The sage of poetry: Du Fu The sage of poetry: Su Shi The sage of calligraphy: Wang Xizhi The sage of history: Sima Qian
The sage of literature: Ouyang Xiu The sage of music: Guan Hanqing The sage of painting: Wu Daozi
Du Fu (712 AD - 770 AD), courtesy name Zimei, was of Han nationality, originally from Xiangyang, and later moved to Gong County, Henan Province. Called himself Shaoling Yelao, he was a great realist poet in the Tang Dynasty. Together with Li Bai, he was known as "Li Du". In order to distinguish them from the other two poets Li Shangyin and Du Mu, known as "Little Li Du", Du Fu and Li Bai are also collectively known as "Big Li Du", and Du Fu is often called "Old Du".
Du Fu had a profound influence on Chinese classical poetry. He was called the "Sage of Poetry" by later generations, and his poems were called the "History of Poetry". Later generations called him Du Shiyi and Du Gongbu, and also called him Du Shaoling and Du Caotang.
Du Fu created such masterpieces as "Looking in Spring", "Northern Expedition", "Three Officials" and "Three Farewells". In 759, Du Fu abandoned his official position and went to Sichuan. Although he escaped the war and lived a relatively stable life, he still cared about the common people and national affairs. Although Du Fu is a realist poet, he also has a wild and uninhibited side. It is not difficult to see Du Fu's heroic spirit from his famous work "Song of the Eight Immortals in Drinking".
The core of Du Fu's thought is the Confucian thought of benevolent government. He has the grand ambition of "bringing the kings to Yao and Shun, and then making the customs pure." Although Du Fu was not well-known during his lifetime, he later became famous and had a profound impact on both Chinese and Japanese literature. About 1,500 poems by Du Fu have been preserved, most of which are collected in "Du Gongbu Collection".
Su Shi (January 8, 1037 - August 24, 1101), also known as Zizhan and Hezhong, was also known as Dongpo Jushi, Taoist, and Su Xian in the world. Han nationality, a native of Meishan, Meizhou (now part of Meishan City, Sichuan Province) in the Northern Song Dynasty. An important writer in the Song Dynasty and the representative of the highest achievement of literature in the Song Dynasty. He was a Jinshi during the reign of Emperor Renzong Jiayou (1056-1063) of Song Dynasty. His poems have broad themes, are fresh and bold, are good at using exaggerated metaphors, and have a unique style. Together with Huang Tingjian, he is also known as "Su Huang". He is a representative of the bold and unrestrained Ci style, and is also known as "Su Xin" along with Xin Qiji. He also works in calligraphy and painting. There are "Dongpo Seven Collections", "Dongpo Yi Zhuan", "Dongpo Yuefu" and so on.
Wang Xizhi (303-361, 321-379), courtesy name Yishao, Han nationality, was a famous calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and was known as the "Sage of Calligraphy". A native of Langya (now Linyi, Shandong), he later moved to Shanyin, Huiji (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang), and lived in seclusion in Jinting, Shan County in his later years. He successively served as secretary Ying, general Ningyuan, and governor of Jiangzhou. Later, he was the internal history of Kuaiji and the general on the right. His calligraphy is good at Li, Cao, Kai, Xing and other styles. He studies the styles carefully, imitates them with his heart and hands, draws on the strengths of others, prepares various styles, and cultivates them in one furnace. He breaks away from the writing style of Han and Wei Dynasties and becomes his own style with far-reaching influence. The style is peaceful and natural, the writing style is euphemistic and subtle, and it is beautiful and graceful. His representative work "Lanting Preface" is known as "the best running script in the world". In the history of calligraphy, he and his son Wang Xianzhi are collectively known as the "Two Kings".
Sima Qian (145 BC - 90 BC), courtesy name Zichang, was a native of Xia Yang (now south of Hancheng, Shaanxi), or Longmen (now Hejin, Shanxi) [1]. A great historian, writer and thinker in the Western Han Dynasty of China. Sima Tan's son was appointed Taishi Ling. He was castrated for defending Li Ling's defeat and surrender, and was later appointed Zhongshu Ling. He worked hard to complete the historical books he wrote, and was honored as Shi Qian, Tai Shi Gong and the Father of History by later generations.
