Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322), a native of Wuxing (now Huzhou, Zhejiang), had the courtesy name Zi'ang and the nickname Songxue. He was a Taoist named Songxue, Pengbo Pavilion Chief, Crystal Palace Taoist, etc. He was given the posthumous title Wenmin. The eleventh generation grandson of Zhao Kuangyin, Taizu of the Song Dynasty, and a descendant of King Defang of Qin. As an official, he became a scholar of Hanlin Academy and was honored as a doctor.
One of the four masters of regular script (Ouyang Xun, Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan, Zhao Mengfu). He is erudite and talented, good at poetry and prose, understands economics, is good at calligraphy and painting, is good at epigraphy and stone, knows the rules and regulations, and understands appreciation. In particular, he achieved the highest achievements in calligraphy and painting, creating a new style of painting in the Yuan Dynasty, and was known as the "Crown of the Yuan Dynasty". In painting, landscapes, figures, flowers and birds, bamboos and rocks, and pommel horses are omnipotent; fine brushwork, freehand brushwork, green, and ink are also masterful.
He has occupied an important position in the history of Chinese calligraphy. Together with Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan and Ouyang Xun, he is known as the "Four Masters" of regular script. Zhao Mengfu began to study calligraphy since he was five years old. He continued to read and write calligraphy until his death. He is good at seal script, official script, Zhen script, running script, and cursive script. He is especially famous for his regular script and running script. His "Song Xuezhai Collection" is popular in the world. "History of the Yuan Dynasty" originally said, "Meng Fu's seal scripts, seal scripts, and official scripts are all the best in ancient and modern times, so he is famous all over the world for his books." Yushu of the Yuan Dynasty said in "Kong Xue Zhai Ji": "Zi'ang's seal script, Li, Zhen, Xing and Biancao are the best in the contemporary era, and his small regular script is the first among all Zi'ang's calligraphy." His calligraphy style is charming, elegant and coherent. Strict and neat, with sophisticated brushwork, it is known as "Zhao style" in the world.
Zhao Mengfu’s landscapes are based on Dong Yuan and Li Cheng, and his characters, pommel horse master Li Gonglin and Tang Renfa are all famous for their green and smooth brushwork. He uses Fei Zifa to paint stones and calligraphy to write bamboos. It broke through the Southern Song Dynasty Painting Academy and broke the "uniform" situation of Ma Xia's country. The flowers and birds he painted became models for the future. The surviving paintings of his include "Chong Han Dynasty Overlapping Mountains" (in Taiwan), "Twin Pines in the Horizon" (in the United States), "Autumn Colors of Magpie Flowers" (in Taiwan), and "Autumn Suburbs Drinking Horses". Volume (in the Palace Museum, Beijing), "Arhat in Red" (in the Liaoning Provincial Museum).