Biography of the Character
When Huai Su was ten years old, he "suddenly wanted to become a monk" and his parents could not stop him. After entering Buddhism, he changed his name to Zangzhen and was known as "Lingling Monk" or "Shi Changsha" in history. The family was poor and could not afford paper, so he had to practice calligraphy on the temple walls, clothes, utensils, and banana leaves. In order to practice calligraphy, he also made a lacquer plate.
When Huai Su was young, his calligraphy was based on "not following the ancients". According to the inheritance of Chinese calligraphy, he is still "unable to follow the law" and is still outside the door of orthodox calligraphy.
In the second year of Qianyuan (759), when Huai Su was in his weak years, he went to Li Bai to ask for poems. The two people had similar temperaments. Li Bai loved his talent and wrote "Songs in Cursive Script" for him.
In the first year of Tang Baoying (762), Huaisu set out from Lingling and traveled thousands of miles to seek teachers and visit friends, passing through Hengyang and Ketanzhou.
In the first year of Tang Baoying (763), Huaisu began to go north to Yuezhou (now Yueyang, Hunan).
In the first year of Dali of Tang Dynasty (766), Huaisu wrote "Eight Poems on Autumn Xing". Huaisu's calligraphy style in this post was not yet mature at this time, and his heart was also in a hesitant stage. No matter whether he is starting, writing or finishing his writing, he is far from reaching the threshold of Jin people.
In the second year of Dali of Tang Dynasty (767), Huaisu went south to Guangzhou to learn calligraphy from Xu Hao. At that time, Xu Hao went to Guangzhou to serve as governor, but the purpose of his trip was not achieved. In the winter of the same year or the spring of the third year, Zhang Wei was ordered to return to Beijing and serve as the crown prince's concubine, so Huai Su went to Beijing with Zhang Wei. I was fortunate enough to see the works of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, and also appreciate the "Cao E Monument". In Chang'an, Huaisu stayed for about five years.
In the spring of the third year of Dali in the Tang Dynasty (768), Huaisu "carried a tin stick and traveled westward to the country to pay an audience with contemporary famous officials." In Hengyang, he visited the mountains and rivers with Wang Yong and others who were traveling north in the same boat. At that time, it happened that Zhang Wei, who had been demoted to Tanzhou (Changsha) as governor, returned to the court and resumed his post, so Huaisu entered Qin with his companions. After entering Beijing, he met Zhang Xu's disciple Wu Tong and became his teacher. Wu Tong explained to Huaisu one by one the wonders of Zhang Zhi's Linchi, Zhang Xu's unpredictable cursive script, and Wang Xianzhi's calligraphy. When leaving, Wu Tong also explained the method of writing calligraphy, the word "enlightenment". Teach Huai Su.
In the sixth year of Dali of the Tang Dynasty, Huai Su's mother was seriously ill, so she returned to her hometown for a visit at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month to wait for the decoction. After Huaisu went to see his bride, he returned to the capital.
Around September of the seventh year of Dali in the Tang Dynasty (772), Huaisu returned to his hometown and detoured southward to Luoyang, the eastern capital, to visit Yan Zhenqing. Yan Zhenqing taught Huaisu the "Twelve Strokes", namely "Ping means horizontal, Zhi means vertical, Jian means between, and Mi means Ji", and told Huaisu that when he was in his twenties, he traveled to Chang'an to teach In the second year of Zhang Xu's reign, he gained some brushwork skills but thought he was not yet stable. Yan Zhenqing also wrote "Preface to Songs in Cursive Script by Master Huaisu" for Huaisu.
On August 6, the eleventh year of the Dali calendar in the Tang Dynasty (777), he created "Autobiography". The post summarizes the main deeds of his life. In the "Autobiographic Post", Huaisu has left space for several important people who have taught him art.
In the third year of Zhenyuan of Tang Dynasty (787), Huaisu and Lu Yu met and became friends. Lu Yu wrote "The Biography of Monk Huaisu", which is the first-hand material for studying Huaisu.
