Liu Gongquan, a famous calligrapher in ancient China and a poet in Tang Dynasty, was born in 778 AD and died in 865 AD. Liu Gongquan is one of the four masters of regular script in ancient China, who is famous for regular script. At that time, he was as famous as Yan Zhenqing, another master of regular script, known as "Yan Liu" and had the reputation of "Yan Liujing Valley".
Liu Gongquan was born in a bureaucratic family. His grandfather Liu once joined the army in Fenzhou, his father was Danzhou secretariat, and his brother Liu Gongchu was a famous minister in Tang Dynasty and was named Hedong Gong. Born in such a family, Liu Gongquan received a good education from an early age. Moreover, Liu Gongquan himself likes learning very much, and he is smart. He can write lyrics and fu at the age of twelve.
Liu Gongquan s achievements in calligraphy;
Liu Gongquan is a summarizer and innovator of regular script. On the basis of learning and inheriting the regular script styles of Zhong You, Wang Xizhi and others, he read modern calligraphy, learned from Yan Zhenqing, and combined with his own new ideas, created his own unique "six-style" regular script, which was imitated by later generations and became one of the outstanding representatives of "Tang Shu Shang Fa".
His handwriting is balanced, thin and hard, and he pursues Wei Bei firmly. His stippling is crisp and beautiful, with thick bones and tight body. "Books are expensive, thin and hard, and the spirit is clear." Compared with his face, his regular script is slightly flat and thin, so it is called "Yan Gu".
Since the end of Tang Chaoyuan, Liu Gongquan's reputation has become higher and higher. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty especially cherished Mo Bao of Liu Gongquan. Liu Gongquan was called to the front of the temple, and the military commander ordered Simon Xuan Ji to hold the inkstone, while the Tang Dynasty envoy Cui Juyuan took the pen. Liu Gongquan wrote the cross of "Mrs. Wei's brushwork" on a piece of paper with a real book.