The top ten famous calligraphers in China are Wang Xizhi, Yan Zhenqing, Ouyang Xun, Zhang Xu, Mi Fu, Liu Gongquan, Su Shi, Zhao Meng, Zhong Yao and Wen Zhengming.
1. Wang Xizhi
Wang Xizhi is the most famous and most accomplished calligrapher in China. His calligraphy is good at Li, Cao, Kai and Xing. He imitated and learned from others, and became his own brand with far-reaching influence. His representative works include "Lanting Preface", which is known as "the best running script in the world".
2. Yan Zhenqing
Yan Zhenqing is the most accomplished and influential calligrapher after Wang Xi. His calligraphy conveys the master's image of calmness, joyfulness, boldness and freedom, which is called "Yan Ti". The representative works mainly include "Manuscript of Memorial to Nephew", "Struggle for Seat" and "Magu Stele" and many other inscriptions.
3. Ouyang Xun
Ouyang Xun is one of the four famous regular script masters in history. He has unique insights into calligraphy and has the "Eight Secrets" of calligraphy. His greatest achievements in calligraphy are regular script, which is characterized by strong penmanship and unique structure. Later generations called it "European style".
4. Zhang Xu
Zhang Xu is famous for his cursive script, which together with Li Bai’s poetry and Pei Min’s sword dance, are known as the “Three Wonders”. The poem is also unique, and is famous for its seven unique features. It is ranked among the Eight Immortals in Drinking along with Li Bai, He Zhizhang and others. Together with He Zhizhang, Zhang Ruoxu and Bao Rong, they are known as the "Four Scholars of Wuzhong". Calligraphy is as famous as Huai Su.
5. Mi Fu
Mi Fu is one of the "Four Calligraphers of the Song Dynasty" (Su, Mi, Huang, and Cai). He is good at seal script, official script, regular script, running script, and cursive script. The style of calligraphy is good at copying ancient calligraphy to the point of imitating the authenticity. His calligraphy style is casual and unrestrained, but also strict with the law.
6. Liu Gongquan
Liu Gongquan's calligraphy absorbed the strengths of Yan Zhenqing and Ouyang Xun, and formed his own "Liu style", which is famous for its strong bones. Later generations are known as "Yan Jinliu" "bone" reputation. Liu Gongquan's calligraphy was famous in the Tang Dynasty, and there was a saying among the people that "one character of Liu is worth a thousand pieces of gold".
7. Su Shi
Su Shi is good at running and regular script. His writing style is rich and ups and downs, and he has an innocent and lively charm. "Huangzhou Hanshitie" is Su Shi's masterpiece of running script and is known as "the third running script in the world".
8. Zhao Meng
Zhao Meng not only created a new style in painting, he was also the first calligrapher in the Yuan Dynasty, and later generations called him "Zhao style". Zhao Meng has a large number of handed down writings, and his representative works include "The Thousand-Character Essay", "Luo Shen Fu", "Ji An Biography", "Dengba Stele", "Returning to Xi Ci", etc.
9. Zhong Yao
Zhong Yao drew on the strengths of others and was good at all styles. He was especially good at regular script and formed a new look from Li to regular script. He was respected by later generations as the "originator of regular script" ". His representative works include "He Jie Table", "Limitation Table", "Declaration Table", "Ji Zhi Table" and so on.
10. Wen Zhengming
Wen Zhengming’s calligraphy was originally taught by Li Yingzhen, and later he extensively studied the famous calligraphy of previous generations. He is especially good at running script and small regular script. He is gentle, elegant, rigorous and thoughtful. vivid. His representative works include "Qin Fu", "Ten Records of the Thatched Cottage", "Thousand Character Essay", etc.