Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy, known as "Yan Ti" in the world, is characterized by vigor, strength and perseverance. As the saying goes, "books are like people." If you think about Yan Shu, you can predict his character.
The theory of "Yan Jin" came from the rebellion of An Lushan in the late Tianbao period, when the fighters rode south and the counties in Hebei were arrogant. When Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty heard of the chaos, he sighed, "Is there no loyal minister in the twenty-four counties of Hebei?" Soon, I heard that Yan Zhenqing, the 46-year-old prefect of Pingyuan, won the first battle as a righteous teacher and repeatedly defeated the thief. Seventeen counties in Hebei province rose to respond, promoted him as the leader, and assembled 200,000 troops to meet them, which made the rebels in An Lushan unable to respond from beginning to end, and dared not go south to Jianghuai or rashly attack Tongguan. It was this year that Yan Zhenqing wrote The Portrait of Dong Fangshuo in the Plain (now a county in Shandong Province). The monument is dignified, the word stone is rugged, the ribs are strong and the bones are hard, solemn and steep. Calligraphers put the heroic spirit of defending the enemy to the death into their works and transformed it into their own artistic style. Twenty-eight years later, Yan Zhenqing was seventy-four. He also ordered to inform Li Xilie that the rebellion in the buffer zone was obvious. This is a trap set by his political enemies. As the saying goes, knowing what to do is awe-inspiring. When Li Xilie adopted Qianzi, he drew his sword and raised eyebrows, threatening to try. Yan Zhenqing's spirit is hale and hearty, with a cool demeanor, and his complexion has changed greatly. The rebels dare not act rashly.
Li Xilie wanted to be the emperor and coerced Yan Zhenqing to be the prime minister. Yan Zhenqing didn't keep the festival, denounced thieves and disobeyed, and was upright and upright. Rebellion will be eclipsed Li Xilie then detained Yan Zhenqing and dug the abbot's hole. The rumor says, "If you don't listen, you will pit." Yan Zhenqing, desperate to die, suddenly said, "There are differences between life and death, so don't bother!" Li Xilie also helpless. Later, when Julian Waghann was still in shock, Li Xilie worried about something, ordered an increase in his salary, lit a fire and told him, "If you don't listen, you will be burned." Yan Zhenqing flew into the fire and was saved again. Long before this, it was inevitable for Yan Zhenqing to be a thief for a long time. So he wrote a suicide note to the court, wrote his own epitaph and eulogy, pointed to the west wall of the dormitory and said, "This is where I was buried!" "
Sure enough, in the end, the rebels were in a critical situation and strangled Yan Zhenqing at the age of 76.
Yan Zhenqing was honest and faithful all his life until he died. His character is the same as his calligraphy style, vigorous and tough, upright and upright.
Yan's calligraphy style is not as beautiful and charming as that in the early Tang Dynasty (represented by Yu Shinan, etc.). ), but there was a graceful charm in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. The most obvious colors to be treated are "silkworm head dovetail" and "horizontal light and vertical weight"
What is a "silkworm-headed dovetail"? The starting point of horizontal and vertical strokes of Yan body is to use Tibetan front when writing, and then suddenly turn, so the starting point is like "silkworm head". At the end of each stroke, he worked hard to make a setback at the end of his life, and then gently picked out that stroke, which looked like a "swallow tail". Give people a feeling of penetrating the back of the paper and produce an artistic effect of brushwork; When writing a horizontal pen, the intensity is lighter and the strokes are slightly thinner, while when writing a vertical pen, the strokes are heavier and the words give people a heavy feeling, which has the artistic characteristics of relief beauty.
In the history of calligraphy, since Wang Xizhi's innovation, Wang Ti has ruled the calligraphy circle for hundreds of years. There were many famous calligraphers in the early Tang Dynasty, but all of them criticized Jin people's brushwork and made no achievements. It was not until Yan Zhenqing came out that the calligraphy style was innovated, which reflected the style of the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Only in the Tang Dynasty did calligraphy exist. Later, calligraphers in the early Song Dynasty all learned Yan Ti, just like in the early Tang Dynasty. Therefore, the Song people have a poem, "Learning to be excellent is to be an official".
The so-called "Liu Gu" refers to Liu Gongquan, a great calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty who is as famous as Yan Zhenqing. The deceased called it "Yan Liu".
Liu Gongquan's calligraphy, a beginner of Wang Xizhi, later learned from Yan Zhenqing, and adopted the strengths of calligraphers of past dynasties, melting into a whole, that is, "Liu Ti". Liu Ti is called "Liu Gu" because of its rigorous shelf and upright character. Liu Shu's representative works include Mysterious Pagoda Monument and Shence Army Monument. History shows that Liu Gongquan's character is quite similar to his writing style, with solemn words and neat brushwork. According to legend, when Tang Muzong was in power, he was dissolute and indulgent, and few officials dared to remonstrate. On one occasion, Mu Zong asked how calligraphy could be just right. Liu Gongquan took the opportunity to answer: "With a pen in your heart, your heart is always there." Muzong heard the implication and his face changed with anger. This is the legendary story of "Liu's remonstrance".
Liu Gongquan's upright and upright character is in sharp contrast with his bold calligraphy, and he is highly respected by his contemporaries. Officials and princes often hire him to buy books and tablets with heavy money. If you can't get Liu Gongquan's calligraphy, you will be ridiculed as unfilial. When foreigners come to China for trade and trade, they often prepare a large sum of money, which is called "Liu Shu" money.
Liu Gongquan is so rich. He left all his gold and silver treasures to his slaves, and they were often stolen, and he didn't care. Once, a barn full of gold and silver wine vessels was stolen by domestic slaves. Knowing this, Liu Gongquan only smiled and said, "The silver cup has gone." No questions asked. However, Liu Gongquan's brush, ink, paper, inkstone, picture books and books are all kept in person and are not allowed to be heard by his family.
Liu Gongquan was only a scholar at the age of twenty-nine. He started as a local petty official and was unknown in the world. In his forties, Tang Muzong Hengli happened to see Liu Gongquan's handwriting in a temple and admired him very much. Liu Gongquan became an official in Beijing and became a person around the emperor. Liu Gongquan lived to the age of 88 and served as the official for more than 50 years, including Taiji, Taiji and Shao Shi.