Chapter 9 Section 8 Calligraphy Art of Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties

In the first year of Dading (581 A.D.), Emperor Jing of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Yang Jian accepted Zen, established the Sui Dynasty, and soon unified the whole country.Although the reign of the Sui Dynasty was not long, due to the unification of the country, cultures were exchanged and integrated. The various previous explorations learned from each other's strengths and complemented each other's weaknesses, and gradually formed a trend of melting and unifying; in the sixth year of Daye (611 AD), the imperial examination began When choosing a scholar, writing has become a criterion for judging the merits and the ability to be an official.For various reasons, regular script gradually became standardized and became the mainstream of this period.There are many inscriptions, portraits, and epitaphs left over from the Sui Dynasty. Although the legacy of the Northern Dynasty still exists, the uniform and orderly standard of regular script, and even the solemn and solemn style have been gradually formed.If it is said that "Tang Kai respects the law", it might as well say that the Sui Dynasty started its style.Kang Youwei said that "the Sui stele inherits Zhou and Qi Junzheng's threads inside, and receives Liang and Chen Mianli's style outside, so it is concise and clear, and merged into a bureau... Gathering the beauty of the Six Dynasties, forming its style will... open up the style of Tang Dynasty" The saying is close to it.The Sui stele has foreshadowed the coming period of the development of regular script to glory and splendor.

Many calligraphers from the Southern Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty left a lot of ink marks, but they usually retain the atmosphere of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.For example, Wang Xizhi's seventh monk, Sun Zhiyong, wanted to pass on the family law, and he continued to study books. He completed 800 copies of "Thousand Characters", which were divided into various monasteries in eastern Zhejiang. , the breath is warm, pure and light, extremely precious, from which we can find the typical Wang family.There is also a monk Zhiguo, whose ink is not handed down, but there is a book on "Xincheng Ode", which emphasizes structure and the method of planning chapters. It is very insightful and pioneered the theory of regular script in the Tang Dynasty.

In 618 A.D., Tang succeeded Sui Zuo, went through Zhenguan rule, Wu Zhou to Kaiyuan, and reached its peak. It became the most powerful and vast dynasty in Chinese history, ruling the roost in the world.Due to the clear politics, developed economy, and unprecedented prosperity of cultural undertakings, the art of calligraphy has great potential and turbulent waves, forming another peak after the Jin Dynasty. Tang emperors Li Shimin, Wu Zetian, Li Longji, etc. all loved calligraphy, so they vigorously set up officials, promoted talents, bought and copied famous works, practiced calligraphy, discussed (que) calligraphy with their ministers, and set up a special calligraphy school. Established a department of calligraphy, and even used "books" as a criterion for selecting officials, and took education and becoming an official as the institutional guarantee for promoting calligraphy. In addition, the three religions of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty were equally important, and the ancient books were rich and needed to be copied. Talented people come out in large numbers, excellent works appear one after another, and it is a sight to behold.

The style of calligraphy in the early Tang Dynasty still had the atmosphere of the Six Dynasties and the Sui Dynasty. After Zhenguan, it gradually formed a distinct Tang rhyme. Its regular script was originally called Ou, Yu, Chu and Xue.Ouyang Xun's "Jiucheng Gong Liquan Inscription", Yu Shinan's "Confucius Temple Stele", Chu Suiliang's "Yanta Holy Teaching Preface", and Xue Ji's "Xinxing Zen Master Stele" are all good at the field and are well-known in the history of books.Among them, "Jiucheng Palace" has precise and strict laws and pure brushwork, which has always been recognized as the canon of regular script.As for Chu Suiliang, most people think that he is a master who inherits the past and ushers in the future, and opened the Tang Kai method in the future.

There were many people who were able to write regular script in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, and Yan Zhenqing was the most accomplished.There are many inscriptions in his regular script, which are magnificent and majestic.Liu Gongquan in the middle and late Tang Dynasty is also a good representative in regular script, his characters are hard and sharp, showing a sharp edge without losing dignity. In addition, many epitaphs have been unearthed in various places. There are more than 1,300 epitaphs in the "Qiantang Zhizhai" in Henan alone, and there must be many undiscovered ones.The scriptures written by the people of the Tang Dynasty in lower case has lost the charm of the Jin Dynasty, and has its own utensils.Guoquan's "The Law of Good Views" can be a representative.

