Chinese calligrapher of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The name is Boying. A native of Jiuquan, Dunhuang (now Jiuquan, Gansu Province). He was born into an official family, and his father Zhang Huan once served as Taichang Qing. Zhang Zhi is good at cursive writing in cursive script. He changed the ancient cursive writing method of distinguishing characters and separating strokes into a new writing method that involves up and down and is full of changes. He is full of originality and had a great influence at the time. He is known as the sage of cursive writing. No ink traces of his calligraphy have been handed down to the world, and only his "August Tie" and other engraved inscriptions are included in the "Chunhua Pavilion Tie" of the Northern Song Dynasty.
Table of Contents
Character Introduction Overview
Historical Materials
Evaluation
Artistic Features
Handwriting Analysis
Calligraphy Appreciation
Detailed Notes of the Grass Sage "Cross Sage"
Pen Making Expert
Character Story Introduction Summary
p>Historical materials
Evaluation
Artistic features
Handwriting analysis
Calligraphy appreciation
Cao Sheng "Grass Saint" Detailed Notes
Pen Making Expert
Character Stories
Expand and edit this character introduction
Overview
Zhang Zhi (AD? - about 192), courtesy name Boying, was a great calligrapher of the Eastern Han Dynasty, known as the "Cao Sage". A native of Yuanquan County, Dunhuang County (now east of Anxi County, Gansu Province). As for Zhang Zhi's birthplace, it is said in "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Zhang Huan's Biography" that he was "a native of Jiuquan, Dunhuang". A single word difference has been misrepresented for more than a thousand years. According to research by Qian Daxin, a native of the Qing Dynasty, he was a native of Yuanquan, Dunhuang, one of the six counties under the jurisdiction of Dunhuang County.
Historical materials
There are very few historical materials about Zhang Zhi. "Book of the Later Han·Biography of Zhang Huan" only records that the eldest son Zhi is the most famous, and his younger brother Chang is both good at cursive calligraphy. Wei Heng (AD? - 291 AD), a calligrapher of the Western Jin Dynasty, wrote "Four Styles of Calligraphy", saying: "Cursive script appeared during the rise of the Han Dynasty, but the name of the author is unknown. By the time of Emperor Zhang, Du Du, the Prime Minister of Qi, was known as a good calligrapher. Later there was Cui Yuan , Cui Shi, also known as Ji Gong, Hongnong Zhang Boying, so he refined his skills... Wei Zhongjiang Wei Dan (179--252 years), Wei Zhongjiang Wei Dan (179--252 years), was a famous doctor at the time. As a calligrapher, he believes: "Du Shijie has strong bones, but is thin in calligraphy and painting. Cui's method. The style of the calligraphy is very dense, and the wording is skillfully crafted, which sometimes falls short of the standard. Zhang Zhi was delighted and eager to learn. He can be said to be the sage of grass if he turns it into a master. "It shows that although Zhang Zhi had Du and Cui as his teachers, he came from behind and was "unparalleled and unparalleled". Zhang Huaiguan, a famous calligrapher and critic during the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, in his famous book "Broken Book", an outstanding monograph in the history of Chinese calligraphy There are hundreds of words discussing Zhang Zhi in detail. Most of the other calligraphers of the past dynasties quoted and agreed with the discussions of Wei Dan, Wei Heng, Zhang Huaiguan, Sun Guoting and others. Zhang Zhi's status as a grass-roots sage has been prominent in the Chinese calligraphy world ever since. Above, it will always shine brightly.