Sima Qian studied under Kong Anguo and Dong Zhongshu in his early years. He traveled around various places, learned about customs and collected rumors. When he was first appointed as a doctor, he was envoy to the southwest. In the third year of Yuanfeng (108 BC), he was appointed Taishi Ling, inherited his father's business, and wrote history. With his historical knowledge of "studying the relationship between heaven and man, understanding the changes of ancient and modern times, and becoming a family", he created China's first biographical general history "Shiji" (originally known as "Tai Shi Gong Shu"). It is recognized as a model of Chinese history books. This book records a history of more than 3,000 years from the Huangdi period in ancient legends to the first year of Yuanshou, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. It is the first of the "Twenty-Five Histories" and was praised by Lu Xun. "The historian's swan song, the rhymeless Li Sao".
Ouyang Xiu (August 1, 1007 - September 22, 1072), courtesy name Yongshu, nicknamed Zuiweng, Liuyi Jushi, Han nationality, Yongfeng, Jizhou (now Yongfeng County, Ji'an City, Jiangxi Province) ) was a politician and writer in the Northern Song Dynasty, and he was famous in politics.
Ouyang Xiu was the earliest literary leader to create a literary style in the literary history of the Song Dynasty.
[1] He led the poetry innovation movement in the Northern Song Dynasty and inherited and developed Han Yu's ancient prose theory. His high achievements in prose creation complemented his correct ancient prose theory, thus creating a generation of writing style. While Ouyang Xiu revolutionized his writing style, he also revolutionized the style of poetry and poetry. In terms of history, he also has high achievements.
Guan Hanqing (1219-1301), the founder of Zaju in the Yuan Dynasty, the greatest dramatist in the history of our country, the first of the "Four Masters of Yuan Opera". The late name is Ji Zhai (one name is Yi Zhai), Ji Zhai Sou. The Han nationality is from Jiezhou (now Yuncheng, Shanxi Province), and its native place is also from Dadu (now Beijing City) and Qizhou (now Anguo City, Hebei Province). Together with Bai Pu, Ma Zhiyuan, and Zheng Guangzu, they are called "Yuan people". "Four Masters of Qu". Zaju has achieved the greatest success, with 67 known to date and 18 extant. It is uncertain whether individual works were written by him. The most famous one is "The Injustice of Dou E". Guan Hanqing also wrote many historical dramas, such as "Single Sword Club", "Single Whip to Seize the Sword", "Dream of Western Shu", etc. Today, there are more than 40 Sanqu and more than 10 sets in Xiaoling. His Sanqu is rich in content, fresh and vigorous in style, and has high artistic value. Guan Hanqing's image of "I am a copper pea that cannot be steamed, boiled, pounded, stir-fried or exploded" ("Bu Fu Lao") is also widely known, and he is known as the "Sage of Music" .
Wu Daozi (about 680-759 AD), a famous painter in the Tang Dynasty, is honored as the Painting Sage in the history of painting, also known as Daoxuan. Han nationality, from Yangzhai (now Yuzhou, Henan). He was born around AD 680 (the first year of Yonglong) and died around AD 758 (the first year of Qianyuan). He was lonely and poor, and he became famous for his paintings when he was young. He once served as county lieutenant in Xiaqiu, Yanzhou (now Ziyang, Shandong), but resigned soon after. Later he lived in Luoyang and engaged in mural creation. During the Kaiyuan period, he was called to the court for his good paintings and served successively as enshrined minister, doctor of internal medicine, and friend of Prince Ning. He once studied calligraphy with Zhang Xu and He Zhizhang, and learned how to use pens by watching Lady Gongsun dance her sword. He is good at Buddhism, Taoism, gods and ghosts, figures, landscapes, birds and beasts, vegetation, pavilions, etc. He is especially good at Buddhism, Taoism, figures, and mural creation.