and because of his outstanding talents, the ministers in the court recommended him to become an official. He served as governor and general of the Right Army (people also called him Wang Youjun). Later he became an official in Kuaiji County. He didn't like living in the bustling capital. When he saw the beautiful scenery of Kuaiji, he loved it very much. Whenever he had time, he would visit the mountains and rivers with his friends. Once, Wang Xizhi and his friends held a banquet at Lanting in Shanyin, Kuaiji County. Everyone drank and wrote poems. Finally, Wang Xizhi wrote an article on the spot to commemorate the banquet. This is the famous "Preface to the Lanting Collection". The "Preface to the Lanting Collection" written by Wang Xizhi himself has always been considered a treasure of our country's calligraphy art. Unfortunately, its original work has been lost.
Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy is becoming more and more famous. People at that time regarded his writing as a treasure. It is said that once, he went to his disciple's home, and the disciple received him warmly. He sat next to a new desk and saw that the surface of the desk was smooth and clean, which aroused his interest in writing and asked his disciples to bring him pen and ink. The disciple was so happy that he immediately brought the pen and ink to Wang Xizhi. Wang Xizhi wrote a few lines on several cases as a souvenir and went back.
Xi Zhi Changing Goose, Chinese painting by Yan Meihua
A few days later, the disciple went out to do something. His father went into the study to clean up. When he saw that the new papers were stained with ink, he scratched out the words with a knife. When the disciple came back, the writing on several cases had disappeared. The student worried about this matter for several days.
Another time, Wang Xizhi went to a village. An old woman was selling a basket of hexagonal bamboo fans at the market. That kind of bamboo fan was very simple, with no decoration, and it did not attract the interest of passers-by. It seemed that it could not be sold, and the old woman was very worried. When Wang Xizhi saw this, he sympathized with the old woman and went up to her and said, "You have no paintings or words on this bamboo fan, so of course you can't sell it. How about I inscribe it for you?" The old woman didn't know Wang Xizhi. Seeing how enthusiastic he was, I gave him the bamboo fan to write.
Wang Xizhi picked up his pen and wrote five words on each fan, then returned them to the old woman. The old woman was illiterate and felt that his writing was very sloppy and she was very unhappy. Wang Xizhi comforted her and said, "Don't worry. Just tell the person who bought the fan that it was written by Wang Youjun." As soon as Wang Xizhi left, the old woman did as he asked. When people at the market saw that it was Wang Youjun's calligraphy, they all rushed to buy it.
A basket of bamboo fans was sold out immediately.
Many artists have their own hobbies, some like to grow flowers, and some like to raise birds. But Wang Xizhi has his special hobby. No matter where there is a good goose, he is interested in seeing it or buying it back to enjoy. There was a Taoist priest in Shanyin who wanted Wang Xizhi to write him a volume of the Tao Te Ching. But he knew that Wang Xizhi was not willing to copy scriptures for others easily. Later, he found out that Wang Xizhi liked white geese, so he specially raised a batch of good varieties of geese. Wang Xizhi heard that there were good geese in the Taoist family, so he actually ran to see them. When he approached the Taoist priest's house, he saw a group of geese floating leisurely on the water in the river. Their snow-white feathers contrasted with the tall red roof, which was really cute. Wang Xizhi looked at the geese by the river and couldn't bear to leave, so he sent someone to find the Taoist priest and asked to sell the geese to him. The Taoist priest smiled and said: "Since the prince likes it so much, I will give you all these geese without any expense. But I have one request, which is to ask you to write a volume of scripture for me." Wang Xizhi did not hesitate. Wang Xizhi copied a scroll of scripture for the Taoist priest, and Wang Xizhi took the geese back.
3. Wang Xizhi and Swan Dumplings
Wang Xizhi has loved practicing calligraphy since he was a child. When he was 7 years old, he learned calligraphy from the calligrapher Mrs. Wei. He concentrated on practicing hard and made progress day by day. In less than three years, he was already writing vigorously and with great posture. At the calligraphy competition held by the prefect of Langya, he won the first prize in one fell swoop, which shocked calligraphy masters hundreds of miles away. For a time, the praises continued and the door was filled with congratulatory guests. Wang Xizhi, who had just turned 10, couldn't help but feel proud under such circumstances.
