In the Yuan Dynasty, Yang Weizhen was a calligrapher who was unique in the calligraphy world and had a very charming personality. Judging from the sources of his calligraphy inheritance, it seems that there is no difference between him and the calligraphers of his generation. Regular script followed the Jin and Tang Dynasties, especially Ouyang Tong and Chu Suiliang; cursive script followed Zhang Zhi and Suo Jing of the Han and Jin Dynasties, but in the end it took a completely opposite path to the prevailing trend. Compared with Zhao School's calligraphy, which is strict and law-abiding, elegant and graceful, Yang's calligraphy is wild and unsophisticated, while Leng Yu's calligraphy is simple and simple. The former has the temperament of a royal noble, while the latter has the appearance of a wild man in the mountains and forests. Analyzing the reasons, first of all, it is related to his lofty and unique personality, and secondly, it is related to his calligraphy ideas. Yang Weizhen placed great emphasis on the expression of "face, bones, body" and "temperament, air," so although his calligraphy was developed on the basis of learning from tradition, he tried his best to oppose conformity and not think about changes.
"The Epitaph of Zhou Shangliao" is Yang Weizhen's representative work in regular script. It has a clear and clear style, and there are figures in Ouyang Tong's "Master Daoyin's Stele" and Chu Suiliang's "Ni Kuan Zan", one stroke at a time. It is solemn and erect, and in addition to being neat and dangerous, it also has a solemn and ancient atmosphere.
"Zhen Jing'an's Collection of Fate Collection", "Chengnan Singing and Poems Volume", and "Youxian Singing and Poems Volume" are his masterpieces in cursive writing. These works have rough clothes and messy stipples, and the real, line, and cursive are mixed with each other. The brushwork and structure of Zhang Cao are often mixed in, which is quite strange and ancient; There are details; the composition is even more bizarre and ancient, and the word spacing is often larger than the line spacing, breaking the traditional layout of calligraphy and creating something new; in the seemingly chaotic pattern, a jumping and exciting rhythm is produced, like thousands of troops galloping forward. , the momentum is compelling. Wu Kuan of the Ming Dynasty commented on it: "The generals were in charge, the three armies were victorious, and the axes were broken and the horses were missing, and they returned home."
Yang Weizhen's calligraphy is not limited to time, and his creative principles are willful, emotional and self-expression. , had a profound impact on later generations, especially the innovative calligraphy school in the Ming Dynasty.