Mi Fu’s story: It is said that Mi Fu’s family was very poor when he was a child, but his parents saw that he liked writing very much, so they sent him to school. However, Mi Fu studied for three years, but his studies failed. No progress at all.
One day, he heard that a scholar who was very good at writing was passing by the school to take the exam. He went to the scholar and wanted the scholar to teach him how to write. The scholar said that he wanted Mi Fu to buy him. Mi Fu bought the paper and filled it with words and showed it to him three days later. Mi Fu later bought the scholar's paper, but he didn't write a word after three days. The scholar asked her why she didn't write, and he said the paper was too expensive. I didn’t dare to write on it before I thought about it, for fear of making a mistake and wasting it, so I wrote with clear water every time.
Xiu Cai said that since you have been thinking about it for three days, you can use a brush and ink to write a word for me to see. So Mi Fu carefully wrote the word "Yong", which was very good. The scholar then asked him why. He had studied in school for three years and had not made any progress at all. How could he write so well after learning calligraphy in three days?
Mi Fu said it’s because the paper I usually write on is not that expensive, so I don’t pay much attention to it when I write and it’s very casual. This time it’s because paper is too expensive, so I will think carefully about how to write before I write. The scholar said that's right. You should write carefully and concentrate on it, instead of just observing the shape of the words. Only in this way can you practice good calligraphy.
Introduction to Mi Fu
Mi Fu (1051-1107), first named Fu, later changed to Fu, with the courtesy name Yuanzhang, and his own name was Mi or Mi. His ancestral home was Taiyuan. Later he moved to Xiangyang, Hubei and was relegated to Runzhou (now Zhenjiang, Jiangsu). At that time, he was known as Haiyue Waishi, also known as the descendant of Wan Xiong and the descendant of Huozheng. He was a calligrapher, painter, and theorist of calligraphy and painting in the Northern Song Dynasty. Together with Cai Xiang, Su Shi, and Huang Tingjian, he was known as the "Four Masters of Song Dynasty". He served as a school calligrapher, a doctor of calligraphy and painting, and a member of the Ministry of Rites.
Mi Fu's calligraphy and painting are unique in style, with dead wood, bamboo and stone, and landscape paintings having unique style and characteristics. He is also quite accomplished in calligraphy, and is good at seal script, official script, regular script, running script, cursive script and other calligraphy styles. He is good at copying ancient calligraphy to a certain degree of authenticity. His main works include "Zhang Jiming's Tie", "Li Taishi's Tie", "Zijin Yan's Tie", "Light Mo Qiu Shan Poetry", etc. "Shu Su Tie" written by Mi Fu, also known as "Ancient Poetry Tie", is the eighth running script in the world and is praised by later generations as the most beautiful Tie in China.
Reference for the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia—Mi Fu