Zhang Xu was born in Wu Jun (near Suzhou, Jiangsu). At first, it was the commander-in-chief of Changshu, and later it was the military attache of Jin Dynasty. It was called "Zhang Changshi" Gong Shishu, and it was the most famous cursive script. Zhang Xu is known as one of the Eight Saints in ancient China. The Eight Saints are: Du Kang, a wine saint, Confucius in Wen Sheng, Sima Qian, Du Fu, Guan Yu, a martial saint, Wang Xizhi, a calligrapher, Zhang Xu, Wu Daozi, Lu Yu, Cha Sheng, Sun Wu, a soldier, Zhang Heng, a wood saint and Sun Simiao, a medical saint. Zhang Xu's cursive script is endless, with ups and downs. The so-called "Zhang Miao Yu Fei" means that his cursive lines are thick and full and extremely wonderful. Han Yu, a great scholar in the Tang Dynasty, praised his cursive art in Gao Xianxu. In Tang Wenzong, Zhang Xu's cursive script, Li Bai's poems and Pei Min's sword dance were called "Three Musts". Zhang Xu also wrote poems, and was called "Four Gentlemen of Wuzhong" with He, Zhang and Bao Rong. There are six of his poems today, all of which are quatrains describing natural scenery, with novel ideas, far-reaching artistic conception and unique style. His four-line "Stay on the Mountain": "The state of mountain light makes spring glow, not for lightness. Even if there is no rain in Mystery, clothes will stick to the depths of the clouds. " Many students can recite it, too. His poem Peach Blossom Creek is also highly praised.

Zhang Xu and Li Bai, He, Li, Li Jin, Cui Zongzhi, and Jiao Sui are also called "Eight Immortals of Drinking". Moreover, they often write after drinking, and the cursive script is perfect. Du Fu said in "The Song of Drinking Eight Immortals": "Zhang Xu's holy biography of three cups of grass, before taking off his hat and revealing the top of the princes, put pen to paper like a cloud." Zhang Xu likes drinking. Every time he gets drunk, he screams and runs away, freely and endlessly. If God helps him. According to Li Zhao's Supplement to National History, every time Zhang Xu drank, he wrote cursive script, shouted with a pen, dipped his head in ink and expressed it with his hair. His "Fa Shu" is elegant and wonderful, full of different tastes, and even he was surprised when he woke up, which seems to be exaggerated. Gao Shi, a poet, said in A Wine Gift to Zhang Xu that he was "sanctified when he was drunk, and his words were particularly harsh when he was drunk", so people also called him "Zhang Dian". After Huai Su inherited and developed his brushwork, he also named it after cursive script, which he called "drunk"

Zhang Xu occupies an extremely important position in the history of China's calligraphy. Yan Zhenqing and Huai Su, great calligraphers in the Tang Dynasty, all studied under him. Yan Zhenqing resigned twice and asked him for his brushwork. China's ancient calligraphy critics all criticized Ou Yangxun, Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang, Xue Qi, Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan. Only Zhang Xu, no one criticized them, which is unique in the history of calligraphy. In the Tang Dynasty, Han Yu praised Zhang Xu's calligraphy as: "Looking at things, you can see mountains and rivers, birds and animals, insects and fish, the dispute between song and dance, and the decline of heaven and earth, which is gratifying." If his regular script is more inheritance than creation, then his cursive script is a great innovation and development in calligraphy.

Zhang Xu is good at learning from others and absorbing the strengths of others, which is also an important reason for his superb calligraphy. Zhang Guo, a native of the Tang Dynasty, told the story of Zhang Xu learning from an old man when he was a satrap in Changshu. The story says: Zhang Xu has only been in Changshu for more than ten days. An old man complained to the county official's son about a trivial matter, and Zhang Xu wrote him a verdict. Unexpectedly, a few days later, the old man came to ask for a verdict. Zhang Xu was very angry and scolded the old man: "How dare you ask for a judgment for a little thing?" Noisy yamen! The old man replied, "I really didn't come for another verdict, but because I saw the wonderful handwriting in your last verdict. I want to collect more for Mo Bao. After hearing this, Zhang Xu learned that the old man had Mo Bao, his late father, and asked him to take it to watch. "。 Seeing the ink of the old man's late father, Zhang Xu exclaimed, "There are calligraphers in the world. "Since then, Zhang Xu has made great progress in calligraphy by using the wonderful use of brushwork. The Book of the New Tang Dynasty compiled by Ouyang Xiu and Song Qi in the Northern Song Dynasty? 6? There are similar records in Zhu's Biography of 1 Li Bai and Continuing Wu Jun Tu Jing in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Another story says that Zhang Xu has a neighbor and his family is very poor. He heard that Zhang Xu was very generous, so he wrote to Zhang Xu, hoping to get his support. Zhang Xu sympathized with his neighbor, so he said in his letter: You only need to say that this letter was written by Zhang Xu, and the asking price can be several hundred gold. Neighbors sold letters in the street according to his words and sold them out in less than half a day.

