Kang Youwei, a great calligrapher in the late Qing Dynasty, talked about calligraphy and the cultivation of inscriptions. He said: if you don't work on inscriptions, you can't talk about calligraphy. Therefore, Kang Youwei's calligraphy attaches great importance to the cultivation of inscriptions, making him a master of inscriptions. Liu Shijun's calligraphy, under the general disadvantages of weak writing style and excessive flattery, once corrected the depression and embarrassment of calligraphy popularity. He used epigraphy to shape his bones into majesty, wielding his pen like an axe, splitting the paper in the air with tenacity, standing in the admiration of the book world, and the banner of Avenue fluttered in the mainstream. Liu Shijun's calligraphy originated from Oracle bone inscriptions, and he pondered Han Li's Ten Monuments, so that his calligraphy style swept away the gentle and charming style of the book world and his illness was eliminated. Liu Shijun became the practitioner and promoter of Kang Youwei's theory of stele study with authentic cultivation. He inherited the tradition, supported the mainstream, made outstanding achievements, and did not waste the inscriptions. He can be described as a brilliant calligrapher.
The true quality of Liu Shijun's calligraphy is the result of cultivation and the return of enlightenment. By accomplishment, I mean that Liu Shijun's calligraphy doesn't take shortcuts, but at the same time he is eager to learn and copy. He studied the statutes of Liu, Yan and Ou, and integrated them, forming a solid foundation of calligraphy. Correct and rigorous, every painting has a source, and composition is fundamental. Besides studying the laws of Tang Kai, Liu Shijun's calligraphy is based on the calligraphy of the second king. He carefully observed Preface to Lanting Collection, Preface to Saint Education and Mid-Autumn Calligraphy, and turned the freedom, vividness and escape of the calligraphy of the two kings into his own skill. He continued to write magical powers according to his proficiency, and his calligraphy skills were close to sages, and his merits were close to sacred beauty.
When I say enlightened, I mean that Liu Shijun practiced calligraphy, not only with pen and ink, but also as a researcher proficient in calligraphy. From a practical point of view, he washed ink in the lake, carried a mountain of pens, invested a lot of time and energy in practicing calligraphy, and experienced decades of calligraphy practice, which consolidated the practical foundation of pen and ink.
Theoretically, he knows the origin, inheritance and development of calligraphy like the back of his hand. He is a Taoist researcher on calligraphy, so he is a traveler who knows calligraphy inscriptions and a wise man who knows calligraphy. The core of a wise man is precisely the quality of a scholar. His calligraphy accomplishment has achieved real success according to the mechanism of practice and culture, and has a distinctive literati style. The so-called calligraphy scene of Lanting's revision and flowing water, as well as the artistic conception of literati's prosperity, have always been put into pen and ink, integrated into the cultural situation and expressed in one go, in order to achieve the best.
If you don't waste the monument, you will be a great talent, and everyone will succeed and continue the legend. Brush strokes are like rushing thunder and falling rocks, and ink flies like flying beasts. If he becomes a good work, he will be stunned by dancing snakes and dancing snakes, and everything will be full of excitement. Liu Shijun used the technique of double-repairing steles and combined with the law of beauty to construct the form and artistic conception of calligraphy, which became more and more beautiful in form and meaning.