Appreciation of Li Yong's Calligraphy in Tang Dynasty

Li Yong (678 ~ 747) was a calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty. Word Taihe, Han nationality, Guangling Jiangdu (now Jiangdu District, Yangzhou), known as Jiangxia (now Wuchang, Hubei). His father Shan Li annotated Selected Works (edited by Liang Xiaotong). Li Yong is good at poetry and calligraphy, especially at regular script. Li Yong was a great calligrapher who was able to stand on his own feet under Wang Xizhi in the Tang Dynasty. During the Kaiyuan period, he was the magistrate of Beihai in Guanji County, so he was called Li Beihai. His running script was very famous in the Tang Dynasty, and even when he was alive, it was famous all over the world. At that time, Li Yong's inscription was a golden word, which was very popular with people at that time, so Li Yong was a very rich calligrapher at that time. At that time, many temples often rewarded them with gold, silver and money to write articles and monuments. He wrote 800 articles for people in his life and received tens of thousands of polishing fees. But he is still loyal and cherishes talents, and often uses these family assets to save the lonely and help others. Li Yong's inscriptions are often engraved by Fu Lingzhi, Huang Xianhe and Sheng Yuan Jishuo. According to the textual research of Yang Shen's "Dan Lead Record" in Ming Dynasty, these three people are probably also aliases of Li Yong. His works handed down from ancient times include Ye Youdao Monument, Duanzhou Stone Chamber, Lushan Temple Monument, Tolin Temple Monument, Huokeji Monument, Yunhui General Li Sixun Monument, Yunhui General Li Xiubei Monument, etc. Li Sixun Monument and Yuelu Mountain Temple Monument are the most important handed down books.

Li Yong's calligraphy master came from two kings, but he was innovative. His calligraphy is vigorous and handsome, with extraordinary momentum. He once said that those who learn from me will die like me, which shows his confidence in his calligraphy. The ancients said that "the right army is like a dragon, and the North Sea is like an elephant" (Three Postscripts of Dong Qichang's Li Beimei Jinyun in Ming Dynasty). This is the only calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty who let future generations stand side by side with the book sage Wang Xizhi. The so-called "North Sea is like an elephant" probably refers to the style characteristics of his running script such as Lushan Temple Monument. If the Li Sixun Monument is bold and unconstrained, it still reveals a romantic and unique atmosphere; Then, the Lushan Temple Monument can be said to be old and stable. The formation of this style benefited from his study and understanding of calligraphy art in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and more importantly, his bold and innovative spirit. He skillfully combined the exquisite running script of the two kings with the founder of the North Monument, absorbing the flexibility of the South Monument instead of taking its weak side; Apart from Wei Bei's plainness, he kept his heavy side, and while widely accepting the achievements of his predecessors, he unconsciously turned his temperament and people into pen and ink. Dong Qichang compared the strength of Li Yong's calligraphy to "the North Sea is like an elephant", which is also vivid.

Li Yong's calligraphers are masters of calligraphy of the two kings, but they are innovative. He removed the elegance and beauty of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, and used his pen carefully. His Fiona Fang had both. The font is slightly oblique, but solemn, which is more stable in adventure. This bold and heroic spirit has not been shown in the running script since the two kings of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Instead, it is vigorous and powerful, with a pen like a knife, vigorous and powerful, with crisp and neat stippling and full of spirit.

Li Yong's calligraphy takes advantage of the situation, and its overall structure is bold and vigorous, stable as Mount Tai, strong and powerful, and its structure has the spirit of a gentleman.

Li Yong's calligraphy has distinct levels, moderate line width, full of breath and coherent fonts. Because there are few ink calligraphy and many inscriptions, the overall composition is relatively neat, and there is no ink calligraphy for reference. Of course, there is also a copy of Li Yong's calligraphy that is considered to be copied by later generations, that is, the model, which is suspected to be copied by Li Yong, but the overall atmosphere remains the same.

There are also famous scholars who have studied Li Yong in the past dynasties, such as Su Shi, Mi Fei and Huang Tingjian in the Song Dynasty, Zhao Mengfu in the Yuan Dynasty and Wang Duo in the Ming Dynasty, all of whom have studied Li Yong's calligraphy and become outstanding masters. Learning and applying this theory can remove vulgar taste and increase the strength and vitality of brushwork.