Since Kang Youwei's "Guang Yi Zhou Shuang Ji" honored Wei and inferior to Tang, Tang Kai was derogated as the originator of "Guange" [Shang Shang], which is actually unfair.Following the rules and establishing the law with all strength began in the Sui Dynasty.Since entering the Tang Dynasty, although Ou, Yu, Chu, Xue, Yan, and Liu have been further perfected in terms of law, they each have their own styles and appearances. Expand and innovate!If it is considered that the works of these masters should be counted as pavilions, then we have to say that such pavilions should not only be condemned, but should be promoted as a code for generations.

The running script of the Tang Dynasty, since the beginning of Zhenguan, has been set by Taizong as a model.Taizong paid special attention to Xi's calligraphy, worshiped the king as a god, and once paid a lot of money to buy the authentic works of Wang Xizhi in the world, and personally wrote "Praise" for "Book of Jin·Wang Xizhi Biography", praising Wang Xizhi as "perfect". Such as Yu, Chu, etc., were all vigorously promoted, which led to the atmosphere of worshiping the king in running script in the early Tang Dynasty.Li Shimin took the lead in using running script to enter the stele, and personally wrote "Jinci Ming" and "Hot Spring Ming", which made running script gain a wide range of applications in addition to pen notes.With so much encouragement, almost all people in Tang Dynasty worked hard on running script.During the reign of Emperor Gaozong, Huairen, a recluse of Hongfu Temple, catered to the preferences of the superiors, and spent 10 years of energy imitating the collection of king characters, and compiled the "Preface to Ji Wang Shengjiao", which provided an excellent model for the kings of the world, and made running script a "famous" for a while. Significant learning".In the Kaiyuan period, Li Yong built his works on the basis of the great king, intervened in the real regular script, and jumped out of the barriers. represent.Later, Yan Zhenqing's cursive script was based on his regular script, melted into seal and official script, and collected the essence of Zhang Xu's cursive script. Worthy of driving alongside the king.

Cursive script in the Tang Dynasty is also very vibrant.In the early days, Wang Xizhi was also used as the rule, such as Sun Guoting's "Book Book", which has the charm of Xi's cursive method.Then there was the expansion of her own era, Empress Wu Zetian, although she was the king, she was not restrained, and she would not let her eyebrows be allowed.He Zhizhang is also the king of the clan, but he is wild and romantic, and has the aura of wild grass.His friend, Zhang Xu, is wild and unrestrained, and moves the contemporary world with the name of big grass.Later, Shi Huai Su passed on his mantle, and until the late Tang Dynasty, his style was still alive.It should be said that this free and galloping style of cursive script was formed by the agitation of the atmosphere of the times, which in turn is enough to represent the spirit of the times. There is no doubt that this is a commendable development of cursive script after Wang Xi.

It should also be pointed out that seal script and official script, which are no longer popular, also attracted the attention of calligraphers in the Tang Dynasty.Li Longji advocated eight points, and the domestic trend followed, and some famous clerical script writers appeared at that time, such as Han Zemu and Liang Shengqing.There is also Li Yangbing, who is unwilling to fail in seal script, and devotes all his energy to exploring Li Qin seal script, which is highly respected by the people of the time.Although none of the seal and official works at that time had the scale of the Qin and Han Dynasties, they were quieter than those of other eras, and it was not easy after all, which also shows the prosperity of calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty.

Calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty was also very prosperous, and the prosperity of calligraphy can be called a double wall. There are many masterpieces, involving all aspects of calligraphy, not only the fine exploration of techniques, but also the vigorous demonstration of artistic spirit, which can summarize the essence of the predecessors and promote the original. The high degree of the court has been passed down to this day, and there is no time to prepare it. From the end of the Tang Dynasty in 907 A.D. to the unification of Zhao Kuangyin into the Song Dynasty in 960 A.D. for more than 50 years, it was another period of division and turmoil, known as the "Five Dynasties" in history.However, in terms of literature and painting, he has made remarkable achievements by borrowing the legacy of Tang Dynasty.Calligraphy is also the same, but it is difficult to preserve it because of the few steles erected; and the ink on paper is also rarely circulated.But judging from the description, there are quite a few famous writers.There are also a few remaining pearls in the ink traces that have been passed down to this day.The most outstanding achievement is Yang Ningshi.His "Yiuhua Tie" is elegantly composed and graceful, and is highly praised by calligraphers.It can be seen that the majestic grandeur and restraint and solemnity of the Tang Dynasty have begun to gradually change into a casual and elegant style, and the charm of the Song Dynasty has been cultivated in it.

Looking at this period, it can be said that the Sui Dynasty is the prelude to the Tang Dynasty, and the Five Dynasties are the legacy of the Tang Dynasty. It can also be said that the Tang Dynasty is the development of the Sui Dynasty and the forerunner of the Five Dynasties. a period of time.