The four great masters of the early Tang Dynasty? Ouyang Xun, Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang, and Xue Ji represented this fashion. In terms of running and cursive calligraphy, we still adhere to the laws of the royal sect of the Jin Dynasty, with Wang Xizhi as the master, and there are not many new ideas. In addition to the above four calligraphers in the early Tang Dynasty, there were also Zhong Shaojing, Lu Jianzhi, Wang Zhijing and Tang Taizong.
Taizong was well known for his fondness for calligraphy. In order to cultivate calligraphy talents, calligraphy was included in the six studies under the Central Imperial College. In addition, the Hongwen Hall also has calligraphy. Volume 8 of "Liu Dian of the Tang Dynasty" "Hongwen Hall" records: In the first year of Zhenguan, Dun saw that he had been appointed to the fifth rank of civil and military officials in Beijing, and those who had a love for learning books and a talent for books, After listening to the calligraphy studies in the library, his Dharma books came out. In that year, twenty-four people entered the museum and asked Yu Shinan and Ouyang Xun to teach them regular script. ?This kind of education system in the Tang Dynasty had very positive significance in cultivating a large number of calligraphy talents and promoting the improvement of calligraphy level.
In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, the Ming Shu subject was set up among the subjects of the imperial examination, specifically recruiting talents with attainments in calligraphy. In other words, as long as you have achievements in calligraphy, you can also get a job through the imperial examination. Official qualifications played a very important role in encouraging people to learn calligraphy. The Tang Dynasty stipulated that the Ministry of Personnel organize an official election every year. Those who participated in the election had to take physical, verbal, written, and judgment examinations. Only after passing the examination could they be awarded official positions. Among them, "calligraphy" refers to the calligraphy test, which shows that the Tang government had strict calligraphy requirements for officials. All of this is closely related to Taizong's emphasis on and love for calligraphy.
Although Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, was also fond of calligraphy during the Wude period, he was busy fighting the war to quell the separatist regime and was in a trance, so he had no time to take care of this hobby. After he became emperor, he took various measures to promote calligraphy. development. The first step in learning calligraphy is to copy the handwriting of calligraphers of previous generations. Copying well is the key to success in learning calligraphy. Taizong had a unique view on this point. He said: Now when I read the ancient books, I do not learn from their situation, but only seek their strength. As long as the strength of the bones is obtained, the situation will arise on its own. However, everything I do must be done with intention first, so the result can be achieved. ?This insight is the key to learning calligraphy.
Taizong also believed that when you first learn calligraphy, you should have a righteous mind and a harmonious ambition. If the mind is not straight, the writing will be slanted; if the ambition is not harmonious, the writing will be lopsided (Volume 10 of "Quan Tangwen"). He also summarized a set of calligraphy tips based on his long-term experience in studying calligraphy, and put forward his own unique views and experiences on the writing methods of dot, stroke, Qing, vertical, Ge, ring, wave and other strokes. Taizong believes that there is no reason why you cannot master any skill. The key lies in whether you can concentrate on it. As long as you practice hard, you can achieve success.
He believes that it is not enough to just practice hard in learning calligraphy. You must also use your brain to think and constantly sum up experience. He also believed that the difficulty of learning calligraphy lies in spiritual resemblance, followed by form and quality, and those who combine both are like the ancients. If you achieve both form and spirit, you can reach the level of ancient famous calligraphers.
The most respected calligrapher of the previous generation by Taizong was Wang Xizhi of Jin Dynasty. He collected many of Wang Xizhi's ink calligraphy throughout his life, according to "Tang Huiyao". Volume 35 of "Calligraphy" records that he obtained the authentic calligraphy of Zhong and Wang. Volume 1 of "Xuanhe Calligraphy" says that he was "elegant and fond of Wang Xi's calligraphy. He admired and followed it with his hands." Neiquan purchased gold and silk, and obtained more than 2,200 pieces of genuine, running, and cursive paper. He spared no effort to imitate it?
Taizong wanted to obtain Wang Xizhi's most famous work ( "Lanting Preface" also left an interesting story. According to Volume 16 of Kuaiji Zhi written by Shi Su of the Song Dynasty: "Lanting Preface" has flowed from the court to the people since the turmoil in the late Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty. Chen Chaotianjia (560-566) It was acquired by the monk Zhiyong during the reign of Emperor Xuan of Chen Dynasty. After the Sui Dynasty destroyed the Chen Dynasty, (Lanting Preface) was acquired by Yang Guang, the then commander-in-chief of the Chen Dynasty. Yang Guang did not cherish it. Seng Guo borrowed the rubbings from him, but after Yang Guang became emperor, he forgot about it and did not ask Seng Guo for it.