One day, Wang Xizhi was passing through an alley and saw a bustling crowd in front of a restaurant. Especially the couplet on the store door is particularly eye-catching. It says: It tastes delicious, is well-known by everyone, looks handsome, and is loved by everyone. The horizontal plaque reads "Swan Dumplings". However, the writing is lifeless, lacking in effort, and dull.
After Wang Xizhi read it, he curled his lips and thought to himself: This word that lacks skill is only worthy of showing off in front of a small shop in a back alley! But he thought again: it tastes delicious, is well-known by everyone, and looks handsome, and everyone loves it. What’s so surprising about dumplings? Who opens this dumpling shop? How dare you be so arrogant!
Wang Xizhi walked into the store and saw four large iron pots for boiling water, placed side by side under a screen. The wrapped dumplings were like white birds flying across the screen one after another, landing impartially in each boiling pot. The waiters in the dumpling shop are busy greeting the diners. Each waiter is in charge of a pot and counting: half a catty for pot No. 1, okay, another 1 catty. "Pot No. 2 weighs half a pound." "Pot No. 3 costs 9 taels..." "
Wang Xizhi was curious, so he took out a few copper coins, ordered half a catty of dumplings, and then sat down. The dumplings were served on the table after a while. He looked carefully and found that the dumplings here were indeed different. Exquisite and exquisite, like a white swan floating on the water, singing to the sky, it is really a masterpiece. He picked up a dumpling with chopsticks, brought it to his mouth and took a bite. It was full of fragrance and delicious before he knew it. In a short time, he devoured the whole plate of dumplings. After a full meal, Wang Xizhi couldn't help but said to himself: "This swan dumpling is indeed worthy of its reputation." "I thought to myself: The poor handwriting of the couplet at the door is really difficult to match these dumplings. Why don't I, Wang Xizhi, take this opportunity to write another couplet for the hotel, so that I can live up to eating this delicious food. Thinking of this, he asked Guy: “Where is the shop owner? The shop assistant pointed at the screen and said, "Go back to Mr. Sir, the shop owner is behind the screen." ”
Wang Xizhi walked around the screen and saw a white-haired old woman sitting in front of the chopping board, rolling out dough and making dumplings by herself. After filling the stuffing, she pinched it a few times quickly, and in an instant it turned into a white dumpling. The swans moved skillfully. What surprised him even more was that after the dumplings were wrapped, the white-haired old woman threw them towards the screen. One by one, the swan dumplings flew across the screen and landed in the pot. , according to the waiter's report, the amount of each pot was exactly the same.
Wang Xizhi was amazed by the superb skill of the white-haired old woman. He hurriedly stepped forward and saluted and asked, "Old man, I look like you." How long does it take to practice such Kung Fu? The white-haired old woman replied: "To tell you the truth, it takes 40 years to become proficient and a lifetime to practice deeply." "
As soon as he heard this, Wang Xizhi couldn't help but think deeply in silence, carefully savoring the taste of these words.
Then he asked: "Your craftsmanship is so superb. Why can't you write better without asking someone to write the couplet at the door? It doesn't match the swan dumplings very well!"
Wang Xizhi didn't ask, but it was okay if he asked. This made the white-haired old woman angry, and she said angrily: "My husband doesn't know something. It's not that I don't want to invite him, it's just that it's not easy to invite him! Take that Wang Xizhi who just showed his face, for example, It’s amazing! To be honest, the effort he puts into writing is not as good as the effort I put into throwing dumplings. As the saying goes: There is no limit to learning and hard work. When an oar is fighting for the upper reaches, if you are proud before a stroke, you will eventually fall behind." The words of the white-haired old woman made Wang Xizhi blush and feel ashamed. He respectfully wrote a couplet to the old woman. From then on, this Swan Dumpling Shop hung couplets written by Wang Xizhi, and its business became more and more prosperous. This incident also changed Wang Xizhi's life, making him lifelong associated with geese. He practiced calligraphy more humbly and assiduously, learned from others' strengths, studied the postures intensively, introduced new ones, and created a new style with strong, varied and beautiful calligraphy, which became famous all over the world. Becoming a famous calligrapher in Chinese history.
4. Studying calligraphy with great concentration
When Wang Xizhi was about five or six years old, he learned calligraphy from Mrs. Wei as his teacher. His calligraphy improved rapidly. When he was 7 years old, he became famous in the local area for his calligraphy. He was loved and praised by his seniors.