In the fifteenth year of Zhenyuan of Tang Dynasty (779), Huaisu returned to Lingling and wrote "Xiaocao Thousand Character Essay".
He spent his later years in Baoyuan Temple, Chengdu, Sichuan. In the fifteenth year of Zhenyuan of Tang Dynasty (799), he suffered from wind paralysis and passed away. Main works
His cursive works include "Self-narrative Post", "Bitter Bamboo Shoot Post", "Eating Fish Post", "Notre Dame Post", "On Calligraphy Post", "Da Cao Qian Wen", "Xiao Cao Thousand Character Essay", " "Forty-Two Chapter Sutra", "Thousand Character Essay", "Zhen Zhen Tie", "Lü Gong Tie", "Seven Tie", "Beiting Cao Bi", etc.
"Self-narrative"
"Self-narrative", paper, 28.3 cm vertical, 755 cm wide; 126 lines, 698 words. In front of the post are the four characters "Zangzhen narration" written in seal script by Li Dongyang. The original remains are now in the National Palace Museum in Taiwan. "Zi Xu Tie" is the representative work of Huai Su's cursive script. The first six lines are said to have been added by Su Shunqin (Song Dynasty), the collector of this post. Compared with the seventh line and below, there is a huge difference. This is even more obvious when you open the whole volume and look at it. The whole article is written in wild cursive style, with the center of each stroke moving vertically, horizontally, and diagonally; it echoes up and down and runs through it all.
"Xiaocao Thousand-Character Essay"
"Xiaocao Thousand-Character Essay" was written in the fifteenth year of Zhenyuan (799 AD). There are many kinds of Huaisu's thousand-character scripts, but the "small character Zhenyuan version" is the best, also known as the "Qianjin Tie" silk version, with 84 lines and 1,045 characters. This book was written by Huaisu in his later years. In his later years, Huaisu's cursive writing changed from showery and whirlwind to quaint and plain. The characters are not connected to each other, and the writing style becomes more vigorous and simple. It should be regarded as a work that is extremely splendid but returns to blandness, so it has always been valued by scholars.
"Bitter Bamboo Shoots Tie"
"Bitter Bamboo Shoots Tie" was written by Huai Su, the "Cao Sheng" of the Tang Dynasty. It is 25.1 cm long and 12 cm wide, with 2 lines and 14 characters, namely "Bitter Bamboo Shoots". The bamboo shoots and tea are extremely good, so you can go to Huai Su." Wu Qizhen of the Qing Dynasty commented: "The calligraphy is beautiful and healthy, and the structure is smooth. It is a superb and enchanting book for Su Shi." "Kusun Tie" is the earliest Buddhist calligraphy related to tea that can be tested. Hidden in Shanghai Museum.
"On Calligraphy and Calligraphy"
"On Calligraphy and Calligraphy", cursive ink on paper, 38.5 cm long, 40.5 cm wide, 9 lines, 85 characters. Generally speaking, it is said to have inherited and developed Zhang Xu's cursive script, so there is a saying of "continuing madness with madness". Dong Zhui's "Guangchuan Shu Postscript" says: "Huai Su is good at calligraphy, and he said that he has the samadhi of brushwork. Looking at people's commentaries on calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty, it is said to be undiminished.
Zhang Xu, although Su is galloping outside the rope and ink, he is always going back and forth. "Zhongjie", "Now his calligraphy calls himself Zhong (Zhong Yao) and Zhang Zhi (Cao)." But in any case, Huai Su's cursive script is based on unrestrained and unrestrained style. "On Calligraphy" is very different from the common cursive script written by Huai Su. It is written "evenly and steadily" and "comes in and out according to the rules, without any wild and strange shapes". It is an excellent work with the meaning of Zhang Cao in cursive script. Character evaluation
Han ("Screen with Inscription on Huai Su's Cursive Script"): Wherever there is a screen, it is clear that Huai Su is lying down. Although it is dusty and stained, there are especially thick ink marks. Strange rocks rush into the autumn stream, and ancient pines hang on cold vines. If you were taught to take photos near the water, every word would be like a dragon.
