Zhang Xu, a great calligrapher in Tang Dynasty, was born in Wuxian. During the Kaiyuan period, he came to Changshu as a county commandant, as recorded in historical books such as Tang Shi Bu. He is a heavy drinker and often gets drunk. After he gets drunk, he calls to urge him, and then writes with a pen. Sometimes he daubs his hair with ink, looks at his calligraphy after waking up, and flies gracefully, thinking that there is divine power to help. In order to commemorate Zhang Xu, Changshu people still keep a "drunken street" near the square tower at the east gate of the city. In the old days, there was also a "Cao Sheng Temple" in the city. There was a couplet in the temple-"Book fans, paper fans. Today's ancient games spread eight laws; Sa Kuang is known as a cursive sage. He has been through a lot of hardships and will drink three cups when he is old, which shows the deep respect of the Yi people for this cursive sage. Zhang Xu's wash pen inkstone pool has also been preserved for a long time, and it is called "Xiyan Lake".
Zhang Xu cursive script is excellent, especially long cursive script. His cursive script is well-known in the contemporary era, which has a great influence on later generations and occupies an extremely important position in the history of calligraphy in China. Tang Wenzong, a letter to Zhang Xu in cursive script, a poem by Li Bai, Pei? Sword dance, also known as "three unique skills".
Zhang Xu wax figure
Du Fu, a great poet in the Tang Dynasty, called Zhang Xu a "sage of grass" in Song of Drinking. There are poems of "Zhang and Xu Chuan have three cups of grass, but the princes are not exposed, and the paper falls like a cloud"; Yan Zhenqing and Huai Su, great calligraphers in the Tang Dynasty, all studied under him. In addition to Zhang Xu, China ancient calligraphy critics have criticized Ou Yangxun, Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang, Xue Qi, Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan.
Han Yu, a great writer in the Tang Dynasty, praised Zhang Xu's calligraphy as: "Looking at things, you can see mountains and rivers, birds and animals, insects and fish, song and dance struggles, and the decline of heaven and earth, which is gratifying." Han Yu mentioned in his eulogy that Zhang Xu's calligraphy benefited from the artistic inspiration generated by drug stimulation. In addition, Zhang Xu is good at learning from others' strengths, which is also an important reason for his superb calligraphy. There is a story in Zhang Guo's Theory of Leisure in the Tang Dynasty, which tells the story of Zhang Qian learning from an old man when he was the magistrate of Changshu. The story says: Zhang Xu has only been in Changshu for more than ten days. An old man complained to the county official's son about a trivial matter, and Zhang Xu wrote him a verdict. Unexpectedly, a few days later, the old man came to ask for a verdict. Zhang Xu was very angry and scolded the old man: "How dare you ask for a judgment for a little thing?" Noisy yamen! The old man replied, "I really didn't come for another verdict, but because I saw the wonderful handwriting in your last verdict. I want to collect more for Mo Bao. After hearing this, Zhang Xu learned that the old man had Mo Bao, his late father, and asked him to take it to watch. "。 Seeing the ink of the old man's late father, Zhang Xu exclaimed, "There are calligraphers all over the world. "From then on, Zhang Xu made great progress in calligraphy by using the wonderful purpose of brushwork and became a calligrapher of that time.
The above-mentioned Zhang Xu's calligraphy benefited from the story of an old man in Changshu, which was described in the Biography of Li Bai, a Book of the New Tang Dynasty edited by Ouyang Xiu and Song Qi in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the Illustration of the Continuation of Wu Jun edited by Zhu in the Northern Song Dynasty. Visible, in the Tang and Song Dynasties, the story of Zhang Xu and Changshu old man has been widely circulated. This story has been handed down from generation to generation in Changshu. Changshu people are deeply proud and excited that their hometown has left Zhang Xu's historical footprint.
Zhang Xu (658-742), a native of Suzhou, was a calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty. He is not only excellent at regular script, but also good at cursive script. His book adopts the essence of the two kings in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and has a unique way. Indulge in wine, love books, get drunk, and write like a god. His books are bold and unrestrained, vertical pen is like a rabbit, momentum is like a rainbow, whirlwind is like rain. It is called "wild grass" and is a new manifestation of contemporary grass. Huang Tingjian called it "the crown of cursive script". Zhang Xu's books handed down from ancient times include the cursive hand-written Belly, Heart Sutra, Drunken Ink Sticks, Thousand-character Works, Yan Zi Sticks, Four Sticks of Ancient Poems and so on.
Zhang Xu, Cao Sheng
Zhang Xu was born in Wu Jun (near Suzhou, Jiangsu). At first, it was the commander-in-chief of Changshu, and later it was the military attache of Jin Dynasty. It was called "Zhang Changshi" Gong Shishu, and it was the most famous cursive script. Zhang Xu is known as one of the Eight Saints in ancient China.