Calligraphy is a traditional art unique to Chinese characters. It is also an artistic expression of words, so words with charm and beauty can be called works of art. As we all know, there have been many famous calligraphers in ancient Chinese history, and many of them are familiar to us, such as Wang Xizhi, Yan Zhenqing, Zhao Mengfu, Huang Tingjian, Su Shi, Liu Gongquan, Dong Qichang, Mi Fu, Ouyang Xun, Huai Su and others. Not only do they have extremely high attainments in calligraphy, but their classic masterpieces are also famous throughout the ages, causing future generations to imitate them. So what legendary stories do these famous calligraphers have that will be praised by future generations? Wang Xizhi presented calligraphy to the old lady who sells fans
Wang Xizhi's most famous masterpiece is "Preface to the Lanting Collection", which is also admired by countless calligraphy enthusiasts and is known as "the best running script in the world". There are many legendary stories about Wang Xizhi. One of them is that he once saw an old woman selling fans in the market, but the business was bleak and no one cared about her. He thought of a way to help her, saying that the fan could not be sold without words on it. He could give her the words, and then he wrote a few big words on the fan. But because it was written in running script, it looked a bit sloppy, and the old lady couldn't understand it, so she was a little unhappy. Wang Xizhi told her that if she told her name to people who bought fans, she would gain something. After she did so, the fans were all sold out. This also shows that his popularity in the calligraphy circle was already well-known at that time. Huaisu used banana leaves as paper to practice calligraphy assiduously
Many people know the story of Huaisu working hard to practice calligraphy. Because his family was relatively poor since he was a child, and he was very diligent and hard-working, when there was no paper, he thought of using huge banana leaves to practice calligraphy. So he planted many banana trees near the yard. When the trees grew, he used the leaves to practice calligraphy on them. Due to his perseverance and hard work, he developed good calligraphy and became a famous calligrapher.
In addition, there are also stories about Liu Gongquan’s apprenticeship and Ouyang Xun’s story of staying up all night and lingering in order to read the words on a stone tablet. There are many stories about these famous calligraphers who were obsessed with and practiced calligraphy assiduously. If you know anything else, please feel free to add.