Guan Xiu ("Guan Huai Su's Cursive Script Song"): Zhang Dian's bump is not Dian after Dian, until Huai Su's Dian is Dian. The teacher does not talk about the Sutras and does not talk about Zen, but his physical strength is only as good as cursive writing. I'm crazy but I'm afraid I'm a god. If there's a god to help me, it's beyond the reach of the god. I'm painting with iron and stone, but the ink needs to be inserted into it. The golden statue has more than a dozen bamboo leaves, half drunk and half drunk from the mountain. When I'm drunk, my pen is as fierce as a tiger's, and I don't care about the owner.
Mr. Lu's "Review of the Continued Book" said: Huaisu's cursive script uses the power of a millimeter to turn electricity, and can be changed at any time.
An Qi of the Ming Dynasty (comment on "Autobiography"): The ink and paper colors are wonderful and moving, and the vertical and horizontal changes occur at the tip of a hair, which is mysterious and indescribable.
Huang Tingjian: Zhang Xu is better at fatness, and better at hiding truth than thinness; these two are the crown jewels of cursive script for a generation.
Mi Fu ("Haiyue Book Review"): Huai Su's calligraphy is like a strong man drawing his sword, with a moving expression, and it moves forward and backward without missing the mark.
"Collection of Ancient Records": Zangzhen was particularly famous for his cursive script at that time, and it is especially treasured today.
Jiang Zhiqi: Cursive script has wonderful principles, and it can be understood by Wei Huaisu.
Ming Mo Ruzhong: ("Xiaocao Thousand-Character Essay") Huaisu's original Thousand-Character Essay on Silk. Its stipples are abnormal and the meaning is vertical and horizontal. At first, it seems careless, but then the movements follow the pattern, which is suitable for the chemical industry. , there is something indescribably wonderful about it.
Cen Zongdan's "Book Review": Huaisu is leisurely and elegant, so he is as graceful as a true immortal.
Shen You's "Calligraphy and Painting Inscriptions and Postscripts": The reason why Huai Su's calligraphy is wonderful is that although his thoughts are free and ever-changing, he never departs from the laws of the Wei and Jin Dynasties.
Wang Shizhen ("Manuscript of Mzhoushanren"): (Huaisu's "Qianwen Tie") ① Every word is like a fairy, and every pen is like flying. ② All of Su Shi's posts are thin and exposed, but this book is uniquely balanced, steady, clear and mature, and is indescribably wonderful.
Wen Peng: ("Purification Sutra") The writing style is ancient, full of energy, and really has the potential of a whirlwind.
He Shaoji ("Banqiao Calligraphy Love Poems"): The valley grass method originated from Huai Su, and Huai Su learned the method from Zhang Changshi. The beauty of it is that there is no trace of beginning or end. Zhang (Zhang Xu) in front and Huang (Huang Tingjian) in the back should all let Master Su alone.
Mr. Lu of Tang Dynasty ("Reading Review"): Huaisu's cursive script uses the power of millimeters to turn electricity, and can be changed at will.
Zhu Changwen of the Song Dynasty ("Sushu Duan"): Like a strong man drawing his sword, his expression is moving.
Li Bai ("Song of Cursive Script"): The young master's name is Huai Su, and his cursive script is known as Dubu in the world. The black fish flies out of the ink pool, and the strokes of the pen kill all the Zhongshan rabbits. After my master got drunk, he leaned on the rope bed and swept away thousands of them in a moment. The wind and rain are blowing, and the falling flowers and flying snow are everywhere. He stood up and faced the wall without stopping, a line of numbers as big as a bucket. If you hear the ghosts and gods, you will see dragons and snakes running away from time to time.