After Seng Guo's death, his disciple Seng Biancai got it. "Lanting Preface". When Li Shimin was the king of Qin, he got a rubbing of "Lanting Preface" and was very surprised. He ordered people to buy the original copy, but he didn't get it. Later, he learned that Biancai had the original "Lanting Preface" and sent Ouyang Xun there. After asking for it, he presented it to Li Shimin, who was in Wude at that time.
According to "Dharma Book Yaolu", "Lanting Preface" was obtained by monk Zhiyong. After Zhiyong died, his disciple monk Biancai. income.
During Zhenguan, Taizong devoted himself to learning calligraphy in his spare time from attending to politics. Although he obtained many authentic calligraphy works by Wang Xizhi, only the original "Lanting Preface" has never been obtained. When he heard that this thing was in the hands of Biancai, he issued an edict to summon him to the capital, where he made offerings to him in the inner monastery, and asked about the whereabouts of the "Lanting Preface".
Biancai said that he had indeed seen this object before his teacher's death, but since his teacher's death, it has been lost due to repeated wars. Taizong had no choice but to release him back to Yuezhou (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang). Later, he was summoned to the capital to trace the object. Three times, he could not be persuaded to donate the object. So Prime Minister Fang Xuanling recommended to Taizong that the censor Xiao Yi, who was the great-grandson of Emperor Yuan of Liang, was resourceful and talented, and ordered him to go to Yuezhou to try to obtain the "Lanting Preface". Xiao Yi disguised himself as a merchant and sneaked to Yuezhou.
Xiao Yi disguised himself as a down-and-out scholar and went into the temple where Bencai lived at dusk, worshiped the Buddha and looked at the murals, thus getting close to Bencai. Because of his erudition and talent, he and Biancai could talk well together. The two played chess, composed poems, and talked about literature, history, calligraphy and painting. They met happily and stayed for more than ten days. One day, Xiao Yi took out the "Zong Gong Tu" written by Emperor Liang Yuan and showed it to Bian Cai, and they talked about calligraphy again. Xiao Yi said that he also liked Er Wang's calligraphy and carried several of them with him. After reading it, Biancai said: "This is what it is, but it is not good or good." Pindao has an authentic work, which is quite extraordinary. Xiao Yi asked: "What post?" The answer was: "Lanting". Xiao Yi smiled and said: "The scriptures have been separated in confusion. How can the original work be there? It must be a false one." ?Biancai told him the origin of this object in detail and invited him to come and see it tomorrow.
The next day, Xiao Yi saw the original "Lanting Preface" and deliberately said that it was a rubbing. The two argued repeatedly. Later, Xiao Yi took advantage of Bancai's departure from the temple to take away the "Lanting Preface", and summoned Biancai through the local governor Qi Shanxing, telling him that he had been ordered to come to obtain the "Lanting Preface". When Biancai heard this, he fainted on the spot and took a long time to recover.
Xiao Yi returned to the capital Chang'an and presented "Lanting Preface". Taizong was overjoyed and rewarded him with a promotion. Although Taizong angrily argued that he was secretly stingy, he could not bear to increase the punishment because of his old age. ?A few months later, he was still given three thousand pieces of goods and three thousand stones of grain, and he rescued Yuezhou and provided supplies. I didn't dare to use it for my own use, so I built a three-story pagoda. The pagoda is very beautiful. ? Later, Taizong ordered four people, including Zhao Mo, Han Daozheng, Feng Chengsu and Zhuge Zhen, to enshrine several copies of the calligraphers and distribute them to the prince, kings and ministers. Before his death, Emperor Taizong ordered the "Lanting Preface" to be buried in Zhaoling as a burial object. There are two different records about this matter. One is that Prime Minister Chu Suiliang asked him to be buried in Zhaoling. The other is that Taizong ordered Gaozong Li Zhi to be buried in Zhaoling after his death.
The story of Xiao Yi outwitting the "Orchid Pavilion Preface" is widely circulated. Gu Deqian, a great painter of the Southern Tang Dynasty, also created a "Picture of Xiao Yi Taking the Orchid Pavilion" based on this incident. Sang Shichang, a native of the Song Dynasty, was the nephew of the great poet Lu You. He once wrote the book "Lanting Kao", consisting of twelve volumes, and also mentioned this story. Although the story about Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty and the "Lanting Preface" has been recorded in many classics, generally speaking, there are no two versions of the above, except for slight differences in some small details or time.
Taizong mainly studied calligraphy from Yu Shinan. Yu Shinan once studied under the monk Zhiyong, who was the seventh-generation grandson of Wang Xizhi. He was a monk at Yongxin Temple in Shanyin and was known as "Yong Zen Master". He was good at regular script and cursive script, and inherited the Wang family's family tradition. Yu Shinan studied calligraphy from him and learned a lot about it. In fact, Zhiyong's calligraphy achievements are not as good as Yu Shinan's, and people in the Tang Dynasty have commented on this. Because he was a descendant of the Wang family, and Taizong loved Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, he was very famous, and those who asked for his calligraphy crossed the "iron threshold".
