Mrs. Wei, born in 272 and died in 349, was a native of Anyi, Hedong (now Xia County, Shanxi). His name is Shuo, his courtesy name is Maoyi, and his name is Henan. Female calligrapher of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. It is said that he was the division commander of Wang Youjun (Wang Xizhi). The wife of Li Ju, the prefect of Ruyin, was known as Mrs. Wei in the world. He studied under Zhong Yao and was especially good at official calligraphy. The eight lines of regular script handed down from ancient times in "Chunhua Pavilion Tie" and the calligraphy theory "Bi Zhen Tu" were probably created by good people. Family origins (niece of Wei Guan, the ancestor of the Northern School, and sister of Wei Huancong), she is well-known in contemporary times. "Calligraphy Essentials" says that she acquired the writing techniques of Zhong Yao and merged Zhong Yao's and Wei's techniques into one furnace. "Horizontal" is like a formation of thousands of miles of clouds, "point" is like a jade stone on a high mountain, "off" is like the horn of a rhinoceros broken off the land, "vertical" is like a long-lived withered vine, and "nip" is like a long-lived withered vine. It is like crashing waves and running thunder, "nu" is like the hair of a hundred-jun crossbow, and "hook" is like the joints of strong crossbow tendons. There are "Mingji Tie" and "Wei Shihe Nan Tie" handed down from generation to generation. The shape of the characters has changed from Zhong Yao's flat square to a rectangular shape. Several lines are delicate, peaceful, elegant and graceful. The official script has long been gone, indicating that regular script had become mature and common at that time. "Book Review" calls it "like a girl arranging flowers, looking down and beautifying; also like a beautiful woman on the stage, the fairy playing shadows, the red lotus reflecting the water, and the clouds floating on the blue sea."
Wei Guan, the ancestor of Mrs. Wei's family, was promoted to Sikong in the Western Jin Dynasty, where he recorded the affairs of the ministers. He and Suo Jing were only good at cursive calligraphy, and were known as "Tai Er Miao". He followed his father, Wei Heng, who served as an official until his death as Huang Menlang. He was also good at calligraphy and the author of "Four Body Calligraphy Movements". His father, Wei Zhan, served as an official in Jiangzhou, Zhishi and Tingwei, and died in the official position. Mrs. Wei was eager to learn and was very fond of the art of calligraphy. She learned the rules of the great calligrapher Zhong Yao from an early age and was particularly good at official calligraphy. According to her own account: "I followed what I learned in the world and imitated Zhong Yao for many years." She once wrote poems and essays in cursive calligraphy, and was commissioned to write "Ji Jiu Zhang" for the imperial court. Although his calligraphy works have not been handed down to this day, the general outline of his style can still be seen from the relevant discussions of predecessors. Zhong Yao, a native of Jin Dynasty, once praised Mrs. Wei's calligraphy, saying: "The ice in the broken jade pot, the moon in the ruined Yaotai, are as graceful as trees, and the trees are like the breeze." He fully affirmed Mrs. Wei's calligraphy with elegance, elegance, smoothness, thinness and cleanness. feature. This is actually an inheritance of Zhong Yao's calligraphy style, but on the basis of Zhong Yao's thin, clean and elegant style, it also reveals a clear and flexible charm. Wei Xuze of the Tang Dynasty said: "Mrs. Wei's book is like a flower-arranging dancer, holding her head high with hibiscus; another is like a beautiful woman on the stage, with fairies making shadows; and the red lotus reflects the water, and the blue controls the floating clouds." Three groups of beautiful images are used to compare it. From her calligraphy, it can be seen that Mrs. Wei's calligraphy is full of beauty, with a charming and delicate style unique to women, and is very different from Zhong Yao. This is Mrs. Wei's development and creation based on her own temperament and learning from Zhong Yao. Wei Xu therefore classified Mrs. Wei as a famous calligrapher and ranked her below the top grade, that is, the first and third level. Li Sizhen of the Tang Dynasty held the same opinion on this and pointed out that Mrs. Wei's "upright body was particularly outstanding". Zhang Huaiguan, a famous calligraphy theorist in the Tang Dynasty, even classified Mrs. Wei's calligraphy as a masterpiece, ranking lower than only a few people with the highest grade. Art historian Zhang Yanyuan's evaluation of Mrs. Wei is relatively low. He classified Mrs. Wei as above the middle grade, that is, the second and first grade. But at the same time, it is said: "Li's wife, the Wei family, came from the Huazong family." From the above comments, we can fully see the important position of Mrs. Wei in the calligraphy world at that time.