When Wang Xizhi was 11 years old, he read "Bi Shuo" which can only be read by adults. He followed the method described in "The Theory of Writing" and got up early every day to write and practice in the dark. He became obsessed with it. After a while, I looked at my handwriting and compared it with what I wrote before. Sure enough, there were some changes. One day his teacher Mrs. Wei was surprised after seeing it and said to people: "This child must have seen the secret of calligraphy. I found that his handwriting has reached the level of an adult recently. If it continues like this, what will happen to him?" The child's future achievements in calligraphy will definitely overwhelm my reputation."
Wang Xizhi was not complacent or complacent because of the teacher's praise. He was more attentive and diligent in writing the calligraphy, even to the point of forgetting to sleep and eat. .
One time during lunch, the bookboy brought his favorite mashed garlic and steamed buns. He urged him to eat them several times, but he still didn’t even raise his head. He concentrated on reading the post as if he hadn’t heard anything. , writing. The rice was cold, so the boy had no choice but to ask Wang Xizhi's mother to persuade him to eat. When her mother came to the study, she saw Xizhi holding a piece of steamed bun stained with ink and putting it into his mouth, which made his mouth full of black. It turned out that when Xizhi was eating the steamed buns, his eyes were still looking at the characters and he was thinking about how to write the characters. As a result, he mistakenly ate the ink as minced garlic. When my mother saw this scene, she couldn't help but burst out laughing. Wang Xizhi still didn’t know what was going on! Hearing his mother's laughter, he also said: "Today's minced garlic is so fragrant!"
Wang Xizhi persisted for decades, studied and practiced diligently, and developed very solid kung fu. This laid the foundation and paved the way for his future development. 5. Posting couplets at night
One New Year's Eve, Wang Xizhi posted couplets three times, but people who liked his calligraphy secretly took them away. On New Year's Eve, I had to write another one. He was afraid that someone would take it off again, so he cut it up and down and attached half of it first. The first line is "Blessings come in pairs" and the second line is "Misfortune never comes alone". In this way, it really worked. When people saw that what he wrote was not about Ji Qing Honghuo, they stopped exposing it. At the dawn of the new year, Wang Xizhi posted another half of the couplet, and the couplet became: "Unparalleled blessings come today, and misfortunes do not come alone last night." When passers-by heard this, they all high-fived and sighed. 6. Three points into the wood
In the past, stores that did business usually had signboards, and they always had to give their store numbers an auspicious name, such as "Guangyuanji", "Maoyuanji", "Kangtaiji", etc. Many. Shan said that there was a store that was doing well. It had expanded its storefront, added more goods, and wanted to change its sign to a new one. Don't underestimate this sign, it has a great influence on the quality of business. Therefore, signboards are generally made of good wood boards. By chance, someone found a wooden board that had been used to offer sacrifices to gods. The board was covered with inscriptions of sacrifices and blessings. At first, people didn't care. The shop owner asked people to wash away the calligraphy on the wooden board so that new content could be written. Unexpectedly, after scrubbing for a long time, the calligraphy on the board was not erased, but became clearer. If it couldn't be washed off, I just planed it. After one layer of wood planing, the handwriting was still visible; after two layers of wood planing, the handwriting could still be seen. People were surprised: Who wrote this? It was so profound and powerful. An old man who knew calligraphy came to take a look and immediately exclaimed in amazement.
Seeing him keep praising the case, everyone present was very surprised and gathered around to watch. The old man said: "This is the handwriting of the great calligrapher Wang Xizhi! This character is so profound and powerful, it is really penetrating!"
Why is Wang Xizhi's calligraphy so profound and powerful? This is related to his usual unremitting exercise. There is a story about "ringing beads" that illustrates this point from the side.
