The word "Kai" in regular script has the meaning of model and model. Regular script is called "real script" and "official script", which means real writing. Regular script is the most frequently used, widely used and practical script in China culture. From the perspective of calligraphy art, regular script is horizontal and vertical, and its strokes are square, which not only makes it a compulsory course for beginners of calligraphy in later generations, but also has a harmonious and dignified aesthetic effect. Kaitie originated in the Western Han Dynasty. It first appeared as a variant and auxiliary form of official script. Regular script in this period did not completely get rid of the original form of official script, but gradually became flat strokes and square fonts for the convenience of writing. Compared with cursive script, regular script is not only simple and easy to write, but also easy to identify, so it is gradually popularized in society. By the end of the Han Dynasty in Wei Chu, although the official inscriptions were still written in official script, there were traces of regular script in the book. At the beginning of the founding of the State of Wei, there were two inscriptions, namely, "Playing Zunhao" and "Receiving Zen Table". The first content is that ministers invited Cao Pi to accept the title of emperor. One is to record the Zen position of Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty in Cao Pi, which is said to have been written by Zhong You. These two stone tablets are both official scripts, but their glyphs tend to be square, and the word trend also develops vertically to the military script (regular script) in the graveyard. If you remove the waves from the words, it will be quite close to regular script. Therefore, in the history of calligraphy art in China, it is generally believed that the Three Kingdoms period is a transitional period from official to official. The calligrapher who made great contribution to the shaping of regular script was Zhong You, who was praised as "the father of regular script" by later generations.
Zhong You (15 1-230), a native of Yingchuan Changshe (now Changge, Henan Province), was an important court official in the late Han Dynasty, and played an important role in assisting Xian Di, Cao Cao, Cao Pi and Cao Rui in governing the country. Cao Cao once entrusted Zhong You to manage Guanzhong affairs. After the governance of Zhong You, Chang 'an area became prosperous. Before the battle of Guandu, Zhong You sent Cao Cao a thousand horses from Guanzhong to help him win, so Cao Cao praised Zhong You in his letter: "I was so anxious about the horses he sent. It is also an honor for the court to have no worries about the west when Guan You is pacified. Yesterday, Xiao was guarding the Guanzhong, and it was appropriate to eat enough to become an army. " Comparing the achievements of Zhong You and Xiao He, we can see that Cao Cao spoke highly of Zhong You. Later, Zhong You led the army to pacify Yang Xiongnu, Hedong and rebellion, and stabilized the local situation. After Dong Zhuo burned Luoyang, the capital was sparsely populated, and Zhong You moved part of the population from Guanzhong to Beijing, enriching the depressed Luoyang. Because of Zhong You's shrewdness, Cao Cao recommended him as a former military adviser and appointed Wei Dali and Guo Xiang. Cao Pi also had close contacts and profound friendship with Zhong You. He was given a "five-pot" which could cook five kinds of dishes at the same time, and the inscription praising Zhong You was engraved on the pot. One year, on the Double Ninth Festival, Cao Pi also sent Zhong You chrysanthemums. He said in "Chrysanthemum Letter with Zhong You on the 9th": "From the first day of the first month to the first day of the first month, it suddenly arrives at the ninth day of September. Nine is the number of yang, and the sun and the moon should be combined, which is a common name. " After Wei Mingdi and Cao Rui acceded to the throne, Zhong You was made a teacher, so Zhong You was also known as "Zhong Taifu". At that time, due to his advanced age, Wei Mingdi ordered people to carry him to the temple so as not to bow down. At the age of 80, Zhong You died of illness, and Wei Mingdi went to the bell gate in a small white dress to pay his respects and named him Cheng Hou.
Zhong You has high attainments in calligraphy. His calligraphy styles are regular script, official script and running script. His book is simple and elegant, with alternating font sizes and natural layout. It seems sincere and gentle, but it is hidden. He concentrated the square and straight strokes in simplified Chinese characters, changed the "silkworm head and phoenix tail" in official script into horizontal strokes and strokes, and introduced the round-to-round strokes in seal script and cursive script, thus forming a regular script with "square straight strokes, which can be used as a model", greatly reducing the waves of official script, changing the flat posture of official script and the layout of narrow lines and wide characters, and pursuing natural beauty in calligraphy art with a slightly flat posture is China. For example, the font of the "Declaration Form" is correct and quaint, while in the Yuan Dynasty, Lu Xing read Zhong You's "Recommended Season Table" and said, "Noble and simple, super charming, without the beauty of flower arrangement in Jin and Tang Dynasties." This stereotyped new book style was rapidly popularized in Wei and Jin Dynasties. Yuan Ang in the Southern and Northern Dynasties commented on Zhong You's calligraphy in the Book Review of Ancient and Modern Times: "God is dense and beautiful, if flying in the sea, dancing cranes roam, and the lines are dense"; A Liang Wudi Xiao Yan believes that Zhong You's calligraphy in his Twelve Meanings of Zhong You Calligraphy contains twelve meanings of "flatness, straightness, uniformity, density, strength, lightness, determination, complement, loss, cleverness and symmetry". In the Ming Dynasty, Cen Zongdan said in Shupin that "Shu Shu looks like a virtuous gentleman, but looks like a fool". Liu Xizai, a scholar in A Qing, said in the Outline of Books that Zhong You's calligraphy is "ingenious and clumsy, and it is beyond the reach of future generations". It is precisely because he concentrated simple elements in regular script that he broke the routine of official script and became the founder of regular script, so Zhong You became the "ancestor of regular script" and was later called "Zhong Wang" with Wang Xizhi.