Mrs. Wei not only made outstanding achievements in the practice of calligraphy art, but also made significant achievements and relatively comprehensive and in-depth discussions in the theory of calligraphy art. She wrote a volume called "Bi Zhen Tu", which made comprehensive and in-depth reference to relevant calligraphy theories and put forward her own opinions. She first pointed out in the book that the beauty of calligraphy "must begin with the use of a pen." It is advocated that learning calligraphy should go back to its origins and learn from the ancients. It is against being familiar with the principles and learning without support, so that learning is a waste of energy and no success. Mrs. Wei also suggested that when studying and creating, we should pay attention to the types and origins of pens, inks, paper, and inkstones. She emphasized that if a worker wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools. He also emphasized that writing should be paid attention to, and different writing methods should be used in different calligraphy styles and analyzed in detail, saying: "Some people are anxious but write slowly, and some are slow but anxious. If the writing is close but cannot be tight, the heart is not tight. If the writing is not uniform, the one who writes first with the intention behind will lose; if the writing is far and urgent, the one with the intention before the stroke will win. "It goes beyond the scope of simply discussing the writing, and also discusses the relationship between the pen and the intention in the art of calligraphy and the cultivation of calligraphers. Make a profound statement.
Mrs. Wei also made incisive discussions on the use of pens when writing different fonts. She believed that there are six ways to use pens, such as seal script for "floating and falling", seal script for "dangerous and terrifying", and eight-point script for "graceful entry and exit". Fei Bai's calligraphy is "Geng Jie Te Li". If "each character can resemble its own shape", it will be "super wonderful and the art of calligraphy is complete." It should be said that Mrs. Wei's discussion on the use of pens is also relevant today. It still has its merits. She essentially raises the issue of how calligraphers grasp the writing styles of different fonts. Regarding strokes specifically, Mrs. Wei put forward seven standards for writing seven different strokes. Mrs. Wei's description of the seven basic strokes is vivid and relevant, and is actually a good introduction for beginners to learn calligraphy. In addition, Mrs. Wei also proposed in "Bi Zhen Tu" that for beginners to learn calligraphy, "you must first write big, not from a young age", "those who are good at judging do not write, and those who are good at writing do not judge" and other theoretical principles, which are also valuable experiences. talk. On the basis of the above discussion, Mrs. Wei summarized her overall understanding of the art of calligraphy and put forward the theory of "strength and tendons". She believes: "Every stroke, ink, and curl of a stroke must be done with all one's strength." "Those who are good at penmanship have more bones, and those who are not good at penmanship have more flesh. People with more bones and less flesh are called sinews; those with more flesh and less bones are called calligraphers. "The pig with strong muscles is a saint, but those with weak muscles are sick." This is essentially the result of Mrs. Wei's lifelong practice of calligraphy art. It represents her general understanding of the theory of calligraphy art and points out the direction of efforts for future generations of calligraphers. and approaches have also become important contents and evaluation criteria in Chinese calligraphy theory, and have had a huge impact on the development of calligraphy theory and practice in the past dynasties. Although Mrs. Wei's "Bi Zhen Tu" referred to and absorbed some of the arguments of the predecessors, Mrs. Wei's development and creation on the basis of inheritance was indispensable.
Mrs. Wei also has unique insights into her calligraphy theory. One of her works, "Bi Zhen Tu", is handed down from generation to generation and recorded in "History of Song Dynasty·Yiwenzhi". "Bi Zhen Tu" is a work that discusses writing strokes, explains the methods of holding and using the pen, and lists seven basic stroke writing methods. In "Bi Zhen Dia", she first put forward the theory of "more power and stronger muscles". This is an important innovation. She said: "Those who are good at penmanship have many bones, and those who are not good at penmanship have more flesh. Those who have more bones and less flesh are called sinewers. Those who read more meat and have less bones are called ink pigs. Those who have more strength and tendons are holy, and those who are weak and have no tendons are sick. ." Later, Wang Xizhi also wrote an article titled "After Mrs. Wei's "Bi Zhen Tu"", which further elaborated and developed Mrs. Wei's theory. Sun Guoting of the Tang Dynasty once suspected that the "Bi Zhen Tu" was written by a person from the Six Dynasties in his "Shu Pu", and Zhang Yanyuan's "Fa Shu Yao Lu" was written by Mrs. Wei.
During her lifetime, Mrs. Wei's fame had spread far and wide. The famous calligrapher Wang Xizhi studied calligraphy under her disciples when he was young. Later, he excelled in his skill and became a leading figure in the history of Chinese calligraphy. After Mrs. Wei came of age, she married Li Ju, the governor of Ruyin and the governor of Tingzhou. There is a son named Li Chong, who rose to the rank of Vice Minister of Zhongshu. Influenced by his mother, he is also famous for his books.