Inspirational stories of ancient calligraphers

Chinese culture has a long history, and Chinese calligraphy is even more profound and is a treasure of the Chinese nation. For thousands of years, in the long history of the development of calligraphy, stars have shone brightly, famous artists have emerged in large numbers, and countless outstanding calligraphy works have decorated the sky of our country’s history with splendor! The following is what I have compiled for your reference!

1: Zhong Yao practiced calligraphy diligently in the 80s

Zhong Yao lived from 151 to 230, with the courtesy name Yuanchang. He was a native of Yingchuan Changsha, Changgedong, Henan Province, and a native of Xuchang. A minister during the Cao and Wei Dynasties of the Three Kingdoms, he was an outstanding calligrapher. His calligraphy "has many interesting features between dots and paintings", Zhanghuai of Tang Dynasty's "Shuguan", which created a new style from official to regular script, and made a great contribution to the development of calligraphy in my country. The famous general Cao Cao at that time also asked him for calligraphy advice.

Zhong Yao has been smart and studious since he was a child. When he was eleven or twelve years old, he followed the calligrapher Liu Desheng Zi Junsi to Baodu Mountain in southern Shandong Province to copy Qin and Han cliff carvings. When chatting with people during the day, he would often practice calligraphy by drawing objects and drawings on the ground up to several feet long. When sleeping in bed at night, he still kept making gestures on the quilt with his fingers. Three years later, his calligraphy finally improved greatly. After the establishment of the Three Kingdoms, Zhong Yao and calligraphers such as Wei Dan, Cao Xi, Handan Chun and other calligraphers went to Cao Cao.

Once, Zhong Yao saw a volume of Cai Yong's calligraphy theory work "Nine Movements and Eight Characters" at Wei Dan's home. He was very fond of it and asked Wei Dan to lend it to him. Check it out at home. However, Wei Dan only allowed him to read it at home because of his treasure of "Nine Powers and Eight Characters", and refused to let him take the treasure out. Later, Wei Dan died, and those who knew about it secretly dug up his grave and obtained this calligraphy volume "Nine Powers and Eight Characters". Zhong Yao bought it with a lot of money and held it in his hand all day long, even looking at it when he urinated or defecated. Several times when he went to the toilet, he was so obsessed with trying to figure out the situation that he didn't come out for a long time. People were looking for him everywhere. Zhong Yaoyi lived for seventy-nine years. Before his death, he held the "Nine Movements and Eight Characters Jue" and earnestly told his son Zhong Huizi Shiji: "I have been thinking about it for more than thirty years. I have never forgotten this while driving, and I often read his books. I haven't finished yet, but I can only learn the characters and write them down every time I see them. If I stop at a place, I will draw the ground and take a few steps around; if I am sleeping, I will draw the quilt and wear it all. This passage in Cai Xizong's "Lun" can be said to be a summary of his life-long experience in learning calligraphy.

2: Zhang Zhi does not choose paper and pen when practicing calligraphy

Zhang Zhi near the pond when the water is completely black Zhang Zhi? - About 192, named Boying, nicknamed Youdao, sprinkled springs in Dunhuang of the Eastern Han Dynasty, now Gansu Province people. He is a famous calligrapher with profound attainments and outstanding contributions to calligraphy. He is also well-known for his noble moral character and integrity. Zhang had been familiar with classics and history since he was a child and studied calligraphy diligently. The emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty recruited him to serve as an official many times, but he never became an official.

Zhang Zhi does not choose paper or pen when practicing calligraphy. Sometimes he takes a rag and dips it in water to write on a stone. Sometimes he uses chopsticks to draw on the table. He even writes with colors on the fabrics he prepares for sewing clothes at home. Then dye it before use. But he was very particular about his writing posture, often waving his hand in front of a bronze mirror, so that both his front and back could be seen clearly through the dim reflection on the mirror.

In order to make it easier to practice calligraphy, Zhang Zhi dug an inkstone washing pond with a radius of several feet in front of his house. After finishing his homework for the day, he went to the pond to wash away the remaining ink on the inkstone and brush to extend their service life. He washed and washed. As time went by, the clear water in the entire pond was dyed black. Later, people called practicing calligraphy "Linchi", which evolved from Zhang Zhi's story of learning calligraphy. Zhang Zhi is good at official script, cursive calligraphy and Feibai calligraphy. He learned the methods of Cui Ziyu and Du Cao. In his later years, he got rid of his old habits and changed the dots and strokes of Zhang Cao. He differentiated each word and created a "one-stroke calligraphy" with unobstructed energy and continuous alternate lines. "Jincao". He was called the "Grass Saint" by Wei Dan of the Three Kingdoms. Wang Xizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty first recommended the calligraphy of Zhong Yao and Zhang Zhi in the Han and Wei dynasties, and thought that the others were not enough. The cursive scripts of Wang's father and son, Xizhi and Xianzhi, were also greatly influenced by them. Zhang Zhi's younger brother Zhang Wenshu is second only to his brother in book titles and is known as the "Less Sage".

3: Wang Xizhi studied calligraphy with great concentration

Wang Xizhi, a famous calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, is known as the "Sage of Calligraphy".

