Liu Gongquan and Yan Zhenqing, whose calligraphy is easy to learn as the title Thank you

When Yan Zhenqing was young, his family was poor and lacked paper and pen, so he used the pen to practice calligraphy on the wall. Chu Suiliang was a beginner, and then he studied under Zhang Xude's penmanship, and absorbed the characteristics of the four schools in the early Tang Dynasty, combined with the brushwork of the seal and the Northern Wei Dynasty, completed the creation of the vigorous and broad Yan style regular script, and set up a model of regular script in the Tang Dynasty. His regular script is contrary to the style of calligraphy in the early Tang Dynasty, turning thin and hard into plump and majestic, broad and magnificent, strong and awe-inspiring, this style also reflects the prosperity of the Tang Empire, and fits with his noble personality, which is a classic example of the perfect combination of calligraphy beauty and personality beauty.

His book style is called"Facial body", and Liu Gongquan is also called"Yan Liu", there is"Yan muscles and willow bones"reputation. Liu Gongquan's calligraphy is most famous in regular script, and Yan Zhenqing is equally famous, known as Yan Liu. He pursued the penmanship of Wei, Jin, and early Tang dynasties, and was influenced by Yan Zhenqing, and created his own Liu School between the Jin people's charm and Yan Shu's graceful and majestic.

Its vigorous book style can be comparable to the majesty and generosity of Yanshu, and it will be available in later generations"Yan muscles and willow bones"I have been practicing willow since I was a child, and of course Yan has also practiced it for a while. Yan muscles and willow bones, the face body is relatively vigorous and powerful, and it is a strong and healthy road; And the willow body bones are strange. Personally, I think that in fact, it doesn't matter which one you learn first, both of them can be called the masters.

You can simply take a look at the style of the two schools to see which one you prefer, but if you want to study further after getting started, you have to learn the hundred schools. The so-called "a thousand songs and then recognize the device".

It's not easy to learn, but you have to work hard. I also want to learn calligraphy, I can't write this character well, and I can change the font only by writing calligraphy. My high school PE teacher used to write calligraphy every night when I was in college.

If I had time, I would have written it. But I'm self-taught, not as good as you, and I'm being guided. I practiced calligraphy during the holidays, hey, I don't have confidence, I can't write well.

Trouble, thanks!

Yan Liu

In the history of calligraphy, Yan Zhenqing.

and Liu Gongquan are called "Yan Liu", and there is a saying of "Yan muscles and willow bones".

Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy does not have the calligraphy style of the early Tang Dynasty (to Ouyang Xun.

Yu Shinan and other representatives) is beautiful and beautiful, but it has the graceful and majestic demeanor of the Tang Dynasty, strong and strong, tough like a tendon belt, and is known as "Yan Ti". When it comes to Yanshu, people often point out that its most obvious features are "silkworm head swallowtail" and "horizontal light and vertical weight".

The so-called "silkworm head swallowtail" refers to the beginning of the horizontal and vertical pen of the face, and the Tibetan front is used when the pen is lowered, and then it is turned abruptly, so the beginning is shaped like a "silkworm head". At the end of each of its strokes, the dying force is frustrated, and then the pen gently picks out the edge, which is like a "swallowtail".

And "horizontal light and vertical weight" means that when writing a horizontal pen, the force is lighter, and the strokes are slightly thinner, while when writing a vertical pen, concentrate all your strength, and the strokes are also heavier. The former gives people the feeling of penetrating the back of the paper, resulting in the artistic effect of the pen force; The latter characters give people a sense of thickness and have the artistic characteristics of relief beauty.

Structural characteristics of willow characters:

First, the two verticals are facing each other. That is, in a word, the left and right sides are juxtaposed on both sides and three swords, bending to the right on the left and bending to the left on the right, forming a trend of facing each other. Second, there is a right way to collect and release, and there are uneven changes.

Within a single word, some strokes are written more constrictedly, while others are very stretched. If a word is composed of several parts, then Liuti pays great attention to the contrast between these parts in terms of width and narrowness, length and shortness, so that some parts of the word are left blank and the space is sparse; In some places, there is little white space, which makes it look extraordinarily compact. The third is that the willow character has extraordinarily stretched strokes outward, and the word is often compact, and it is a tight and sparse word.

In short, the calligraphy styles of Yan and Liu are different, but they are both very powerful.

Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan are called Yan Liu.

