Zhong Yuan Li, who is 70 years old, has always been called "everyone" in the book circle, but his gentle temperament and elegant demeanor make people feel no estrangement. Even when answering questions from strangers, they are still calm and unpretentious, which makes people admire.
At the age of six, Zhong Yuan Li began to practice calligraphy at the urging of his grandfather. He has been practicing calligraphy for decades. He started from Ou Yangxun, studied under Chu Suiliang and Yan Zhenqing, liked running script, imitated "Two Kings" and Mi Fei, and paid attention to inheriting the eclectic tradition. As for why the exhibition was held for the first time at the age of 75, Zhong Yuan Li said with a smile, "Any artist wants to show his works to the public and society, which is also the ultimate goal of creation. But for me, I always felt that time was not enough and my works were not mature, so I didn't hold an exhibition. " Zhong Yuan Li has been preparing for this exhibition for four years, and more than 100 works on display are his favorite works in various styles he has studied for many years. Nowadays, calligraphy has become a part of his life, and he feels uncomfortable without writing a few strokes every day. "Calligraphy is an art, and it also gives me a way of life and attitude, especially the spirit of taking pleasure in suffering, which makes my life full of vitality."
The exhibition lasted for several days, and visitors poured in every day. On the opening day, nearly a thousand people even visited the scene, showing Zhong Yuan Li's position in the eyes of book circles and painting and calligraphy lovers. In fact, anyone familiar with Zhong Yuan Li knows that he is not only a calligrapher, but also a scholar and poet.
For many years, Zhong Yuan Li has been engaged in the study of ancient art in China and the archaeological work in Shenyang. He not only compiled Selected Famous Paintings of Qing Dynasty in Shenyang Forbidden City, Couplets of Ming and Qing Dynasties, Decorative Allusions, Manuscript of Yuan Zhai, and Essence of Wang Xizhi's Calligraphy, but also published papers such as Ancient Houyi and Origin of Bamboo Painting, which were affirmed by the industry. Zhong Yuan Li also likes to give people classical poems, which are fresh and elegant and have a unique charm. Low-key Zhong Yuan Li, indifferent to fame and fortune, but not indifferent to the secular. I am especially worried about the impact of modern cultural products such as computers on calligraphy. He thinks that practicing calligraphy is a hard and savvy thing, and not everyone can learn it. "If you want to be a real calligrapher, you must spend 30 years. There are tens of thousands of people practicing calligraphy in our generation, and less than ten people have made small achievements so far. There are very few people practicing calligraphy now, and the impact of modernization and traditional art is a serious problem at present. " Zhong Yuan Li said seriously, "Calligraphy is now on the verge of extinction. There are too few people who write calligraphy except calligraphers. Calligraphy has completely become an art, divorced from people's lives. This is hard to change. "
Zhong Yuan Li thinks that calligraphers should not care about and interfere with the high price in the calligraphy market. "Only by inheriting calligraphy as a traditional culture can people truly carry forward this art, rather than measuring it with money."