It is said that Wang Xizhi had a beloved pearl. This pearl is not only for fun and viewing, Wang Xizhi often rubs it with both hands to enhance his writing strength. One day, the pearl suddenly disappeared. I searched and searched, but couldn't find it. Wang Xizhi was very upset. Who had stolen it? Except for a monk who stayed at his home, there was no other outsider who was often around him... Therefore, he became indifferent to this monk. The monk discovered that his master was suspicious of him, so he stopped eating and starved to death in the name of "sitting down". Later, when the family was slaughtering the white goose, they found the pearl in the belly of the big white goose. It turned out that the big white goose swallowed the beads. After the matter was clarified, Wang Xizhi felt deeply that he had wrongly blamed the monk. He regretted it and was very sad. In order to commemorate this innocent monk, he transformed his house into the "Jie Zhu Temple", saying that he took the incident of the lost pearl as a lesson and should treat his friends with sincerity and not easily doubt others and cause them to suffer unjust injustice. As a calligrapher, Wang Xizhi not only paid attention to exercising his wrist strength and enhancing his pen power when writing, but also made strict demands on future generations. His son Wang Xianzhi learned calligraphy under the guidance of his father at a very young age. One time, in order to check Xianzhi's writing power, Wang Xizhi stood quietly behind him. While Xianzhi was concentrating on writing, he suddenly grabbed the brush in his son's hand with his fingers and pulled it up. Unexpectedly, Xianzhi held the brush tightly and the brush was not strong. was taken down. Wang Xizhi was very satisfied with this. He said happily: "This child can become a calligrapher in the future." He wrote a calligraphy on the spot and presented it to him. This incident shows that calligraphers’ writing skills are developed through hard work.
7. Bizhong (Tang Dynasty)
Zen Master Zhiyong was born between the Sui and Tang Dynasties. He was the seventh generation grandson of Wang Xizhi. He practiced calligraphy very hard and discarded all the worn out brushes. Over the years, he accumulated five large bamboo baskets, so he made inscriptions himself and buried these pens, which are called pen tombs, which shows his love for books and cherishing things.
8. Iron Gate
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".
9. Ouyang Tongxue Shumai father (Tang Dynasty)
Ouyang Tong is the son of Ouyang Xun. Ouyang Xun died when he was very young. After Ouyang Tong became sensible, his mother began to teach him to imitate his father's calligraphy. Ouyang Tong was young, and when he practiced calligraphy for a long time, he wanted to go out and play, and his handwriting was only so-so. His mother said to him, "Son, your father's calligraphy is very good. There are many people buying his calligraphy at very high prices. You must be like your father and write good calligraphy." Ouyang Tongting Liao said: "I can also write good calligraphy like my father, but I don't know what my father's calligraphy is like when others buy it." After that, he often accumulated the pocket money given by his mother and sold it to his father. Buy someone else's calligraphy back. When others refused to sell, he would pay a high price. After knowing that his father's calligraphy was really good, he stopped being lazy when practicing calligraphy. After several years of hard study, Ouyang Tong can write as well as his father, and people come to buy his handwriting
10. Qi Mi Tie (Tang Dynasty)
Yan Zhenqing was a former minister of the three dynasties of the Tang Dynasty. He was loyal, upright and well-known throughout the country. However, because he is honest and self-sufficient, he will never be greedy or take anything in vain, so he often cannot support himself in food and clothing. He once wrote a letter begging for rice to Li Taibao at that time, indicating that he was poor at childbirth and had a lot of index fingers at home. The family had been living on porridge for several months, and now there was no rice again. It was very disturbing. He hoped that in the past In terms of friendship, I asked him to give him some rice. That situation is really pitiable. Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy achievements have always been respected by future generations, which was somewhat inspired by his personality.
11. Liu Gongquan worked hard to practice calligraphy (Tang Dynasty)
One day, Liu Gongquan and several friends held a "book meeting".
At this time, an old man selling tofu saw the few words he wrote, "He can write Feifeng family and dares to praise it in front of others." He felt that the child was too proud, so he frowned and said, "This character writes It's not very good, just like my tofu, it's soft and has no bones or muscles. Is it still worth praising in front of others?" When the young man heard this, he said unhappily: "If you have the ability, you can write it. Let me read a few words."
The old man smiled heartily and said: "I don't dare, I don't dare, I am a rough man and I can't write well with my feet. The writing is much better than yours! If you don’t believe it, go to Huajing City and have a look.” The next day, Xiao Gongquan woke up at midnight and went to Huajing City alone. As soon as he entered Huajing City, he saw many people gathered under a big locust tree. He squeezed into the crowd and saw a thin, black old man with no beard and arms, sitting on the ground with bare feet, his left foot pressing the paper, and his right foot holding a pen. He was writing couplets freely, and the handwriting looked like a group of horses galloping, The dancing dragons and phoenixes won bursts of applause from the onlookers.