Evaluation
Zhang Zhi
Looking at the development trajectory of Chinese calligraphy, from Oracle Bone Inscriptions to Seal Script, it matured in the Qin Dynasty. The official script was the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty. Official script was popular in the Western Han Dynasty, but there was already cursive script. It can be said that seal script, official script, cursive script, xing script, and zhen script were all available. However, at this time, official script was slow and uneven, and Zhang Cao script with independent characters and official meanings. It can no longer meet the needs of people and social development. Instead, "jincao", which is fast and beautiful in writing, has formed a "cursive script craze" in society. Zhang Zhi learned the idea of ??cursive script from the folk and Du and Cui. The essence of art created a great masterpiece that transcended the times, that is, Zhang Zhi's "One Stroke Calligraphy", which was also called "Jincao" at that time, became famous all over the world and attracted many scholars. The style of the characters is made up of one stroke. Occasionally there are discontinuities, but the blood vessels are continuous, and when they are connected, the Qi vessels are connected to alternate lines." Above the words, although the strange shapes are combined, the numbers and meanings are included, like the image of a county ape drinking from a stream, and the hooks and chains are like a chain, which is deified and self-contained, and the abnormality is not revealed." "Leave it to nature", "Exquisite and wonderful, unparalleled in ancient and modern times"; "Zhang is strong in bones and muscles, and the most virtuous among all sages"; "Boying is the ancestor of cursive script". (Quotations from Zhang Huaiguan's "Shu Duan") Zhang Zhi The cursive script has influenced the development of the entire Chinese calligraphy and brought unparalleled vitality to the calligraphy world. Wang Xizhi, known as the sage of Chinese calligraphy, studied under Zhang Zhi in his middle age and admired Zhang Zhi. He believed that cursive script was not as good as Zhang Zhi. Su Ye claimed that his cursive script was derived from "Two Zhangs" (Zhang Zhi and Zhang Xu). Sun Guoting, a master of cursive script, also mentioned many times in his "Book Book" that he used Zhang Zhi's cursive script as a model throughout his life, saying that " Zhang Zhicao Sage, this is the integration of specialization and excellence, which makes him unparalleled."
The history of Chinese calligraphy tells us that "from the late Han Dynasty to the mid-Tang Dynasty, in the field of cursive calligraphy, Wei Dan, Wei Guan, Suo Jing, Wei Heng and other famous calligraphy figures emerged in the field of cursive calligraphy, including Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi. , Zhang Xu, and Huai Su are four masters who have shone through the ages. Their inheritance is derived from the first giant in the history of Chinese calligraphy - the grass sage Zhang Zhi. "New Exploration of Aesthetics") This is a historical reality and an objective evaluation. Zhang Zhi
It is no accident that Zhang Zhi won the honor of "Grass Sage". This is closely related to his philosophy of life and academic attitude. Zhang Zhi came from a famous family, and his father Zhang Huan was a famous official in the Han Dynasty. "The son of Boying, a famous official, was young but highly educated. He was diligent in studying and practicing ancient times. He practiced through the Ming Dynasty. The court claimed that he had the right way to conquer him, but he refused." ("Broken Book") Zhang Zhi was appreciated by the court for his "righteousness" and issued an edict to seek talents and make him an official. However, he ignored him and was willing to work as a commoner. This kind of ideological state of not being greedy for high-ranking officials, being rich and remunerative, being clean and caring for himself, is admirable. Zhang Zhi's arduous study of calligraphy to the point of intoxication is also amazing. "Every family's clothes and silk must be written first and then practiced. When you come to the pond to learn calligraphy, the pond water is full of ink." (Wei Heng's "Four-body Calligraphy") According to the "Shazhou Dudufu Illustrated Book" about "Zhangzhi Mochi": "Zhang Zhi studied calligraphy here. The pond was filled with ink, and the calligraphy was peerless. It was famous all over the world. Because Wang Xizhi's "Fanshu Lun" said: 'Linside the pond to study calligraphy, the pond water was exhausted with ink. It is so good that I, the Buddha, can do it.'" " There is a poem "Ode to the Ink Pond" in "Twenty Odes of Dunhuang Monuments" that praises: "In the past, people were very good at seal script, and Xu Zhangzhi was perfect. The sacred grass has been majestic through the ages, and it is famous for a while. I watched the bird traces on paper, and dyed the fish seal with ink. I always want to visit the pond. When I'm here, I come to chat and chant poems." It was through such hard work and hard work that Zhang Zhi climbed to the pinnacle of calligraphy art. His books are "treasures for the world, and every inch of the paper is preserved", and he became a well-deserved Chinese calligraphy sage. Zhang Zhi's ink writing can be found in "Chunhua Pavilion Tie", which contains five Tie 38 lines. Zhang Zhi wrote five chapters of "Bi Xin Lun", but unfortunately they have been lost long ago. Zhang Zhi is also an expert in making brushes.