Interesting Talk on Calligraphy·Li Shimin
"Li Shimin": Tang Taizong Li Shimin (599-649), a calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty. Good at calligraphy, good at Li, Xing and Cursive calligraphy. Chen Si's "Short History of Calligraphy" of the Song Dynasty said: "(Tang Taizong) obtained the methods of the two kings. He was especially good at copying ancient calligraphy, almost as if it were lifelike." He once collected Wang Youjun's calligraphy extensively and personally wrote the "Book of Jin·The Biography of Wang Xizhi". There are running script works "Jin Temple Inscription" and "Hot Spring Inscription" handed down from generation to generation.
Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty also studied calligraphy intensively and wrote books such as "Bi Fu" and "Zhiyi" to train his later generations. He said to the officials: "The study of calligraphy is not an urgent task at the beginning. Sometimes you pay attention to it, but you still get better and give up. All arts and crafts cannot be achieved without learning. The disease lies in the laziness of the mind and the inability to concentrate on the ear." He also said: "When I look at the books of the ancients, I don't learn their form, but their strength."
Emperors' good books
Feudal emperors' good calligraphy and painting were a prominent phenomenon in ancient my country. In the Tang Dynasty Taizong Li Shimin is one of the representatives, and he is the representative with the highest achievements. Traditional cultural accomplishments such as calligraphy and painting played a positive role in cultivating his moral character and governing the country.
In 627, Li Shimin ascended the throne. He adopted a series of enlightened policies to enrich the people and strengthen the country, which was called the "Government of Zhenguan" in history. While domestic politics was stable and the economy was prosperous, Li Shimin paid special attention to the development of culture and art. He has a special hobby for calligraphy. In addition to personal study and research, he also uses political power to promote it. During the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, calligraphy officials were established, calligraphy schools were established, and doctors of calligraphy were established. Therefore, calligraphy flourished in the Tang Dynasty, which became an important stage in the development of Chinese calligraphy and had a great influence on the development of calligraphy in later generations.
Portrait of Li Shimin
Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty started his calligraphy from Yu Shinan and got the charm of Wang Xi. His penmanship is powerful and highly regarded by the world. His running script "Jin Temple Inscription" and "Hot Spring Inscription" are written casually, briskly and naturally, and he is the first to use running script on monuments. Tang Taizong's calligraphy had a great influence at that time, and people wanted to get his calligraphy. Once, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty hosted a banquet for officials of third rank or above at Xuanwu Gate. After drinking, he became very interested in writing and wrote white letters. All the officials wanted to take away the calligraphy written by him when he was drunk. However, Liu Ji, a regular servant of Sanqi, got on the imperial bed and got the calligraphy in his hand, but he woke up Emperor Taizong. The officials who did not get Taizong's writings asked Taizong to punish Liu Ji. However, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty smiled and said: "I heard Jie Yu leaving the chariot in the past, but now I see my regular attendants boarding the bed." Liu Ji was absolved of the crime.
Love the King's Book
Tang Taizong was intelligent and heroic, with few ambitions. He was well versed in books and was good at civil and military affairs. He was a monarch who governed the country well. His calligraphy is also quite famous, ranking first among the emperors of the past dynasties. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was particularly fond of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. He was one of the most important successors of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, and started a generation of worshiping the king. The reason why Wang Xizhi's calligraphy enjoys a high reputation in our country, in addition to his own calligraphy achievements, is also closely related to the promotion and promotion of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty.
Under the influence of his father and the guidance of Yu Shinan, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty joined the Wangshu sect. He was very devoted to learning Wang's calligraphy, and he couldn't help but copy it with his hands. When Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty studied ancient calligraphy, he did not learn from its movements, but only sought the strength of the bones, focusing on the intention and capturing its spirit. He also studied Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. His famous running script work "Jin Temple Inscription" is very similar to Wang Xizhi's calligraphy in writing style and expression, and is 25 years earlier than "Ji Wang Sacred Preface", which is really amazing.
Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, who loved Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, ordered the collection of authentic Wang Xizhi's calligraphy from all over the world in order to spread Wang Xizhi's calligraphy widely. For a moment, everyone responded and collected everything. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty asked Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang and others to identify the authenticity of the collected authentic works of the king's books, and then selected more than 2,200 pieces, bound them into volumes, and hid them in the Hongwen Hall. The Minister of Civil and Military Affairs studied. As a result, Wang Xizhi's calligraphy became the national orthodoxy and became popular all over the world. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty also personally wrote the biography of Wang Xizhi for the "Book of Jin".
