There are stories of Liu Gongquan working hard and persuading Wenzong.
1. Work hard
When Liu Gongquan was a child, he and several friends held a book party. They each used their own special skills and wrote a lot of calligraphy.
At this time, an old man selling tofu saw Liu Gongquan writing and felt that the boy was too proud, so he frowned and said: This writing is not good, just like my tofu, soft. I'm so slumped, with no muscles or bones, is it still worthy of being praised in front of others?
Little Gongquan was very unhappy when he heard this. The old man said: I am a rough man and cannot write well, but there are people who can write much better with their feet than you! If you don’t believe it, go to Huajing City and have a look.
The next day, Xiao Gongquan got up at five o'clock and went to Huajing City alone. As soon as he entered Huajing City, he saw many people gathered under a big locust tree. He squeezed into the crowd and saw a thin, dark old man with no arms, sitting on the ground with bare feet, his left foot pressing paper, and his right foot holding a pen. He was writing couplets freely, and the handwriting looked like a galloping horse. flamboyant.
Seeing this scene, Xiao Gongquan knelt down in front of the old man and said: I am willing to become your teacher, please tell me the secret of writing! The old man hurriedly picked up the little Gongquan with his feet and said: I am a lonely person. I was born without hands and have to rely on my feet to make a living. How can I be a role model for others?
The young public authority begged so hard that the old man spread a piece of paper on the ground and wrote a few words with his right foot: Write eight tanks of water, and the inkstone will dye the waterlogged pond black; win over hundreds of parents, and then start. The dragon and the phoenix fly. Liu Gongquan kept the old man's words in mind and worked hard to practice calligraphy from then on. Thick calluses developed on his hands and his clothes and elbows were patched layer by layer. After hard training, Liu Gongquan finally became a world-famous calligrapher.
2. Advising Wenzong
Once, Wenzong summoned six bachelors in the side hall. When Wenzong talked about the frugality of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, he raised his sleeves and said: "This dress has been I've washed it three times." The bachelors all praised Wenzong's frugality. Only Liu Gongquan remained silent. Wenzong left him alone and asked him why he didn't speak.
Liu Gongquan replied: "The monarch should pay attention to recruiting virtuous talents, deposing dishonest ministers, listening to good advice and admonitions, and distinguishing rewards and punishments. As for wearing washed clothes, that is just It's a small detail, it's insignificant." Zhou Chi was also present at the time. He was trembling with fear after hearing his remarks, but Liu Gongquan was confident.
Wenzong said to him: "I know that you, an official who sacrifices others, should not be demoted to admonishment, but because you have the demeanor of an admonishment minister, I will make you an admonition official." The next day. Emperor Wenzong ordered Liu Gongquan to be appointed as an admonishing official and an expert in making imperial edicts. He was still a Hanlin scholar and was responsible for writing imperial edicts.
Main influence
Liu Gongquan was the summarizer and innovator of the regular script style. On the basis of studying and inheriting the regular script styles of Zhong Yao, Wang Xizhi and others, he read all over modern calligraphy. He learned from Yan Zhenqing, incorporated his own new ideas, and created his own unique "Liu style" regular script, which became a model for future generations and became one of the outstanding representatives of "Tang calligraphy".
His calligraphy is balanced, thin and hard, resolutely pursuing the Wei stele, his stippling is crisp and straight, his bones are strong and his body is tight. "The more expensive the calligraphy is, the thinner and the harder it is, the more it can communicate with the spirit." His regular script is slightly more uniform, thinner and harder than his Yan style, so it is known as "the muscles of the face and the bones of the willow".
When people start learning calligraphy today, they still prefer calligraphers such as Yan, Liu, Ou, Chu, and Yu of the Tang Dynasty, especially the set of regular script norms established by Liu Gongquan, which is still a model for people to learn from today. Liu Gongquan made outstanding contributions in the reform and development of calligraphy art. He summarized the development of calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty and laid the foundation for the development of regular script as a whole.
Reference for the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia—Liu Gongquan