Zhong You can become the originator of regular script because of his efforts. In order to seek the true skill of calligraphy, he was obsessed with calligraphy for 30 years and almost became an idiot. I studied diligently with Liu Desheng, a calligrapher of the Eastern Han Dynasty, in Baodushan. "I haven't seen a family for 60 years." On normal days, I write during the day and practice at night. His handwriting is all over the wall where I live. "Sitting and talking to people means writing on the ground a few steps away from the seat, and lying down means writing and wearing on the bedding." When talking to people, you should also write on the ground while talking. At night, I will draw pictures on the quilt, practice calligraphy with my fingers, and cut the mattress for a long time. It can be seen that it is a conscientious effort. According to the records of Zhi Lin in the Western Jin Dynasty, on one occasion, he saw Cai Yong's "Tips of Calligraphy" at home and wanted to borrow it, but Dan Wei didn't. Finally, Zhong You was so angry that he suddenly beat his chest and vomited blood. He made a scene for three days and finally fainted and was dying. Fortunately, Cao Cao's Five Elixirs saved him. After Dan Wei's death, Zhong You dug the grave in the evening and found the article, so he realized the essence of calligraphy, that is, "the strong are sacred and the weak are sick". Judging from this book, art is refined and profound. Of course, this is only the hindsight of future generations. In fact, Dan Wei died in 253, that is, 23 years after Zhong You's death, while Cai Yong was Cao Cao's friend and Zhong You was Cao Cao's confidant. It's easy to learn calligraphy from Cai Yong, so why use this indecent means of grave robbery? So stealing "Pen Gestures" is pure fiction. But from another side, it shows the spirit of Zhong You's painstaking study of calligraphy.
Zhong You is also very strict with his disciples. Yi Song, a disciple of Zhong You, was reprimanded face to face by Zhong You for his poor reading. Song Yi didn't dare to see the teacher for three years, studied hard at home, and finally achieved something and became famous for a while. Zhong You also earnestly exhorted his son Zhong Hui in every way, and Zhong Hui finally made great achievements, and called him "the big clock" with his father.
It is precisely because Zhong You studied from famous artists, learned the brushwork and calligraphy style of seal script and official script, learned from the strengths of various schools, and became the unique style of regular script in the Han and Wei Dynasties. Its original work was lost in the Tang Dynasty. What we see now is preserved in the engraved posts of the Song Dynasty. Representative works include "Declaration Form", "Recommended Season Table" and "River Street Table". When the Jin Dynasty moved eastward, Wang Dao sewed Zhong You's masterpiece "Declaration Form" in his belt and took it away, and later passed it on to Wang Xizhi. What is handed down now is the copy of Wang Xizhi, and the original does not exist.
Regular script created by Zhong You was very popular in Wei and Jin Dynasties, which had a great influence on later generations. Calligraphers of all ages drew nutrients from the bell body, such as Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi in Jin Dynasty, Yu Shinan, Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan in Tang Dynasty, Cai Xiang and Huang Tingjian in Song Dynasty, and later Zhao Mengfu and Wen Zhiming. , are influenced by Zhong You to varying degrees, and combine them to create a new style.
Zhong You's calligraphy theory is fragmentary, scattered in the literary works of deserter. Liu Xizai's "Outline of Art Books" says: "Zhong You's calligraphy says: Words are also bounded, beauty is flowing, and people are also." "Bookstore Jinghua" also recorded Zhong You's words with similar meaning: "It is extraordinary to use the author's heaven and the beauty of the world." Discussing calligraphy art from heaven and earth and heaven and man refers to the natural spirit existing in calligraphy art. It is believed that if calligraphers can apply their understanding of the mysteries of nature to their calligraphy creation, they can achieve the realm of being superb and endowed with the spirit of nature. It is precisely because this artistic creation is associated with Zhong Ling's elegant natural spirit that it is called "extraordinary and unknown". In fact, this view mainly refers to the natural flow of books, plain and pure, and there are many people in the sky.
Zhong You occupies a very important position in the history of China's calligraphy and plays an extremely important role in the emergence, development and evolution of China's calligraphy. According to his contribution in the history of calligraphy art, Zhong You is listed as one of the top ten calligraphers in China.