In his biography, he highly evaluated and praised Wang Xizhi's calligraphy: "So after carefully studying the ancient and modern times, studying the seal script, and trying to make it perfect, Wang Yi is the only one who has less!"
For Ge Xurun
Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, loved calligraphy all his life. In addition to practicing diligently and copying carefully, he also used political power to promote and advocate. Under his influence and leadership, in the Tang Dynasty, from the monarchs to the common people, learning calligraphy became a common practice, forming a famous calligraphy flourishing era in the history of our country and becoming a good social trend.
Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty studied calligraphy with Yu Shinan as his teacher. For some reason, he could not write the character "ge" well. One time when he was writing the word "戈", he had a sudden thought and asked Yu Shinan to write it in and then show it to Wei Zheng. After reading it, Wei Zheng smiled and said: "Only Ge Bang writes this character like Yu Shinan." Taizong was very ashamed after hearing this, but he couldn't help but secretly admire Yu Shinan's writing power and Wei Zheng's vision. From then on, he asked Yu Shinan more humbly for advice, and practiced harder. He copied day and night, in the cold and summer, and finally perfected the writing technique of the word "ge". Later, when he talked about his experience in learning the writing method of the word "Ge" in "Brushwork Jue", he said: "To write Ge, you must be smooth, and you need to rest and look to the right." This means that when writing Ge, the strokes must be round and smooth. The strength should be slow and astringent, avoid light and slippery, and look right. It should not be too short, nor too long, nor too straight, nor too curved. It should be like drawing a bow and shooting an arrow, with elasticity, and the right and left coordination, and the beauty is the fit.
Outsmart "Lanting"
"Lanting Preface" is the preface written by Wang Xizhi for "Lanting Poetry Collection". The preface itself has sincere emotions and magnificent words; the calligraphy is smooth and graceful, and it is known as a masterpiece of both writing and calligraphy.
It is said that the original "Lanting Preface" was collected by Wang Xizhi's seventh descendant Sun Zhiyong in the Sui Dynasty. After Zhiyong's death, it was passed down to his disciple Biancai. In the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, who loved Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, collected a large number of Wang Xizhi's original calligraphy works, and then asked calligraphy ministers Ouyang Xun, Chu Suiliang and others to copy them and bind them into volumes as a model for calligraphy study by scholars in Hongwen Hall. When Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty learned that the original copy of "Lanting Preface" was still missing, he immediately sent Xiao Yi, the imperial censor, to ask Monk Biancai for it.
Xiao Yi knew that the authentic copy of Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Preface" was a priceless treasure. If he asked for it directly, Biancai would definitely not hand it over. So, he thought of a way. He first took the initiative to make friends with Biancai, often talking about poetry and calligraphy with him, and did not even mention asking for the authentic copy of "Lanting Preface". One day, they had a very lively conversation about calligraphy, from Li Si to Wang Xizhi, from seal script to running script, and they were very speculative. At this time, Xiao Yi took out a copy of "Lanting Preface" from his sleeve and showed it to Biancai. When Biancai saw it, he said, "This is a copy. It's worthless. I have the original copy of "Lanting Preface" here." After saying that, he asked someone to take out the well-sealed original "Lanting Preface" from the crack in the wall of the inner room, and said proudly: "Are you feasting your eyes now?" Seeing that the time had come, Xiao Yi quickly took out the imperial letter from Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty asking for the "Lanting Preface". Biancai was confused at first sight, and then he realized that he had been tricked by Xiao Yi. But there was no choice but to let Xiao Yi take away the authentic copy of "Lanting Preface".
Tang Taizong was very happy to obtain the authentic "Lanting Preface" and regarded it as a treasure. He asked the calligraphy ministers to copy the preface for the scholars to study. Since then, the copy of "Lanting Preface" has been welcomed by people, and more and more people are studying Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty made indelible achievements in advocating and promoting Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. However, after his death, the original "Lanting Preface" was buried with him, so that the "Lanting Preface" we see now can only be a Tang copy.
"Jin Temple Inscription" by Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty