The Four Masters of Regular Script are the collective name for the four calligraphers who are famous for their regular script in the history of calligraphy. They are also called the Four Great Regular Scripts and the Four Styles of Regular Script. They are: Ouyang Xun (European Style) of the Tang Dynasty, Tang Dynasty Chaoyan Zhenqing (Yan style), Tang Dynasty Liu Gongquan (Liu style), Yuan Dynasty Zhao Mengfu (Zhao style).
The four masters of regular script: Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan, Ouyang Xun, Yuan Dynasty Zhao Mengfu.
First: calligraphy was at its peak in the Tang Dynasty. Anyone who wrote regular script would be called Yu, Ou, Chu, or Yan. Yan Zhenqing was the most innovative calligrapher among them. Yan Zhenqing (709-785), whose courtesy name was Qing Chen, a native of Jingzhao Wannian (today's Xi'an, Shaanxi Province). He was born in a famous family and was the fifth-generation grandson of the famous scholar Yan Shigu. Yan Zhenqing was an upright and upright person, and was known as a righteous man in the officialdom. He was a veteran of the four dynasties and had many ups and downs in officialdom. , didn't take it seriously, and was later ordered to recruit Li Xilie, the Huaixi Jiedu envoy who had rebelled, and was killed by Li.
Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy was learned at home, but the person who inspired him to change it was Zhang Xu of Wujun. Because he was able to recruit from hundreds of schools and choose freely, leaving a large number of calligraphy is a testament to his skill. Every time historian Fan Wenlan mentioned Tang books in his writings, he said that "Yan Zhenqing in the prosperous Tang Dynasty was the creator of the new calligraphy style of the Tang Dynasty." "Zhe". Yan's regular script reflects the style of a prosperous age and his majestic characters; and his cursive style made Mi Fu of the Song Dynasty also like this calligraphy. The reason is that the calligraphy is often written quickly in a state of extreme sadness and anger, and readers You can get a taste of it from this article. Emotions melt into art, and artistry creates soul. All excellent arts in history do not violate this principle.
Yan Zhenqing, a giant in the calligraphy world. For thousands of years, only Yan Lugong could rival the calligraphy sage Wang Xizhi and stride forward in the world of calligraphy. The calligraphy world of the Tang Dynasty was crowned with Yan Zhenqing, and the Song Dynasty also used Yan Shu as its great encyclopedia. Since then, Yan Zhenqing’s book spirit has been formed It has a huge motivating force and has accumulated into an important part of the book soul of the Chinese nation. "New Book of Tang·Biography of Yan Zhenqing" praises: "Although he is 1,500 years old, his heroic words are like frost and the scorching sun, which can be feared and admired. !" The heroic life of the sun and the moon is the inexhaustible source of watering his wonderful calligraphy skills.
The second is: Liu Gongquan, the thirteenth year of the Dali calendar of the Tang Dynasty (778 AD) - the sixth year of Xiantong Yizong of the Tang Dynasty. In 865 AD, he was 88 years old. He was born in Huayuan, Jingzhao (now Yaoxian County, Shaanxi Province). He became the prince's young master in the palace, and was known as "Liu Shaoshi" in his later life. He first studied with Wang Xizhi and studied the brushwork of Ouyang Xun and Yan Zhenqing, and then became his own family. .The regular script written by Liu Gongquan has a strong and charming posture and strong bones. Compared with the Yan style, the Liu character is slightly thinner, so it is called "Yan Jin Liu Gu". Mu Zong asked Liu Gongquan about the method of using the pen, and Gongquan replied: " "Use the pen to the heart, and if the heart is upright, the pen will be correct." Mu Gong changed his appearance, just like his pen admonishment. Zhu Changwen of the Song Dynasty said in "Mochi Bian": "Gongquan's official script and regular script are both the most exquisite ones, and they cannot be cured." His technique stems from appearance, and adds strength and richness, from the famous calligraphy." He first learned Wang Xizhi's brushwork, and later read modern calligraphy, so he tried his best to change his military style, learned from Yan Zhenqing, and incorporated his own new ideas, so that his calligraphy could avoid horizontal, thin, and vertical strokes. The posture is thick, but balanced and thin and hard, pursuing the decisive momentum of the Wei stele, the stipples are crisp and straight, the bones are strong, and the structure is tight. Many calligraphers in later generations take Liu Zi as a model.
He was twenty-nine. When he was a Jinshi at the age of 18, he served as a low-level official in the local area. Later, Emperor Mu Zong of the Tang Dynasty accidentally saw his handwriting. As soon as he became a holy calligrapher, he was summoned to Chang'an by the court. At that time, Liu Gongquan was already in his forties. Backbone and meticulous, similarly, his handwriting also reveals this part of his characteristics. Because of this, his reputation and status in Chang'an have been improved, and the princes and nobles are willing to spend huge sums of money to hire him.
Calligraphy in the late Tang Dynasty experienced a period of prosperity and then declined after the mid-Tang Dynasty. Although Liu Gongquan was known as a temporary revival, he was still slightly inferior to Yan Shu. Calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty flourished for a while, but has since declined. Liu Gongquan His regular script incorporates Ouyang Xun's brushwork, often interspersing some strokes closely to make the broad areas particularly open. The strokes are thin and vigorous, and the edges and corners are sharp. Although the strokes were written by Yan Zhenqing, they are different from Yan Zhenqing's vigorous and broad strokes, making him particularly heroic. .
Liu Gongquan died at the age of eighty. He served seven emperors in one year, and finally died in office as the crown prince and young master.
He has many handed down writings and has a great influence. Prominent ones include "Mysterious Tower", "Shence Military Monument", "King Kong Monument"
Sutra", etc.
1. "Shence Jun Stele": regular script, established in the third year of Huichang in the Tang Dynasty (843 AD). It is one of Liu Gongquan's masterpieces and is better known to later generations than the "Mysterious Tower" book The body style is more distinctive, the structure layout is smooth and even, the left is tight and the right is comfortable, which is also a better example for writing.
2. "Liu Shu Diamond Sutra": regular script, Tang Changqinggang year (824 AD) ), engraved in April. The original stone was destroyed in the Song Dynasty. An only copy of the Tang inscription from the Dunhuang Stone Chamber in Gansu Province has been handed down without any damage. It is now in the Paris Museum, France. Critics believe that the Diamond Sutra in regular script has the characteristics of Zhong (Yao), Wang (Xizhi), Ou (Yang Xun), Yu (Shi Nan), Chu (Suiliang), and Lu (Dong Zhi) each have their own strengths and have high artistic value.
3. "Xuanmi Pagoda Stele": regular script .Erected in the first February of the first year of Huichang in the Tang Dynasty (AD 841), the original stele now exists in the Stele Forest in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. This stele is the most famous among the handwriting handed down from generation to generation. It is one of the most influential regular script models in history.