Taizong studied calligraphy with Yu Shinan. After Yu Shinan's death, because Chu Suiliang had learned the true meaning of Wang's calligraphy, he became Taizong's calligrapher and often attended Taizong to study calligraphy together. When Taizong was practicing calligraphy, he often couldn't write the radical of "ge" well. Once, Taizong wrote only half of the character "戈", leaving the radical "ge" unwritten. He ordered Yu Shinan to complete the character, and then ordered Chu Suiliang to comment. Chu Suiliang said: "Now I have a glimpse of the saint's work, but I can see that the technique of "Jian" is very realistic." ? (Volume 1 of Chen Si's "Shu Xiaoshi") Taizong admired his vision very much and practiced more diligently from then on.
Thanks to Qian Taizong's diligent study and practice, coupled with proper methods and guidance from famous experts, his calligraphy level improved rapidly. Fang Xuanling said that Taizong's writing power exceeded that of Zhang Zhi, a famous calligrapher of the previous generation. This is a bit exaggerated, but it is an indisputable fact that Taizong's calligraphy level was higher. The book "Tang Dynasty Xu Shu Lu" said that Taizong's writing power was so powerful that it was a masterpiece for a while. "Calligraphy" Volume 35 of "Tang Huiyao" says: "The style of his writing is astonishing." It can be seen that the level is still relatively high. Because of this, Taizong often donated his works to others.
For example, in May of the 18th year of Zhenguan (644), he wrote the words "Luan Feng, Pan Long" on the fan with Fei Bai, and gave it to Changsun Wuji and Yang Shidao.
Feibai is a calligraphy style using dry ink. The strokes are slightly white, hence the name "Feibai". In addition, Taizong also wrote in Feibai: "When the phoenix soars into the sky, it must have false wings, and the fat of the buttocks must be sent to Ma Zhou with loyalty." He wrote to Dai Zhide "The Flooding Source, Hou Zhouyi"; to Hao Chujun "Flying in the Sky, False Six Piams"; to Li Jingxuan he wrote "Zi Qiwo, exhausted Dan Cheng"; he may have placed high hopes on his ministers. , or encourage. Taizong also wrote very well in running script. His representative works include "Hot Spring Inscription" and "Jinci Inscription", which have been passed down to this day.
The level of calligraphy in Tang Taizong's later years has been greatly improved, and he also occupied a place in the history of calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty. His calligraphy works became the object of people's pursuit at that time. For example, on February 17, the 18th year of Zhenguan, Taizong held a banquet at Xuanwumen and invited officials of the third rank or above in the court to attend. Taizong was happy for a moment and wrote Fei Bai's book. At that time, the officials took advantage of the drunkenness and snatched it from Taizong's hands. Liu Jie actually climbed onto the imperial bed and grabbed it first. Those ministers who did not grab it all accused Liu Jie of being on the imperial bed without permission, and he was guilty of death, and asked Taizong to hand him over to the judicial department for punishment. Taizong smiled. It was a joy for the emperor and his ministers. Of course, Taizong did not want to ruin everyone's happiness because of one person's temporary mistakes.
Tang Taizong also liked to write poems and essays. "Quan Tangwen" alone contains seven volumes of his articles, and "Quan Tang Poems" contains 69 of his poems (all of these poems are Taizong's works) , but the articles included in "Quan Tangwen" are not necessarily all his works). These articles can be roughly divided into types such as Fu, edicts, books, books, prefaces, sacrificial texts, orders, political treatises, calligraphies, etc. Among them, most of the edicts, edicts, books, sacrificial texts, etc. are not written by Taizong, but are related to Officials wrote in the name of Taizong, and other types such as fu, political commentaries, prefaces, inscriptions, etc. should be written by Taizong. These articles written by Taizong are all in parallel style, using many allusions, paying attention to antithesis, rhyme, and gorgeous rhetoric. They have not yet got rid of the influence of the beautiful writing style of the Six Dynasties. This is also a common problem in the literary world in the early Tang Dynasty. Taizong is not the only one who is like this. Of course, these are all unfounded. Commendable.
However, Taizong was a British ruler after all, and the content of some articles was quite substantial, especially the political articles, which were incisive and meaningful, and were mostly summaries of his long-term political experience in power. One of the articles, "The Golden Mirror," conducts a detailed analysis of the successes and failures of fighting chaos in history, thereby summarizing experiences and lessons worth learning from, as well as famous aphorisms. The "Preface to the Emperor's Model", "The Preface to the Post", "On the Fundamentals of Government", "On the Jue Slander of the Ministers" and other articles are rare political articles, and the contents discussed are all relatively important ones that existed at that time. question.