"Yan" refers to Yan Zhenqing, and "Liu" refers to Liu Gongquan. "Yan tendon willow bone" means that the calligraphy style of the two of them is as strong and powerful as tendons and bones, but there are differences. It is also commonly known as excellent calligraphy. From "Sacrificial Stone Bachelor's Text": "Manqing's pen, Yan muscles and willow bones."

Yan Zhenqing's regular script reflects a prosperous style, with a lofty atmosphere; Liu Gongquan learned Yan Zhenqing, and dissolved his own new ideas, so that his words avoided the horizontal and vertical situation, and took the balance and thinness, chasing the Wei stele to cut the iron momentum, the dot painting is crisp and beautiful, the bone strength is strong, the knot is tight, and many scholars in later generations take the willow character as a model.

Liu Gongquan's regular script has Ouyang Xun's brushwork, often interspersed with some strokes closely, so that the width is particularly open, the strokes are fine, the edges and corners are sharp, although the pen is from Yan Zhenqing, and Yan Zhenqing's thick and broad is different, especially heroic and compelling.

Tang Dynasty Ouyang Xun (European Body), Tang Dynasty Yan Zhenqing (Yan Body), Tang Dynasty Liu Gongquan (Liu Body), Yuan Dynasty Zhao Mengfu (Zhao Body). The four major Chinese calligraphers generally refer to the founders of Yan Liuou and Zhao Kaishu: Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan, Ouyang Xun and Zhao Mengfu.

In addition to Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan, Zhao Mengfu and Ouyang Xun. Zhao Ti of Zhao Mengfu and Ouyang Xun's European Ti both have their own merits.

There are also Ouyang Xun and Zhao Mengfu, the four of them are known as calligraphy masters, and the four of them are very talented.

Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan are also known as Yan muscles and willow bones.

Yan Gong's calligraphy pen is thick and clumsy, and it looks strong and free. Liu Gong's calligraphy is sharp and angular, known for its strong bones, and the "Yan Muscle and Liu Gu" mentioned here means that the style of the two of them is as strong and powerful as tendons and bones. From the surface of the artistic characteristics of Yan muscles and willow bones, the calligraphy of Yan is plump and upright, and the strokes of willow calligraphy are clear and bony.

From a deep point of view, the face is dignified and has a heroic and righteous spirit, while the willow body can see its hearty demeanor and strong bone strength in the rigorous.

Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy achievements and status:

Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy beginner Chu Suiliang, and then got to write to Zhang Xu, and also worked with Huaisu to ** calligraphy. He conducted in-depth research on the calligraphy of Erwang and Chu Suiliang, absorbed their strengths, completely got rid of the style of the early Tang Dynasty, and created a new style of calligraphy. Yan Zhenqing's real book is majestic and dignified, and the knot has changed from the slender and long in the early Tang Dynasty to a square, with a centripetal force.

The pen is strong and strong, good use of the center of the penmanship, there are muscles and bones, there is also a sharp edge, the general horizontal painting is slightly thinner, vertical painting, point, apostrophement and slightly thicker. This style of writing is majestic, multi-forced, and has the atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty. His cursive writing, strong and powerful, revealing his true feelings, calm structure, and flying dot paintings, opened a lifetime for cursive writing after the Wang School.

From the perspective of calligraphy alone, I think Yan Zhenqing's achievements are higher.

In the history of Chinese calligraphy, Wang Xizhi and Yan Zhenqing are two insurmountable monuments, and later generations of calligraphers are all from the bridge. Yan Zhenqing first learned Chu Suiliang, and then studied under the grass sage Zhang Xu, who made the most of his penmanship, changed Wang Xi's beautiful and beautiful style, and created a majestic, strong and powerful precedent, which had a great impact on later generations. With Ouyang Xun, Liu Gongquan, and Zhao Mengfu, they are called the four masters of regular script, and Liu Gongquan is called Yan Liu, and they have the reputation of Yan muscles and willow bones.

Yan Zhenqing is good at sensitive Lingkai, line, Yan body is plump and generous, round and majestic, one stroke is like a person's muscles and bones are strong and powerful, awe-inspiring atmosphere, there is a slow atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty, the representative work is "Yan Qinli Monument" and "Self-written Confession Post", its line of calligraphy is strong, there is the meaning of the seal, the representative work is "Sacrifice Nephew Manuscript", "Fight for the Seat Post", its "Sacrifice Nephew Manuscript" was praised by later generations as the second line of books in the world.