Zhang Xu is the founder of Crazy Grass. Different from the style of Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher in Jin Dynasty, cursive calligraphy is labeled as "crazy". Weeds are a form of calligraphy. As far as its statutes and rules are concerned, it is crazy and rational, rigorous and accurate, and there is no room for carelessness and carelessness. Han Yu said, "Xu is good at cursive writing, but he can't cure his book." Change is like ghosts and gods, so don't be arrogant. " His calligraphy originated from the "two kings", which can be original and innovative. His regular script is accurate. The rules are extremely strict, and it is praised by the Huanggu as "the best in the Tang Dynasty in the book." "Xuanhe Shupu" commented: "Its name is based on jumping grass, and as for small cursive script, it does not reduce the beauty of cursive script. Although there are many strange things in his cursive script, he seeks its origin, and there are all people in the painting who cannot be disciplined. " According to legend, "Four Ancient Poems" is Zhang Xu's original work, which consists of two poems written by Yu Xin, a poet in Liang Dynasty, and two poems written by Xie Lingyun, a poet in Jin Dynasty. This is Zhang Xu's rare Mo Bao in the existing world. This post is vigorous and magnificent, and the brushwork is vertical and easy. Dong Qichang commented: "There is a cliff fall and a whirlwind rain." Explanation:

Dongming nine covers, north candle five clouds car. Flying harriers (birds are the wind) fall into the background and appear in the mist. Jade frost falls in spring. Jade bird looks at Jinhua, Emperor Xian of Han looks at peach pit, and Qi Hou asks Jing Hua. Driven by Yuanjiu, I accompanied him to visit Cai's family. North Que is close to fresh water, Nangong is born with crimson clouds, dragon mud is printed with jade slips, and fire tests the truth. The wind and rain of Shangyuan dispersed, and Brother Zhongtian blew points. Thousands of miles away on an empty shelf, Wan Li smells an empty fragrance.

Zhang Xu's Four Ancient Poems is rigorous, which is related to his profound knowledge and skill in regular script writing. Extraordinary artistic accomplishment, rich thinking in images, solid basic skills and courage can really make cursive script crazy and create exquisite works of art that will last forever. Who thinks that writing crazy cursive script can be scribbled at will as long as it is bold and unconstrained by rules? That's all wet. How can you write a wonderful and touching cursive script without profound knowledge of regular script and artistic accomplishment?

Another masterpiece of Zhang Xu, Abdominal Pain Sticker, has only 30 words. This post is both rigid and flexible, ever-changing, colorful, interesting and eloquent. As can be seen from the post, when writing this word, it is full of strokes. Write the numbers once until the ink runs out, and then dip them again. Doing so can maintain the continuity between words, and can also control the change of pen thickness, so that the whole work is full of charm, resulting in the momentum of "God is out of the sky, Xia Yun is brilliant". Interpretation of Abdominal Pain Post: Sudden abdominal pain is unbearable/I don't know if it is cold or hot/I want to eat rhubarb soup/both cold and hot are beneficial. Abdominal pain post: a single engraved post. No money. In the Ming Dynasty, Wang Shizhen wrote an afterword: "Zhang Changshi's Abdominal Pain Post and Thousand-character Works have several lines, and he is fascinated by ghosts. If they are unpredictable. "

It is recognized in history that he is the ancestor of "Crazy Grass" and is honored as "the sage of grass". In fact, his regular script is also excellent, but unfortunately it is covered up by the reputation of cursive script and is not well known. It is said that Yan Zhenqing's regular script was handed down from him. Zhang Xu's calligraphy works handed down from generation to generation include Abdominal Pain Post, Zhengzheng Post, Four Patterns of Ancient Poems, Preface to Langguan Stone in regular script, and Yan Renzhi discovered in Mangshan, Luoyang in 1992. It can be said that Zhang Xu is a great calligrapher who is good at all aspects and plays a connecting role in the history of China's calligraphy development.

His most famous regular script is "Langguan Shizhu Ji". Zhuji, nirvana in fire, also known as Biji, nirvana in fire, is written by Jiu Yan and Zhang. In the 29th year of Tang Kaiyuan (AD 74 1), it was located in Xi 'an, Shaanxi. Ouyang Xiu's Notes on Ancient Books says: "Xu is famous for his cursive script, but nirvana in fire is really lovely." Huang Tingjian said: "The Wall of Langguan with a long history is a true book in the Tang Dynasty, which is second to none." Sue: "It would be a big mistake to say that people who are good at cursive writing in this world are not good at it. Real growth leads to growth and growth leads to grass. Really like standing, walking like walking, grass like walking. No one can walk without standing. Today, Chang 'an still has a book with a long history, The Tale of Langguan Shizhu, which is simple and far-reaching, like the people of Jin and Song Dynasties. Langguan Zhu Shi, the original stone has been lost for a long time, this stone has been engraved in the Song Dynasty. Only the Orphan of Song Tuo collected by Wang Shizhen has been handed down from generation to generation. In the Ming Dynasty, Dong Qichang carved it into Xihongtang Post.

After Zhang Xu died, everyone missed him very much. For example, after Du Fu entered Shu, he was very sad to see Zhang Xu's ink, so he wrote a cursive script of Yang Jian in the temple for Zhang Xu to see. In the poem, he said: the Sri Lankan people are dead in the clouds, and the grass is secret. I am so annoyed and full of sadness when I see this. In his poem To Zhang Xu, Li Qi said: The top of the bed is called three or five times. Stars come to the wine wall like meteors. You can see how much you love Zhang Xu. To commemorate Zhang Xu, Changshu people still keep a "drunken street" near the square tower at the east gate of the city until today. In the old days, there was also a "Cao Sheng Temple" in the city. A couplet in the temple said: "The book has become a god, and the paper has fallen. Today's ancient games spread eight laws; Drunken people call themselves cursive saints, who are full of wind and rain, and want to drink three cups when they are old, expressing the deep respect of the Yi people for cursive saints. Zhang Xu's wash pen inkstone pool has also been preserved for a long time, and it is called "Xiyan Lake". Zhang Xu Cao Sheng Temple will be built in Suzhou in Tang Dynasty. Located on the west side of Tang Yin's tomb, all of them are ancient building materials. Caosheng Temple will be built into a building similar to Lanting in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, which will display the artistic achievements of Zhang Xu's calligraphy and become a place for literati pen meetings at home and abroad. Suzhou people are proud of calligrapher Zhang Xu. Zhang Xu is also the pride and glory of the Chinese nation.