Zhao Mengfu’s calligraphy “seal, 瀱, fen, li, zhenxing and cao are all unparalleled in ancient and modern times”. In the history of our country's art, it is rare to see a person like him who has achieved great success. The emergence of Zhao Mengfu made the book world under the rule of the Yuan Dynasty not only not move towards indulgence and roughness, but also present a pure and elegant ancient style. Lu Xiong, a calligrapher of the Yuan Dynasty, wrote in "An Examination of Calligraphy and Painting in Shigutang": In this dynasty, Dukes of Zhao and Wei had far-reaching knowledge and interests, surpassing those of the ancients. His roots were only those of King Zhong. He traveled in and out of the Jin and Tang dynasties and was not constrained by modern customs. Domestic calligraphy has changed. .
In the practice of calligraphy, Zhao Mengfu is a master of all aspects.
The calligraphy of Zhao Mengfu was regarded as "Zhao style" by later generations, which refers to his regular script.
Zhao Mengfu’s small regular script is based on the "Le Yi Lun" and "Luo Shen Fu" written by the "Two Kings", Yang Xi's "Huang Su Huang Ting Nei Jing Jing" and Zhong Yao's various calligraphy, etc., and prepared the regular script. Being able to combine the strictness of the law with the freedom and self-satisfaction into one body, it has been widely valued by the past dynasties.
Xian Yu, a famous calligrapher in the Yuan Dynasty, said: Zi'ang's seal script, official script, Zheng script, Xing script and Biancao script were all ranked first in the contemporary era, and his small regular script script was ranked first among all Zi Ang's calligraphy works.
Zhao Mengfu's representative works in small regular script, such as "Tao Te Ching", "Luo Shen Fu", "Han Ji An Biography", etc., are rigorous in structure, precise in strokes, and appropriate in density. They can still be seen in the steady and vigorous brushwork. Its charming, free and easy calligraphy style characteristics. Although they are all in long regular script, they are consistent from beginning to end, which shows the depth of his skills.
The influence of Zhao Mengfu’s calligraphy on later generations is huge. Just as Hu Jizhong, a poet of the Yuan Dynasty, said: Five hundred years ago and ten thousand miles across, there is no book like this.
The "ancients" mentioned by Zhao Mengfu in calligraphy mainly refer to Jin people, especially Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi and their sons, and he emphasized learning their brushwork. He said in "Lanting Thirteen Postscripts": Calligraphy is based on the use of brushes, and the use of handwriting is also required. The character Gai Jie has been passed down from generation to generation, and it has been difficult to use the pen through the ages.
Zhao Mengfu’s calligraphy not only influenced the entire Yuan Dynasty, but also affected the Ming and Qing dynasties. In addition, his calligraphy skills also spread to India, Japan, Goryeo and other countries, especially to Goryeo, the neighboring country to the east. From the end of Goryeo to the middle of the Joseon Dynasty, Zhao's calligraphy style was followed for three centuries.
In addition, in Yuan Dynasty calligraphy, in addition to the mainstream of Zhao School, seal script and official script, which had been neglected for a long time, began to reappear in the calligraphy world, and a number of famous seal and official script masters such as Yang Heng and Zhou Boqi emerged.
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, many literati and officials lived in seclusion, wandered around the streets, and devoted their lives to painting and calligraphy. It was called hermit calligraphy by later generations. Hermit calligraphers represented by Yang Weizhen and Ni Zan began to consciously avoid or get rid of the influence of Zhao Mengfu's steady and elegant calligraphy style, and turned to the side, indulgence, clumsiness, and even weirdness to find a new way. , not limited by time, and his creative principles of willfulness and self-expression had a profound impact on later generations, especially the innovative calligraphy school of the Ming Dynasty.