Pang Zhonghua's calligraphy has gone through a tortuous course. In his early years, someone worked as a geological team. In the geological team, I found the pursuit of life: writing poetry and calligraphy. You may know that Pang Zhonghua is a great calligrapher, but you don't know that he is also a poet. His life is rich and colorful, and it was the 1980s that really changed his life. During the period when the culture was relatively desert, he seized a good opportunity and accumulated a considerable number of fans with hard pen calligraphy. As a result, Pang Zhonghua frequently appeared on TV and became a cultural celebrity.
Pang Zhonghua's hard-pen calligraphy is based on Weibei regular script, copying the inscriptions of past dynasties. His original "Ponzi Hard Pen Calligraphy" was called "the first person in hard pen calligraphy" at that time. Indeed, there was no hard-pen calligrapher before Pang Zhonghua, and his appearance made the book world more lively. With the changes of the times, Pang Zhonghua's hard-pen calligraphy is no longer popular, but has been questioned by many people. Pang Zhonghua's hard-pen calligraphy is questioned most because it is not smart enough and rigid. Even, there is a saying that Pang Zhonghua's hard-pen calligraphy is not suitable for beginners.
So, what is the root cause of Pang Zhonghua's calligraphy being questioned? In Bian Xiao's view, Pang Zhonghua's calligraphy mainly moved soft pen calligraphy to hard pen calligraphy. Pang Zhonghua's calligraphy changed from soft pen to hard pen, which was not natural enough and seemed a bit abrupt. Pang Zhonghua's hard pen calligraphy applied the writing method of soft pen to hard pen. Hard pen is different from soft pen and lacks change. Everyone knows this very well. Hard pens take pens and ballpoint pens as examples. The nib is so small and thin that it can't be displayed at all. This is not like a soft pen, full of variability.
The essential difference between soft pen and hard pen determines that hard pen calligraphy must have its own running style. It looks good to transfer soft pen writing to hard pen calligraphy, but write calligraphy with hard pen as soft pen. The characteristics of hard pen determine hard pen calligraphy, so we should give full play to its own characteristics and get out of the characteristics of hard pen calligraphy. No wonder experts say "it looks a little awkward", that's why. Pang Zhonghua's hard-pen calligraphy did not give full play to its characteristics, which is probably the reason why his hard-pen calligraphy was questioned.
Pang Zhonghua's hard-pen calligraphy has played a positive role in popularizing calligraphy education in the long river of cultural inheritance. His hard-pen calligraphy is groundbreaking and can be said to be the first person who dares to eat crabs. Of course, the first person who dares to eat crabs will have some shortcomings today. Pang Zhonghua's hard-pen calligraphy is groundbreaking and has an unshakable position in the book world. Of course, this is also a great contribution of Pang Zhonghua to China's hard pen calligraphy.
Is Pang Zhonghua's calligraphy questioned? This is a great progress in people's calligraphy aesthetics. It is a great attempt to transplant the soft pen writing method to the hard pen calligraphy. As for what the experts said, "It looks a little awkward", in Bian Xiao's view, it is embarrassing. After all, one thing can't be perfect forever. Pang Zhonghua's calligraphy is still very beautiful.