Zhang Xu's calligraphy began with Zhang Zhi and Two Kings, and he was brave in innovation, taking cursive script as the highest achievement, and was called "the sage of grass" in history. He himself is proud of inheriting the tradition of "two kings" and has laws in every word; On the other hand, he imitated Zhang Zhi's cursive art and created an unpredictable wild grass, which shocked the world.
Yan Zhenqing resigned twice and asked him for brushwork, which shows that his basic skills are solid. Zhang Xu's cursive brushwork is like drawing sand on a cone, which is implicit and unrestrained, with strong and smooth lines, slightly involving official methods and eclectic. Composition, unrestrained passion, smooth charm, cursive new style.
Zhang Xu's creation, with its overwhelming momentum and vivid charm, made cursive script reach an unprecedented height in his hands. The appearance of "Wild Grass" has improved the expressive force of calligraphy art unprecedentedly, and calligraphy has been completely liberated from the practical field and has become a lyric art with a high realm.
Introduction to Zhang Xu:
Zhang Xu, a native of Wuxian County, Suzhou (now Suzhou, Jiangsu), was a calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty, good at cursive writing and fond of drinking. Known as "Zhang Dian", he is called "Wu Sizi" with Huai Su, "Wu Sizi" with He, Zhang and Bao Rong, and "Drinking" with whom. His cursive script is similar to Li Bai's poems and songs and Pei Min's.
Zhang Xu was born in a family with a high family background. He studied calligraphy under his cousin Lu Yanyuan, and was highly praised by Wu Daozi and Yan Zhenqing after his success. When he was old, he was promoted or recommended, recruited talents, entered the official position, and was released as a captain of Changshu County. He has served as the left governor and the governor, so he is called "Zhang Changshi" by the world; He died in the second year of Gan Yuan (759) at the age of 75.
In calligraphy, Zhang is good at observing objective things and combining objective natural images with personal subjective feelings. He not only inherits tradition, but also dares to innovate. By inheriting and innovating the calligraphy achievements of predecessors, his own weed art reached a peak in the prosperous Tang Dynasty.