Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322) was a calligrapher, painter and writer of the Yuan Dynasty. His courtesy name is Zi Subaru, his nicknames are Taoist Songxue and Taoist Shuijinggong. He was once Meng Fu in his middle age and was a native of Huzhou (Wuxing, Zhejiang). Descendants of Qin Wang Defang, the son of Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty. He has been smart since he was a child, and he has become a master of reading and writing. After the fall of the Song Dynasty, he returned to his hometown to live idle. Later, he was recruited by the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty and served in five dynasties. He became a scholar in the Hanlin Academy, received the imperial edict, was honored as a doctor, was granted the title of Duke of Wei, and was given the posthumous title of Wenmin. A Buddhist, he and his wife Duan Sheng were both disciples of monk Zhongfeng Mingben (1263-1323). He is proficient in music and good at identifying ancient artifacts. His poems are clear and profound, and he is especially good at calligraphy and painting. He is good at both seal, official and cursive scripts, and his real calligraphy and running script are the most profound and influential.
Zhao Mengfu was an influential calligrapher in the early Yuan Dynasty. "History of the Yuan Dynasty" originally said, "Meng Fu's seal scripts, seal scripts, and official scripts are all the best in ancient and modern times, so he is famous all over the world for his books." High praise. According to Song Lian of the Ming Dynasty, Zhao's calligraphy learned from Siling (that is, Emperor Gaozong Zhao Gou of the Song Dynasty) in his early years, "Zhong Yao and Xixian" in his middle age, and Li Beihai in his later years. . Wang Shimao said: "Most of the Wenmin books come from the two kings (Xizhi and Xianzhi). If their body is tight, they can win the right army; if their posture is elegant, they can win the big order; as for the book stele, it closely imitates Li Beihai's "Yuelu" , "Sa Luo" style." In addition, he also touched the Dingding stele of the Yuan and Wei Dynasties, as well as Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang and others of the Tang Dynasty; in seal script, he studied Shigu script and Chu Chu script; in official script, he studied Liang Hu and Zhong Yao; in cursive script If you learn from Xixian, you can work hard to inherit the tradition. As Wen Jia said: "Wei Gong imitated all the excellent calligraphers of the ancients." Yu Ji said of him: "His regular script is proficient in "Luo Shen Fu", so he accepted its standard. His running script is proficient in "Holy Teaching Preface", and he enters his room. As for cursive script, he has read "Seventeen Tie" to measure its shape." He is A very accomplished calligrapher who combined the calligraphy of Jin and Tang Dynasties. Calligraphers of his time highly praised him, and later generations included him in the Four Masters of Regular Script: "Yan, Liu, Ou, and Zhao". Dong Qichang, a calligrapher and painter of the Ming Dynasty, believed that his calligraphy was directly influenced by Jin people.
Zhao's achievement in calligraphy is inseparable from his ability to absorb the strengths of others. What is particularly valuable is that most calligraphers in the Song and Yuan Dynasties were only good at running and cursive styles, but Zhao Mengfu was able to master all styles. Many later generations learned Zhao Mengfu's calligraphy, and Zhao Mengfu's calligraphy was very popular in Korea and Japan.
Zhao Mengfu has an important role and far-reaching influence that cannot be ignored in the history of Chinese calligraphy art. His contribution to calligraphy lies not only in his calligraphy works but also in his calligraphy theory. He has many insights into calligraphy. He believes: "There are two things in learning calligraphy, one is the brushwork, and the other is the shape of the characters. The brushwork is not perfect, although it is good, but it is still bad; the shape of the characters is not wonderful, even if you are familiar with it, it is still fresh. Only when you can understand this, can you learn to calligraphy." "Learning to calligraphy." It is beneficial to me to ponder ancient Dharma calligraphy and understand the meaning of their writing." When writing about ancient Dharma calligraphy, he pointed out a very meaningful fact: "In the past, people could learn a few lines of ancient carvings and study them with concentration. It is famous all over the world. Kuang Lanting is the proud author of Youjun, and he has learned endlessly, so there is no need to worry about others." These can give us important revelations.