The left pan and the right frowned like lightning, as if they were fighting with Chu and Han. Historical records record Huaisu's calligraphy in "Lingling County Chronicles"
"Qing Yi Lu" written by Tao Gu in the Song Dynasty
Lu Yu's "Biography of Seng Huaisu"
Huaisu's " "Autobiography"
Tang Li Zhao's "Supplement to the History of the Tang Dynasty" The artistic characteristics of Huai Su's cursive calligraphy are called "Kang Cao". The pen is round and powerful, making the turns like a circle, unrestrained and smooth, and done in one go. It is as famous as Zhang Xu . In later generations, he was known as "Zhang Diansu Kuang" or "Dian Zhang Zuisu", which had a profound influence on future generations. He could also write poetry and had contacts with poets such as Li Bai, Du Fu and Su Huan. He liked to drink. Whenever he started drinking, he would write on walls, clothes, and utensils at will. People at that time called him a "drunken monk." His cursive script comes from Zhang Zhi and Zhang Xu. "The Story of the Golden Pot" said that he was "drunk nine times a day". Probably the drunkard's intention is not to drink, "a mad monk is not for wine, his mad pen reaches the sky", he only aims at "crazy grass".
Huaisu's cursive script is written in seal script, with the hidden edge turned inwards, thin, hard and round, with fast writing and grand momentum. Although it is wild, he does not ignore the law in pursuit of novelty. On the contrary, his cursive writing is rigorous and concise, reflecting his unique cursive writing artistic style.
Huai Sushan used the center strokes to create large strokes with pure momentum, such as "a sudden rain and whirlwind filled the hall with momentum", to the state of "suddenly three or five screams, filling the wall with thousands of words". Despite his speed, Huai Su was able to fly through the entire story with very few mistakes. Compared with many calligraphers' chaotic and incomplete calligraphy, such as Sheng Sheng, Shi Yu, Ku Bamboo Shoots, Zang Zhen, and Zhu Tie, many of them retain Jin methods, and most of Zang Zhen's calligraphy has the style of Yan Zhenqing. For example, Xiaocao's Thousand-Character Essay and Notre Dame's Post are very different from his wild style and have completely changed his appearance, which can be said to be his outstanding feature.
From the perspective of graphology, Huaisu's calligraphy lines throughout his life tend to be thin in texture, which has a lot to do with the aesthetics of bitter cold meditation. When Huaisu was young, calligraphy was based on "not following the ancients". According to the inheritance of Chinese calligraphy, he is still "unable to follow the law" and is still outside the door of orthodox calligraphy. When Huaisu was twenty-nine years old, he wrote "Eight Poems on Autumn Xing". "Eight Poems of Autumn" is a poem by Du Fu, which was composed in the first year of Dali (766), three years after the "Anshi Rebellion". Huaisu's calligraphy style in this post was not yet mature at this time, and his heart was also in a hesitant stage. For a "wild fox Zen" or a "cheap chicken", Huai Su's cursive script cannot be recognized at all. The calligraphy lines of "Eight Poems on the Rise of Autumn" are bloated and contain cowardice. In order to pursue the effect of "one stroke of writing", the stringing of strings seems very far-fetched and gives people a feeling of procrastination. Regardless of whether he is starting, writing, or finishing his writing, he is far from the threshold of Jin people.
Huai Su was originally a rebel. In the era from the prosperous Tang Dynasty to the late Tang Dynasty, the calligraphy atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty advocated legality; in the early Tang Dynasty, Wang Xizhi's calligraphy was sought after by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, and people at that time flocked to it. Su doesn't care about contemporary art trends. He explored more in the field of "one-stroke calligraphy" and inherited the calligraphy traditions of Zhang Zhi, Cui Yuan, Du Du and Wang Xianzhi. If we say that Huaisu's calligraphy in his youth relied on artistic intuition. His artistic exploration after the age of thirty was based on artistic tradition. The historical tradition of Chinese calligraphy is the inheritance of brushwork in the history of Chinese calligraphy, and brushwork is the "core secret" of Wei and Jin calligraphy. Family relations
Great-grandfather: Qian Yue, served as the magistrate of Quwo County in Weizhou during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty
Grandfather: Qian Hui, served as magistrate of Guangwu County in Yanzhou
Father: Qian Qiang, served as the chief historian of the Zuo Guard
Mother: Liu family
Uncle: Qian Qi (722-780), courtesy name Zhongwen, a native of Wuxing, one of the ten talented men in Dali
Great-uncle: Shi Huirong, monk, calligrapher
Cousin: Wu Tong, Qiantang native, anecdotes about calligraphers in the Tang Dynasty
Huai Su Lian Jiao
Huai Su's spirit of diligent study and practice is very amazing. Because he couldn't afford paper, Huaisu found a wooden board and disk and painted them with white paint. Later, Huaisu felt that the paint board was smooth and difficult to ink, so he planted more than 10,000 banana trees in a wasteland near the temple. After the banana grew up, he picked the banana leaves, spread them on the table, and wrote them down.
