When Mi Fei was young, he studied Yan, Liu, Ou and Chu hard, and laid a solid foundation. When Su Shi was demoted to Huangzhou, he visited for advice, and Dongpo advised him to study gold. From the fifth year of Yuanfeng (1082), Mi Fei devoted himself to the study of Wei and Jin Dynasties, searched many calligraphy posts of Jin people, and even named his study "Baojinzhai". Today, Wang Xianzhi's ink-and-wash autumn post is said to have been copied by him, which is both beautiful in form and spirit.
Mi Fei later became a doctor of painting and calligraphy, enjoying the collection of books in the palace and familiarizing himself with the stories of the Millennium. The ancients gained and lost countless things.
Mi Fei claimed that his works were "collections of ancient Chinese characters", and he had a deep understanding of the brushwork, composition and charm of ancient masters, which also showed to some extent that Mi Fei had made great efforts in the tradition of learning books.
Mi Fei turned to many teachers all his life, and in his later years, he also said in the book "readme": "I am a beginner, so I should learn to write the wall first. I was seven or eight years old. The words are as big as a picture, so it is impossible to write simply. I saw Liu and admired his tight knot, so I learned Liu's Diamond Sutra. For a long time, knowing that it comes from Europe means learning from Europe. For a long time, such as printing plate arrangement, it is the longest time to learn from Chu, and the season of Mo Duan turns fat into beauty, and all sides are perfect. Over time, Jue Duan Quanze exhibited Lanting, so he joined the Jin and Wei Dynasties and abandoned Zhong Fang to study in Yigong. " The same is true of Liu Kuanbei. The seal characters love Chuchu and Shi Guwen. I also realized that bamboo slips are painted with bamboo, which is wonderful and ancient. "
As far as the art of calligraphy is concerned, Mi Fei's calligraphy has the deepest traditional skills in Song Sijia, especially the running script. Dong Qichang's Essay on Painting Zen Rooms in Ming Dynasty said: "I tasted the word rice and thought that the Song Dynasty was the first. After all, it was based on Dongpo. In other words, Mi Dian's books are more self-sufficient. When he changed in his later years, it was strange that ice was colder than water. "
When the emperor asked about calligraphy, Mi Fei claimed to be "calligraphy". He was modest and practical, and "calligraphy" showed that he was quick and energetic with his pen and tried his best. His calligraphy works, from poems to bamboo slips and inscriptions, are full of vitality and freshness. Judging from the existing nearly 60 Mi Fei's handwriting, the word "brush" vividly shows the spirit of the word "rice". No wonder Su Dongpo said, "Mi Fei gets carried away." He also said: "Haiyue has been a seal character, an official, a true character, a line and a cursive script all his life. When you are parallel to Zhong Wang, dive and be happy. Not only worth it. "