The alias of Zhang Zhi, an ancient calligrapher: Zhang Boying
Zhang Zhi, whose birth year is unknown, died in the third year of Emperor Xiandi's Chuping (about 192 AD). Han nationality, Guazhou County (now Jiuquan City, Gansu Province). Calligrapher of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Son of Zhang Huan, a senior sinong in Sanming, Liangzhou. Born into an official family.
Zhang Zhi is good at Zhang Cao in cursive script. He changed the ancient cursive method of distinguishing characters and separating strokes into a new way of writing, which is full of originality and great influence at that time, and is known as the "sage of grass". There is no ink mark handed down from generation to generation today, and only his August Post is included in the Chunhua Pavilion Post in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Zhang Zhi, Zhong You, Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi are also called "four sages in the book".
Zhang Zhi, the first master in the history of calligraphy in China, was born in the Eastern Han Dynasty with an unknown date of birth.
He died in 192 AD. Zhang Zhi's native place, The Book of the Later Han Dynasty is a biography of his father, Zhang Huan, who is said to be a native of Jiuquan, Dunhuang. A word of error has been rumored for more than a thousand years. Until Qian Daxin, the giant of exegetics in Qing Dynasty, confirmed that Zhang Zhi was from Yuanquan, Dunhuang County, Eastern Han Dynasty. Yuanquan was one of the six counties under the jurisdiction of Dunhuang County in Han Dynasty (now around Sidaogou Old Town, Guazhou County, Jiuquan City, Gansu Province).
There are few historical materials about Zhang Zhi's life, which is related to his noble sentiment and his lack of fame. In The Biography of Zhang Huan in the Later Han Dynasty, it is only mentioned that "the eldest son Zhi is the most famous, and his younger brother Chang is good at cursive writing". Although it is extremely brief, it can be seen that Zhang Zhi was already famous for his calligraphy achievements at that time. Wei Heng, a calligrapher of the Western Jin Dynasty, who was slightly later than Zhang Zhi, said in his calligraphy theory book "Four-body Calligraphy": "There are cursive scripts in Han Dynasty ... When Emperor Zhang arrived, Qi Xiang Du Du claimed to be a good work; "Then came Cui Yuan and Cui Shi, also known as good workers. And "those who propagate agriculture in Zhang Boying are clever ... Wei Zhong will call them grass saints." Wei Zhong, the famous minister of Wei in the Three Kingdoms, was a famous calligrapher at that time. His basis was that Du Du's cursive script was strong, but his handwriting was thin. Cui Yuan and Cui Shi's patriarchal clan system Du Du Du said, "The style of writing is very strong, and the words are skillful." "Zhang Zhi likes to learn from it and turns it into a clever one, which can be described as a sage of grass." It shows that Zhang Zhi studied with Fadu and Cui, but shine on you was "unparalleled in advance and unique". Zhang Huaikun, a famous calligrapher and critic at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, wrote hundreds of words about Zhang Zhi in his calligraphy theory masterpiece Shuduan, which confirmed his important position in Chinese calligraphy. Since then, calligraphers and critics of all previous dynasties have followed the expositions of Wei Dan, Wei Heng, Zhang Huaiguan and Sun Guoting with a positive attitude. Since then, Zhang Zhi's position as a "sage of grass" has become an unshakable monument and stands in the China book world, shining with eternal brilliance.
China script, from Oracle Bone Inscriptions to Xiao Zhuan, matured in Qin Dynasty, which prompted the emergence of official script. By the Western Han Dynasty, official script was popular, and at the same time, cursive script was produced, which can be described as "seal script, official script, cursive script, calligraphy and truth". However, official script with slow strokes and independent characters and zhangcao with official meaning could not meet people's needs for rapid writing, which led to the rapid rise of "modern cursive script" and the formation of "cursive script fever" in society. Zhang Zhi learned the essence of cursive art from folk and Du Du, Cui Yuan and Cui Shi, and created a "brushstroke book", which is called "big grass", which freed cursive from the stereotype of Zhang Cao, and since then, China calligraphy has entered a vast space where Wang Yang is unrestrained, thus completely liberating the calligrapher's artistic personality.
Zhang Zhi's "one stroke of a book" is characterized by "the style of words is formed in one stroke", "like flowing water, pulling out Mao Lianru, implicating up and down, or borrowing from the upper word to the lower word, with odd-shaped clutch and multiple meanings". This is Zhang Huaiguan's incisive summary of a book in Shuduan, and at the same time, he spoke highly of Zhang Zhi's cursive script, which is "the first of all sages" and thus becomes the "first of cursive scripts". Zhang Zhi's cursive script has brought unparalleled vitality to China's calligraphy art, becoming famous all over the world for a while, and scholars are like a cloud. Wang Xizhi admires Zhang Zhi, and has been learning from him for many years. He always thinks that his cursive script is not as good as Zhang Zhi.
Huai Su, the master of wild grass, also benefited the most from Zhang Zhi and Zhang Xu. Sun Guoting, a master of cursive script in the Tang Dynasty, also mentioned many times in his Book Score that he took Zhang Zhi's cursive script as a blueprint and studied it all his life.
Zhang Zhi was born in a noble family, but he was "young and high-minded, diligent in learning ancient times". He didn't care about fame, refused to be drafted by the imperial court many times, and devoted himself to studying books. His hard-working spirit of "learning from a pond, the water in the pond is full of ink" has become a well-known anecdote in the calligraphy circle in China. Wang Xizhi once said respectfully that Zhang Zhi "learned from a pond, and the water in the pond is full of ink, which is absolutely excellent, and I am as good as it is." There are 2 poems about Dunhuang monuments sung by predecessors, including "Ode to Mo Chi": The ancients used seal elements to make Zhang Zhi wonderful. The sage of grass is immortal, and his fame is crowned for a while. Shu Jian watches the birds, and studies the ink to dye the fish. I long to be near the pool, and I am happy to talk about poetry.
It was in this way that Zhang Zhi reached the first peak of calligraphy art in China.
His ink has been treasured by the world for nearly 2, years, and every inch of paper remains. His ink has five posts and 38 lines in Chunhua Pavilion Post, which has been cherished and studied by calligraphers of all ages. Therefore, the artistic spirit of Zhang Zhi's calligraphy is still alive in the blood of China's calligraphy. Zhang Zhi was also the pioneer of calligraphy theory, who wrote five essays on Pen's Mind, but unfortunately it has long been lost.