When Yan Zhenqing was a child, he was not only diligent, but also thrifty. The early death of his father and the decline of his family forced him to study in a very frugal way.
He knows that his family has a hard life, so he can save a dollar and never spend half more. His heart is deeply engraved with the story his mother told him: when his father and his uncle Sun Yuan were in foster care at their uncle Yin Zhongrong's house, he studied calligraphy with Yin Zhongrong. Because of his poor family and lack of pen and paper, they painted the walls with loess and mud, replaced pens with branches and stones, and practiced calligraphy on the walls. After a long time, both of them have developed a good hand. Uncle, in particular, is not only outstanding in calligraphy, but also well aware of the wonders of calligraphy of various schools. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty ordered him to judge the authenticity of dozens of books. He made a clear distinction and was highly praised. He also wrote poems and Xuanzong, who criticized: "The beauty of calligraphy comes first." Yan Zhenqing also imitated his father and uncle by painting walls with loess mud, replacing paper with walls and practicing calligraphy. When the wall is full, daub it with loess mud before writing, and when it is full, daub it before writing ... Day after day, I am tireless, not bored, not discouraged, not slack, not slack. It goes without saying that in the spring and autumn with pleasant climate, even in the dog days of hot summer and the three or nine days of cold winter, it never stops.
But in the final analysis, calligraphy is a method of writing, a well-written, lasting and pleasing method; Words are written on paper. How can there be calligraphy without paper? Writing on the wall and paper will not only have a very different feeling, but also have a very different effect. Taking the wall as paper, you can practice "wall calligraphy", but "wall calligraphy" is only a kind of calligraphy after all. The so-called calligraphy often refers to "paper books"; Although "taking the wall as paper" can also be used as an alternative to the practice of "paper books" in thrifty housekeeping, the wall can only replace paper, but it can't replace paper in any case. After a period of hard work with walls as paper, Yan Zhenqing also practiced calligraphy on paper.
Similarly, in order to be frugal, he always uses light ink first, then thick ink, then thick ink, and then thick ink to write. Turn the front side over and write it on the back, then turn it over and write it in thick ink ... In this way, a piece of paper can always be written four times, five times, or even six times or eight times through the change of ink color from light to thick and the repeated flipping of paper.
It is under such difficult conditions that Yan Zhenqing achieved his great life, and his story will always inspire people who struggle for their dreams.