Master Hongyi has very high attainments in calligraphy. I think his calligraphy is a return to himself, just like his life trajectory.
But I think he is completely different from Wang Xizhi. Due to the setbacks he encountered in life, his psychology has changed a lot, which seems to have made a lot of changes in his entire ideological realm.
Wang Xizhi is completely different from him. Wang Xizhi is more influenced by Taoist thought, while Master Hongyi converted to Buddhism, which is very different. Although they both have high achievements in calligraphy, they take completely different routes.
Master Hong Yi is returning to himself, but Wang Xizhi is transcending himself. The two are completely different, but they both represent the peak of calligraphy achievements. The two cannot be compared with each other, but they are both peaks.
Master Hong Yi’s calligraphy can be seen to be completely different from Wang Xizhi’s.
His calligraphy in his later years may seem unremarkable, but he has returned to himself and found his own path. It may seem like there is nothing special about him, but it is this ordinary initial state that matters to him. We are the most accomplished.
I think Master Hong Yi’s calligraphy attainments are very high. His simplicity and return to himself are even more valuable. Therefore, Hong Yi’s calligraphy can be compared with Wang Xizhi’s. But maybe for the general public, Wang Xizhi may be more famous and everyone understands him better.
But this does not mean that Master Hongyi’s calligraphy is not good. He is also at the peak level of calligraphy. Their life trajectories are completely different, so they have different thoughts. One transcends himself and the other returns to himself. They What he writes is not just calligraphy, but the ideas contained in it are also worthy of careful consideration and study by future generations.