Because Huaisu practiced calligraphy day and night, the old banana leaves were peeled off, and the smaller leaves were reluctant to pick, so he thought of a way to simply bring a pen and ink and stand in front of the banana tree, writing on the fresh leaves, even if the sun could not shine on him It was like suffering; the biting north wind made the skin of his hands crack, but he still ignored it and continued to practice calligraphy unremittingly. After he finished writing one thing, he started writing another without stopping.
Continuing with madness
Huaisu and Zhang Xu are both open and honest in character, not stick to trivial matters, and they especially like to have something in their cup. It is said that Zhang Xu "every time he was drunk and screamed, he started to write, or he wet his head with ink while writing. When he woke up, he thought that his god could not be recovered. The world called Zhang Dian." Huaisu was also drunk nine times a day, and people at that time often called him a drunken monk. He once walked in dozens of pink-walled corridors in the temple. Every time he felt a little angry after drinking, he would write hurriedly on the pink walls. Thousands of troops gallop on the battlefield. For this reason, people at that time also called Huai Su "crazy". It is said that Huai Suzhi and Zhang Xu "continue to be successful with madness".
Watch Aunt Gongsun’s sword dance
Aunt Gongsun in the Tang Dynasty was a famous female sword dancer in the Kaiyuan Dynasty, and her disciples were also good at sword dancing. Huaisu was greatly inspired after watching Gongsun's sword dance. As a result, his wild cursive paintings enhance the high-spirited and soaring state in the distribution of shapes and the reversal of brush strokes; the structure also enhances the sense of rhythm of light, heavy, twists and turns, and ups and downs. His fame grew.
Drunken Monk
Although Huaisu was a monk, he was not bound by the strict rules of the temple. He liked drinking very much. When he was drunk, he would write on the walls, clothes and utensils. He said: "Drinking to nourish one's nature, writing in cursive to smooth one's mind." Therefore, people called him the "Drunk Monk".
Bi Zhong
Huaisu devoted himself to copying the running script and cursive script of the Eastern Jin calligraphers Wang Xizhi, Wang Xianzhi and Zhang Xu of the same dynasty. He never stopped, specialized in it for a long time, and became a self-contained entity. Due to long-term intensive study and practice, the bald pens were piled up and buried at the foot of the mountain, which is known as the "Bi Zhong".
Mochi
There is a small pool next to Huaisu's tomb. He often washes his inkstones and the water turns black, so it is called "Mochi". Commemoration for later generations
Huaisu Park
To commemorate Huaisu, "Huaisu Park" was built on Xiaoshui Road, Lingling District, Yongzhou City today. There is a historic site called Green Sky Temple in the park, which is where Huaisu became a monk and practiced calligraphy by growing bananas. According to Lingling County Chronicles: Lutian Temple was destroyed by soldiers in the Renzi year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty, and was rebuilt by Yang Han, the county governor of Tongzhi in the Renshu year of the Qing Dynasty. There is a lower main hall, with a banana planting pavilion on the upper side and a drunken monk tower on the left, with a statue of Huai Su. A place behind the nunnery is engraved with the word "Yanquan", which is the place where Huaisu drew water for grinding ink. There is a "Bi Zhong" tower in the right corner, where Huai Su's bald pens are buried. More than 70 steps to the north of the nunnery is the ink pool, which is where Huai Su washes his inkstones.