The stories of ancient Chinese calligraphers include:
1. The first is the story of Cheng Miao creating official script. According to legend, official script was created by this person. Cheng Miao lived in the Qin Dynasty and was imprisoned in prison for committing a crime. At that time, the Qin Dynasty used Xiaozhuan to unify writing, but in the process of using characters, the shortcomings of Xiaozhuan writing gradually became apparent.
The shape of Xiaozhuan is relatively complicated and the writing speed is very slow, so Cheng Miao came up with the idea of ??innovating a new calligraphy style based on Xiaozhuan. After ten years of writing practice in prison, he created a new calligraphy style and reported it to Qin Shihuang.
In ancient times, prisoners were also called "Tu Li", so this style of writing was called "Li Shu". The official script created by Cheng Miao not only allowed Qin Shihuang to pardon his crimes, but also became a landmark innovation in calligraphy style in the history of ancient Chinese calligraphy.
2. Next is the story of Zheng Banqiao, one of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou".
His poetry, calligraphy and painting are known all over the world. His calligraphy and painting are on the same wall, and he incorporates painting techniques into his calligraphy. He calls his calligraphy "six-and-a-half-point calligraphy" because various calligraphic elements are mixed into his calligraphy works, leaving only six-and-a-half points of the original eight-point official script.
This is his calligraphy innovation and his unique and eccentric aspect, which formed his unique artistic style. "Yangzhou Miscellaneous Notes" is his representative work. He also sympathized with the people and knew their sufferings.
During his tenure as an official, the county town encountered a natural disaster. The people had no harvest and life was difficult. Zheng Banqiao was anxious when he saw this situation and ordered the opening of warehouses to release grain to relieve the people.
Someone reminded him that this move must be approved by his superiors. After hearing this, Zheng became furious and sternly scolded, "Countless people have died of hunger, and I don't know how many more will be killed and injured when they are approved." He also promised him One person takes on all the moves for this move.
The grain and rice relief distributed went to the people, and the people were grateful and praised his political achievements. Unfortunately, Zheng Banqiao's character was not popular in his official career, and his career as an official ended. After that, he made a living by selling paintings and lived his "confused" life.
3. Xiao He, the minister of the Western Han Dynasty, assisted Liu Bang in establishing the Han Dynasty. Because of his great achievements, Liu Bang named him the Marquis of Zan, and later promoted him to the position of Prime Minister. Xiao He's calligraphy was very good, and he was especially good at writing on plaques with a bald pen.
Once, someone asked Xiao He to inscribe a name for a newly built palace. Xiao He thought hard for three months before he started writing. On the day of writing, some people heard that Xiao He had thought about it for three months before writing it, and they all came from far away to read it.
I saw that Xiao He was like leading troops in a war. The movements of his wrists seemed to be commanding thousands of troops. The words he wrote were like the civil servants and generals he led. Every word was so powerful. Everyone present Everyone was deeply impressed by his wonderful brushstrokes and ink.
4. Cai Yong is not a person who studies and writes behind closed doors. He often travels in order to capture inspiration and enrich his experience. On this day, he sent the article he had written to the Hongdu Gate where the royal library was kept.
The people there are very assertive, and anyone who comes has to wait outside the door for a while. While Cai Yong was waiting to be interviewed, several craftsmen were painting the walls with brooms dipped in lime water. He just stood aside and watched.
In the beginning, he just wanted to kill time. But as he looked at it, he could see some "knowledge". I saw the craftsman put down the broom, and a white mark appeared on the wall.
Because the broom seedlings are relatively thin, they cannot be dipped in much lime water, and the wall is not very smooth, so when the broom is removed, some parts of the wall are still exposed in the white path. When Cai Yong saw it, his eyes lit up.
He thought that in the past, when writing with a pen dipped in enough ink, every stroke would be completely black. Wouldn't it be more vivid and natural if some silk or paper were exposed in the black lines like a craftsman painting a wall? Thinking of this, he suddenly became emotional. Hand in the article and run home immediately.
When Cai Yong returned home, he prepared pen, ink, paper and inkstone without taking a rest. Thinking of the scene when the craftsmen were painting the walls, I started writing. Who knows that it is easy to think of it but difficult to do it.
At first, either the paper couldn't be exposed, or the exposed part was too stiff.
He was not discouraged at all and tried again and again. He finally mastered the right amount of ink, the amount of force used, and the speed of writing. He wrote a line of black and white, making the words become elegant and flying, with a unique flavor.
This writing method invented by Cai Yong soon became popular and became "Fei Bai Shu". It is still used by calligraphers to this day.
5. Zhang Zhi, the great calligrapher of the Eastern Han Dynasty, studied calligraphy very hard when he was young. He practiced calligraphy diligently every day, forgetting sleep and food. His pen became bald after a few days of writing, and he used up several ingots of ink a month.
After finishing writing every day, Zhang Zhi went to the pond in his backyard to wash his pen and inkstone. Over time, the water in the pond turned black.