Zhang Zhi, whose birth date is unknown, died in about the third year of Chuping of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty (about 192 AD), Yuanquan Town, Guazhou County (now the old town of Sidaogou, Guazhou County, Jiuquan City, Gansu Province) The name is Boying. He is diligent in studying the past and is indifferent to official advancement. The imperial court could not conquer Zhang Youdao, so people at that time respectfully called themselves "Zhang Youdao". He was good at Zhangcao. Later, he got rid of his old habits and omitted Zhangcao stipples and Bojie to become "Modern Cao". Zhang Huaiguan's "Shuguan" volume listed Zhang's Zhangcao and cursive script as divine products, saying: "You are especially good at Zhangcao and cursive script, which gave birth to many Du Du. , Cui Ai. The dragon and the leopard change, and the green emerges from the blue. The sky is unique, and the will is vast. If the clear stream has a long source, it flows infinitely, and it lingers back in the cliff valley, letting nature take its course." It is said that he "learned the methods of Cui (Yuan) and Du (Cao), and therefore changed them to become today's grass and refine it. The style of the characters is made up of one stroke, with occasional discontinuities, but the blood flow is continuous, and Those who are connected, the Qi veins are connected to the other lines." Wei Dan, the calligrapher of the Wei Dynasty in the Three Kingdoms, called him the "Sage of Grass". King Xizhi of the Jin Dynasty only praised Zhong (Yao) and Zhang (Zhi) calligraphy of Han and Wei Dynasties, and thought that the rest were not worthy of consideration. The grass methods of Zhang Xu, Wei Dan, Suo Jing, Wang Xizhi and his son, Zhang Xu, and Huai Su all originated from Boying. Yang Xinyun said: "Zhang Zhi, Huang Xiang, Zhong Yao, and Suo Jing were called "Sages of Calligraphy" at that time. However, Zhang has strong bones and strong muscles, and is the most virtuous among all sages. They are worthy of their place."
There are two senior calligraphers whom Wang Xizhi, the "Sage of Calligraphy", admires the most: one is Zhong Yao of Cao Wei, and the other is Zhang Zhi of Eastern Han Dynasty. He said: "My book is compared to Zhong and Zhang. Zhong should resist, or it can be said that it exceeds; Zhang Cao should be like a flying goose. However, Zhang is very skilled, and the water in the pool is exhausted. If I was asked to do this, I would not necessarily thank him." (See Sun Guoting's "Shu Pu") "Dan" means addiction or special hobby. Even Wang Xizhi lamented that he was not like this, which shows Zhang Zhi's love for calligraphy. There are very few historical materials about Zhang Zhi. "Book of the Later Han Dynasty·Zhang Huan Biography" only records that the eldest son Zhi is the most famous, and his younger brother Chang is also good at cursive calligraphy. Wei Heng (AD? - 291 AD), a calligrapher of the Western Jin Dynasty, wrote "Four Styles of Calligraphy", saying: "Cursive script appeared during the rise of the Han Dynasty, but the name of the author is unknown. By the time of Emperor Zhang, Du Du, the Prime Minister of Qi, was known as a good calligrapher. Later there was Cui Yuan , Cui Shi, also known as Ji Gong, Hongnong Zhang Boying, so he refined his skill... General Wei Zhong called Wei Dan (179--252), the famous doctor of Wei Guanglu in the Three Kingdoms. As a calligrapher, he believes: "Du Shijie has strong bones, but is thin in calligraphy and painting. Cui's method. The style of the calligraphy is very dense, and the wording is skillfully crafted, which sometimes falls short of the standard. Zhang Zhi was delighted and eager to learn. He can be said to be the sage of grass if he turns it into a master. "It shows that although Zhang Zhi had Du and Cui as his teachers, he came from behind and was "unparalleled and unparalleled". Zhang Huaiguan, a famous calligrapher and critic during the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, in his famous book "Shuguan", an outstanding monograph in the history of Chinese calligraphy There are hundreds of words discussing Zhang Zhi in detail. Most of the other calligraphers of the past dynasties have quoted and agreed with the discussions of Wei Dan, Wei Heng, Zhang Huaiguan, Sun Guoting and others. Zhang Zhi's status as a grass-roots sage has been firmly established in the Chinese calligraphy world ever since. Above, always shine brightly.