Xiao Gongquan knelt down in front of the old man with a plop and said, "I would like to become your teacher. Please tell me the secret of writing..." The old man hurriedly picked up Xiao Gongquan with his feet and said: "I am a lonely person. I was born without hands and had to rely on my feet to make a living. How can I serve as a role model for others?" The little Duke begged, and the old man spread a piece of paper on the ground and wrote with his right foot. A few words: "Write all the eight tanks of water, and the inkstone (yan) dyes the waterlogged (lao) pool black; Bo (bo) takes hundreds of heads (chang), and only then can dragons and phoenixes fly."
Liu Gongquan took the old man I kept the words in mind and worked hard to practice calligraphy from then on. Thick calluses have grown on my hands, and my elbows have been patched up layer after layer. After hard training, Liu Gongquan finally became a famous calligrapher in my country. 12. Character and Calligraphy (Song Dynasty)
There were four most famous calligraphers in the Song Dynasty, namely Su, Huang, Mi and Cai. Su is Su Shi, that is, Su Dongpo; Huang is Huang Tingjian; Mi is Mi Fu; these are all beyond reproach. But what about "Cai"? Some people say it’s Cai Jing, others say it’s Cai Xiang. Who is it? There are different opinions.
The most common theory is that this Cai was originally Cai Jing. Although people recognized his calligraphy attainments, they particularly hated his character, so they were unwilling to recognize his status as a calligrapher. During the Yuanyou reign of Zhezong of the Song Dynasty, in order to eliminate dissidents, he called Sima Guang and others "traitors", and personally wrote inscriptions on their "crimes" and engraved them into monuments and erected them across the country. At that time, many stonemasons refused to carve this stele, and as a result, they were all imprisoned and executed. As soon as Cai Jing died, people immediately smashed the "Monument to Yuanyou Party Members" to pieces. People also called him the "Four Traitors" together with Gao Qiu, Tong Guan, and Yang Jian who controlled the government at that time.
Cai Jing has a very bad character. How can people tolerate him among the "Four Great Calligraphers"? So he was fired. But "Su Huang Mi Cai" was smooth again, so Cai Xiang was replaced.
Cai Xiang is good at learning from the essence of his ancestors, and he works very hard. His calligraphy is very distinctive. Therefore, people think that he should be ranked first among the "four families" and should not be ranked last due to Cai Jing's involvement.
Cai Xiang not only has high attainments in calligraphy, but also has excellent character. When he was an official in the court, he dared to speak out, and even some powerful officials were afraid of him. When he was an official in Quanzhou, Fujian, he built the later famous Luoyang Bridge and a seven-mile boulevard, which was welcomed by the local people.
From this point of view, character is more important than book quality. If a person can only write well but cannot do good deeds, the people will despise him and will not give him honor even in the book world. Leave a small status.
13. Zheng Banqiao learned calligraphy (Qing Dynasty)
Zheng Banqiao, one of the "Eight Eccentrics" of Yangzhou in the Qing Dynasty, loved calligraphy since he was a child. He copied all calligraphy styles of famous ancient calligraphers. After a lot of hard practice, I finally made it almost exactly the same as what my predecessors had written, and it was realistic. But no one appreciated his calligraphy very much, and he himself was very anxious. He studied and practiced harder than before.
One summer evening, he and his wife were sitting outside to enjoy the cool air. He used his fingers to write on his thigh, and he wrote on his wife.
His wife hit his hand angrily and said, "You have your body (body), and I have mine. Why don't you write your own body and write other people's bodies?" When sleeping at night, Zheng Banqiao thought that everyone Everyone has their own body, and each person has his or her own font for writing. They are all different! Why do I always learn other people’s fonts instead of going my own way and writing in my own style? Even if I learn the same fonts as others, It's just someone else's font, without innovation or his own style, so what's the point? From then on, he took the strengths of each family and integrated them, using official script mixed with seal script, cursive script, running script and regular script, and used it as a painting method to write, Finally, the "six-and-a-half-point calligraphy", which is popular among both refined and popular people, was formed, which is often referred to as the "rubble-paved street style". He became a famous calligrapher and painter with a high reputation in the Qing Dynasty.