When people in the Song Dynasty commented on Taizong's writing style, they believed that he had great achievements. However, the articles he wrote were delicate and elegant, with the sound of charming women and children laughing, which was not commensurate with his great achievements. In fact, this was a manifestation of the limitations of the times. The entire literary style at that time was like this, and it was difficult for Taizong himself to break through.
However, from an objective perspective, Taizong's literary works are not entirely without merit. Although his poems such as "Ode to the Little Mountain" and "Ode to the Little Pond" are not powerful, their commanding demeanor is more impressive. It is very disproportionate, but there are also passages with detailed description and elegant diction. For example, in "Ode to a Small Mountain", the pine trees are new and emerald, and the osmanthus is light and strong enough to defeat the butterflies, but it attracts the orioles unintentionally. Half of the leaves are comfortable but the rock is dark, a flower is scattered but the peak is bright. The poem in "Ode to a Small Pond" leads the narrow mirror and searches for it for several times, and the mustard boat has sunk. "Reduce the subtlety and make it shallower, and make it more profound". These sentences have been highly praised by later generations. The so-called "exaggerate the small characters, the work is wonderful", it can be seen that those with great talent must be careful. ("The Complete Chronicles of Tang Dynasty" Volume 4)
Taizong's poems, like his articles, still cannot escape the influence of the Southern Dynasties. His poems follow the rules and follow the same sentence line by line. They are no different from ordinary scribes and lack the heroic spirit of an entrepreneurial hero. Judging from Taizong's poems collected in "Complete Poems of the Tang Dynasty", they generally contain content such as chanting objects, describing scenery, recounting feelings, patrolling, singing harmony between monarchs and ministers, and palace life. Generally speaking, the genre of these works are five-character poems, which are artificial, have a strong palace atmosphere, and lack the atmosphere of social life. This is related to his imperial status and living environment, so it is impossible to create poems that are close to social life. From the perspective of artistic form, the style is single, the form is rigid, and it lacks touching artistic charm. However, careful analysis shows that Taizong's poems are not without merit.
First of all, the content of the poems is highly political. Many poems reflect Taizong's consistent thoughts of governing the country and benefiting the people, being careful about punishment and rewards, observing the good and accepting advice, being frugal in spending, and developing production.
For example, in his poem "Yong Yu", "The gentle breeze blows the green fields, the plum rain spreads the fragrant fields", "The flowers are more colorful, and the new year is coming" and other lines, from the continuous spring rain to agricultural production, it makes an emperor look forward to a good harvest. The mood is vividly expressed. Another example is the poem "Going to Santai to express his ambitions": "A man was a strong man in the early days of Weiyang. In the past, he was still prosperous in the crisis. How can he live in luxury and serve others?" It points out the historical lessons of the violent Qin Dynasty that destroyed the people and continued to work, causing the world to be in chaos and the country to fall. At the same time, this poem also runs through his thoughts on governing the country with ease and peace with the people.
Another characteristic of Taizong's poems is that some poems express his extraordinary spirit of commanding thousands of troops, wiping out separatist regimes, and unifying the country. Most of these poems are majestic and have strong appeal, such as "The Battle of Xue Ju". 》In the poem, "The front is shocked and the lightning rises, and the battle is fought on the long river. The camp is shattered and the stars sink, and the clouds are split." This eliminates the shortcomings of the past rhetoric and lack of momentum. Both the wording and the spirit are better. Big changes.
His poem "Drinking Horses in the Great Wall Cave" is majestic, broad in vision, and tragic and generous. It is a rare masterpiece among Taizong's poems. "Beyond the Great Wall, the wind is blowing, and the river is icy." End. The vast sea has hundreds of waves, and the Yinshan Mountains are covered with thousands of miles of snow. The sentences "" and "" are the best. It is impossible for people who have not experienced frontier wars to write such poems.
In short, the poems of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty are the best. Although there are many of them, there are also some better works, but overall, the level is not very high, especially the lack of grandeur, which is incomparable with his political and military achievements. Of course, it is required of an emperor to create. Works with high artistic standards are somewhat demanding. However, a hero with outstanding achievements like Taizong was also a great commander on the battlefield. The so-called literary works must show some extraordinary spirit.
Like this. Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, wrote "The strong winds are blowing and the clouds are flying, and the powerful warriors are returning to their hometown in the sea, and the warriors are guarding the four directions". The Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin's "Before leaving the bottom of the sea, thousands of mountains are dark, and then all the nations in the sky are clear". The majestic spirit, in the Tang Dynasty It cannot be found in Taizong's works. However, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was also self-aware. In the eleventh year of Zhenguan (637), Zuo Lang Deng Shilong submitted a request to compile Taizong's collected works, but he said: "Mortals only focus on virtue, why do they need to write articles?" "Zhenguan Zhengyao" Volume 7), refused to organize editing.