Mrs. Wei, whose given name was Shuo and whose courtesy name was Maoyi, was signed by Henan. He was born in the eighth year of Taishi (272), the eighth year of Emperor Wu of Jin, and died in the fifth year of Yonghe (349), the fifth year of Emperor Mu of Jin. A native of Anyi, Hedong (now Xia County, Shanxi). Female calligrapher of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.
Wei Guan, the ancestor of Mrs. Wei's family, was promoted to Sikong in the Western Jin Dynasty, where he recorded the affairs of the ministers. He and Suo Jing were only good at cursive calligraphy, and were known as "Tai Er Miao". He followed his father, Wei Heng, who served as an official until his death as Huang Menlang. He was also good at calligraphy and the author of "Four Body Calligraphy Movements". His father, Wei Zhan, served as an official in Jiangzhou, Zhishi and Tingwei, and died in the official position. Mrs. Wei was eager to learn and was very fond of the art of calligraphy. She learned the rules of the great calligrapher Zhong Yao from an early age and was particularly good at official calligraphy. According to her own account: "I followed what I learned in the world and imitated Zhong Yao for many years." She once wrote poems and essays on cursive calligraphy, and was commissioned to write "Ji Jiu Zhang" for the imperial court. Although his calligraphy works have not been handed down to this day, the general outline of his style can still be seen from the relevant discussions of predecessors. Jin people once praised Mrs. Wei's calligraphy, saying: "The ice of broken jade pots, the moon of broken Yaotai, are as graceful as trees, and the trees are like breeze." They fully affirmed the characteristics of Mrs. Wei's calligraphy that are elegant, graceful, smooth and clean. This is actually an inheritance of Zhong Yao's calligraphy style, but on the basis of Zhong Yao's thin, clean and elegant style, it also reveals a clear and flexible charm. Wei Xuze of the Tang Dynasty said: "Mrs. Wei's book is like a flower-arranging dancer, holding her head high with hibiscus; it's like a beautiful woman on the stage, and a fairy makes her shadow; it's like a red lotus reflecting in the water, and a green lotus that controls the floating clouds." Three groups of beautiful images are used to compare it. From her calligraphy, it can be seen that Mrs. Wei's calligraphy is full of beauty, with a charming and delicate style unique to women, and is very different from Zhong Yao. This is Mrs. Wei's development and creation based on her own temperament and learning from Zhong Yao. Wei Xu therefore classified Mrs. Wei as a famous calligrapher and ranked her below the top grade, that is, the first and third level. Li Sizhen of the Tang Dynasty held the same opinion on this and pointed out that Mrs. Wei's "upright body was particularly outstanding". Zhang Huaiguan, a famous calligraphy theorist in the Tang Dynasty, even classified Mrs. Wei's calligraphy as a masterpiece, ranking lower than only a few people with the highest grade. Art historian Zhang Yanyuan's evaluation of Mrs. Wei is relatively low. He classified Mrs. Wei as above the middle grade, that is, the second and first level. But at the same time, it is said: "Li's wife, the Wei family, came from the Huazong family." From the above comments, we can fully see the important position of Mrs. Wei in the calligraphy world at that time.
Mrs. Wei not only made outstanding achievements in the practice of calligraphy art, but also made significant achievements and relatively comprehensive and in-depth discussions in the theory of calligraphy art. She wrote a volume called "Bi Zhen Tu", which made comprehensive and in-depth reference to relevant calligraphy theories and put forward her own opinions. She first pointed out in the book that the beauty of calligraphy "must begin with the use of a pen." It is advocated that learning calligraphy should go back to its origins and learn from the ancients. It is against being familiar with the principles and learning without support, so that learning is a waste of energy and no success. Mrs. Wei also suggested that when studying and creating, we should pay attention to the types and origins of pens, inks, paper and inkstones, emphasizing that if a worker wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools. He also emphasized that writing should be paid attention to, and different writing methods should be used in different calligraphy styles and analyzed in detail, saying: "Some people are anxious but write slowly, and some are slow but anxious. If the writing is close but cannot be tight, the heart is not tight. If the writing is uneven, the one who writes first with the intention behind will lose; if the writing is far and urgent, the one with the intention before the stroke and the latter will win." It goes beyond the scope of simply discussing writing, and also discusses the relationship between the brush and intention in the art of calligraphy and the cultivation of calligraphers. Make a profound statement. Mrs. Wei also made incisive discussions on the use of pens when writing different fonts. She believed that there are six ways to use pens, such as seal script for "floating and falling", seal script for "dangerous and terrifying", and eight-point script for "graceful entry and exit". Fei Bai's calligraphy is "Geng Jie Te Li". If "each character can resemble its own shape", it will be "super wonderful and the art of calligraphy is complete." It should be said that Mrs. Wei's discussion on the use of pens is also relevant today. It still has its merits. She essentially raises the issue of how calligraphers grasp the writing styles of different fonts. Regarding strokes specifically, Mrs. Wei put forward seven standards for writing seven different strokes. Mrs. Wei's description of the seven basic strokes is vivid and relevant, and is actually a good introduction for beginners to learn calligraphy. In addition, Mrs. Wei also proposed in "Bi Zhen Tu" that for beginners to learn calligraphy, "you must first write big, not from a young age", "those who are good at judging do not write, and those who are good at writing do not judge" and other theoretical principles, which are also valuable experiences. talk. On the basis of the above discussion, Mrs. Wei summarized her overall understanding of the art of calligraphy and put forward the theory of "strength and tendons". She believes: "Every stroke, ink, and wave of curling must be done with all one's strength." "Those who are good at penmanship have more bones, and those who are not good at penmanship have more flesh. Those with more bones and less flesh are called sinews; those with more flesh and less bones are called calligraphy. The ink pig. Those who are strong and have strong tendons are saints, and those who are weak and have no tendons are sick." This is essentially what Mrs. Wei gained from her lifelong practice of calligraphy art. It represents her general understanding of the theory of calligraphy art and points out the direction of efforts for future generations of calligraphers. and approaches have also become important contents and evaluation criteria in Chinese calligraphy theory, and have had a huge impact on the development of calligraphy theory and practice in the past dynasties. Although Mrs. Wei's "Bi Zhen Tu" referred to and absorbed some of the arguments of the predecessors, Mrs. Wei's development and creation on the basis of inheritance was indispensable.
Mrs. Wei's fame had spread far and wide throughout the country during her lifetime. The famous calligrapher Wang Xizhi studied calligraphy under her disciples when he was young. Later, he excelled and became a leading figure in the history of Chinese calligraphy. After Mrs. Wei came of age, she married Li Ju, the governor of Ruyin and the governor of Tingzhou. There is a son named Li Chong, who rose to the rank of Vice Minister of Zhongshu. Influenced by his mother, he is also famous for his books.