When Wang Xizhi was about five or six years old, he learned calligraphy from Mrs. Wei as his teacher. His calligraphy improved rapidly. When he was 7 years old, he became famous in the local area for his calligraphy. He was loved and praised by his seniors. When Wang Xizhi was 11 years old, he read "Bi Shuo" which can only be read by adults. He followed the method described in "The Theory of Writing" and got up early every day to write and practice in the dark. He became obsessed with it. After a while, I looked at my handwriting and compared it with what I wrote before. Sure enough, there were some changes.

One day his teacher Mrs. Wei was surprised and said to people: "This child must have seen the secret of calligraphy. I found that his handwriting has reached the level of an adult recently. According to the If this continues, this child's future achievements in calligraphy will definitely overwhelm my reputation." Wang Xizhi was not complacent or complacent because of the teacher's praise. He wrote more carefully and worked harder, even to the point of forgetting to sleep and eat. One time during lunch, the bookboy brought his favorite mashed garlic and steamed buns. He urged him to eat them several times, but he still didn't even raise his head, as if he hadn't heard, and concentrated on reading and writing. The rice was cold, so the boy had no choice but to ask Wang Xizhi's mother to persuade him to eat. When her mother came to the study, she saw Xizhi holding a piece of steamed bun stained with ink and putting it into his mouth, which made his mouth full of black.

It turned out that when Xizhi was eating the steamed buns, his eyes were still looking at the characters and he was thinking about how to write the characters. As a result, he mistakenly ate the ink as minced garlic. When my mother saw this scene, she couldn't help but burst out laughing. Wang Xizhi still didn’t know what was going on! Hearing his mother’s laughter, he also said: “Today’s garlic paste is so fragrant!” Wang Xizhi persisted for decades, studying hard and practicing constantly, and he became very solid. Kung fu, which laid the foundation and paved the way for his future development.

4: Ouyang Tongxue Shumai father's character

Ouyang Tong, a minister and calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty. Ouyang Tong is the son of Ouyang Xun.

Ouyang Xun died when Ouyang Tong was very young. After Ouyang Tong became sensible, his mother began to teach him to imitate his father's calligraphy. Ouyang Tong was young, and when he practiced calligraphy for a long time, he wanted to go out and play, and his handwriting was only so-so. His mother said to him, "Son, your father's calligraphy is very good. There are many people buying his calligraphy at very high prices. You must be like your father and write good calligraphy." Ouyang Tongting Liao said: "I can also write good calligraphy like my father, but I don't know what my father's calligraphy is like when others buy it." After that, he often accumulated the pocket money given by his mother and sold it to his father. Buy someone else's calligraphy back. When others refused to sell, he would pay a high price. After knowing that his father's calligraphy was really good, he stopped being lazy when practicing calligraphy. After several years of hard study, Ouyang Tong could write as well as his father, and more and more people came to buy his handwriting.

5: The story of Yan Zhenqing’s diligent study and practice

Yan Zhenqing, a famous politician and calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty. Yan Zhenqing founded "Yan Ti" regular script and was the first of the four major calligraphers.

In order to learn calligraphy, Yan Zhenqing first learned from Chu Suiliang, and later became a disciple of Zhang Xu. Zhang Xu was the leading calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty. He could write in various calligraphy styles and was especially good at cursive script. Yan Zhenqing hoped that under the guidance of this famous teacher, he would quickly learn the skills of writing and become famous in one fell swoop. But after becoming a disciple, Zhang Xu did not reveal any secrets of calligraphy. He just introduced some famous calligraphy books to Yan Zhenqing, briefly pointed out the characteristics of the calligraphy books, and asked Yan Zhenqing to copy them. Sometimes, he would take Yan Zhenqing to climb mountains, swim, go to fairs, and watch plays. After returning home, he would ask Yan Zhenqing to practice calligraphy or watch him write quickly.

A few months passed in the blink of an eye. Yan Zhenqing was very anxious because he could not get the teacher's calligraphy secrets. He decided to make a request directly to the teacher.

One day, Yan Zhenqing plucked up the courage and said with a blushing face: "The student has something to ask for, please teach me the secret of calligraphy."

Zhang Xu replied: "Learning calligraphy, once The first step is to study hard and practice hard; the second step is to understand and be inspired by the treasures of nature. Haven't I told you this many times?"

After hearing this, Yan Zhenqing thought she was a teacher. Reluctant to teach the secret, he took another step forward, bowed and begged: "I already know what the teacher said about 'work' and 'comprehension'. What I need most now is the teacher's secret recipe for writing and writing. Please give me your advice." ”

Zhang Xu still patiently enlightened Yan Zhenqing: “I saw the princess and the carrier fighting for the way and learned the meaning of the pen. I saw Lady Gongsun dancing with the sword and got the charm of writing. In addition to practicing hard, I just observed nature. , there are no other secrets."

He then told Yan Zhenqing the story of how Wang Xizhi, the calligraphy sage of the Jin Dynasty, taught his son Wang Xianzhi to practice calligraphy, and finally said seriously: "If there is any 'secret' for learning calligraphy, That is to study hard and practice hard. Remember, those who do not work hard will not achieve anything."

The teacher's teachings greatly inspired Yan Zhenqing, and he truly understood the way to learn. From then on, he studied hard, studied hard, and learned the charm of writing from life. He made rapid progress and eventually became a great calligrapher, the first of the four major calligraphers.