His articles are unparalleled in their time, and they also refer to the teachings of Buddhism and Laoism. In his paintings, landscapes were modeled after Dong Yuan and Li Cheng; figures, pommel horses and horses were modeled after Li Gonglin and people of the Tang Dynasty; bamboo and flowers and birds were all painted with round and graceful brushwork. He used the flying white method to paint rocks and calligraphy to write bamboos. He advocated reforming the style of the Southern Song Dynasty. He said that "painting should have ancient meanings. Without ancient meanings, the work is of no use." He followed the laws of the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty. Commentators said: "It has the style of the Tang Dynasty people but with the splendor of the people of the Northern Song Dynasty." Get rid of the roughness." This created a new style of painting in the Yuan Dynasty. He made many friends and exchanged views with Gao Kegong, Qian Xuan, Wang Zhi, Li Yan, Guo Youzhi, etc.; those who were directly mentored by him included Chen Lin, Tang Di, Zhu Derun, Ke Jiusi, Huang Gongwang, Wang Meng, etc. Able to write poems in a gentle style. He also works at seal cutting and is famous for his "Yuanzhu Wen".
There are many handwritten works handed down from ancient times, including "Luo Shen Fu", "Tao Te Ching", "Dengba Stele", "Xuanmiao Guan Reconstruction of Three Gates", "Linhuang Ting Sutra", Dugu version of "Lanting Eleven Postscripts", "Si Ti Qian" "Ziwen" etc. Among the paintings handed down from generation to generation are "Chongjiang Mountains" painted in the seventh year of Dade (1303), and "Autumn Colors of Magpie Flowers" painted in the first year of Yuanzhen (1295), which are recorded in "Three Hundred Famous Paintings in the Forbidden City"; (1312) "Drinking Horses in the Autumn Suburbs" volume, now in the Palace Museum. He is the author of ten volumes of "Collected Works of Song Xuezhai" (with one volume attached).
Father Yuhui (1213-1264) was named Jupo in Chinese. He was good at calligraphy and painting and had a rich collection. His wife has a good fortune and is good at calligraphy and painting. My younger brother Meng*, named Zijun, can make figures, flowers and birds. Ziyong is also a painter, and the Zhao family's art style has been passed down from generation to generation.
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There are many tablets written on them, which are round and beautiful, and are known as "Zhao Ti" in the world. It is said that he could write ten thousand characters in regular script a day, and "he wrote as fast as the wind and rain." There are many excellent works in Zhao's regular script, such as "Sanmen Ji", which has a broad, profound and stable structure, smooth and rounded writing, and is most suitable for use as copybooks. Most of Zhao's handed down works are written in regular script, and most of them are written with exquisite penmanship and precise wording. For example, "Chibi Fu" can be regarded as a classic.
The characteristics of Zhao style regular script can be summarized in three aspects:
First, on the basis of inheriting traditional calligraphy, Zhao cut away the complex and simplified it, transforming the past into the present. His brush strokes are not muddy or mysterious, and the strokes of starting, moving and finishing the brush are very clear, making it easy for scholars to understand. follow; follow
Secondly, the appearance is round and the muscles and bones are connotated. The stipples are vigorous, the structure is broad and beautiful, and the stipples echo each other very closely. It looks soft on the outside but strong on the inside, with a graceful figure and a strong frame. Scholars not only learn its form, but also focus on learning its spirit;
Third, the pen is round and square, flowing and moving. When writing Zhao style, the stippling needs to be round and luxurious, but the structure must be square and rigorous, horizontal and vertical, smooth and stretched, and the key points stable. Only in this way can we grasp the characteristics of Zhao Ti. In addition, when he wrote regular script, he slightly mixed the writing style of running script to make the words flowing and beautiful, which is also one of the characteristics of Zhao style.