As the saying goes: "There is no first in literature, and there is no second in martial arts". The same is true for calligraphy, Ouyan Liu Zhao, the four masters of regular script, each with its own characteristics, all represent the highest level of regular script. In addition, the imitation of the Han and Jin dynasties is also the peak level of regular script.

Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan's regular script both pursue a strong, calm and solemn atmosphere, but there are obvious differences, where is the specific difference?

On the surface, Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy is very majestic, giving people a very thick and down-to-earth feeling. Especially in Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy, the contrast between horizontal strokes and vertical strokes is very obvious.

Such a relatively obvious difference is actually a feature of Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy. But there is no such situation in Liu Gongquan's calligraphy, Liu Gongquan's calligraphy, no matter which stroke, no matter how subtle, will not reach the extent of such a big difference in thickness and thickness as Yan Zhenqing.

In fact, Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy also has a very thick and majestic atmosphere, and the power exists. But Liu Gongquan's calligraphy is more about exposing his muscles and bones, while Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy is hiding his muscles and bones inward.

You will see that Liu Gongquan's calligraphy, at the turning point of the strokes, has very obvious pimples, which is as prominent and obvious as a human joint, which is a characteristic of Liu Gongquan's calligraphy.

Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan's calligraphy can form such characteristics, what is the deep reason for the formation of their calligraphy style? I think it has a lot to do with their life experiences and the methods they learned calligraphy. We all know Liu Gongquan's calligraphy, in fact, tracing back to the roots, his calligraphy originated from Ouyang Xun and Yan Zhenqing's regular calligraphy.

So you will see Liu Gongquan's calligraphy, which has a very beautiful, dignified and delicate European style, but at the same time, it also has Yan Zhenqing's masculine and majestic style.

However, in the process of dealing with the calligraphy styles of the two of them, Liu Gongquan did not put them together very stiffly, but did a good job of internalizing and revealing them. He showed Ouyang Xun's kind of strength and uprightness, publicized and exaggerated, forming willow bones, and internalized Yan Zhenqing's majestic and heavy into it, connotating Yan tendons.

As the object of Liu Gongquan's apprenticeship, Yan Zhenqing, his calligraphy is also very complex, his calligraphy in addition to the two kings of the school of calligraphy style, but also on the seal script and other calligraphy for a run-in learning, therefore, more mature and masculine, feminine.

Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy is magnificent, Liu Gongquan's calligraphy is more delicate, Liu Gongquan's calligraphy is very obvious at the turning point of the strokes, Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy is to hide his muscles and bones inward.

Yan body Yan Zhenqing wrote, plump and powerful, with a pen in the tendons, the font is more atmospheric, very suitable for boys, Liu Ti is written by Liu Gongquan, Yan Ti is in the bones, more delicate, suitable for girls.

Liu Gongquan's calligraphy is stable but not vulgar, old but not dry, moist but not fat, strong and strong, clear from beginning to end, short and thick, long and horizontal extraordinarily thin and long, with a delicate look, Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy into the pen is solid, the writing is strong, the structure of the word is highlighted and tight, upright, steady, and the words are very clear and far-reaching.

Liu Gongquan is another regular script master in the Tang Dynasty after Ouyang Xun and Yan Zhenqing, so his calligraphy absorbs the strengths of the two, with the characteristics of the European body in the knot, and the characteristics of the Yan body in the strokes, and at the same time he has formed his own characteristics with "strong bones".

Although the face body and the willow body are both thick and fat, there are obvious differences between the two.

Yan Zhenqing: Yi Fang is round, full of seals. Point, vertical, pinch, fold, hook brush, especially show the elasticity, strength, strength, fullness, full of strength and other characteristics.

Liu Gongquan: Liu Gongquan's calligraphy inherited the mantle of "Yan Ti" at first, and specialized in bone method, forming a unique calligraphy style and becoming a family of its own. Su Shi of the Song Dynasty commented on the day: "Young Master Liu's book is out of beauty, and he can come up with new ideas." ”

1. The knot method of the face body is "horizontal drawing of wide knots", and the knot method of the willow body is "oblique drawing of tight knots".

The so-called "horizontal drawing wide knot" is like the official book, horizontal and vertical; The "oblique drawing tight knot" means that the middle of the character is the center, and the strokes diverge to the surroundings, and the whole is low on the left and high on the right. The word "body" in the figure below is used.

Second, the face is tight on the outside and loose on the inside, and the willow is loose on the outside and tight on the inside.

The glyphs of the face body are larger, the characters are written very supportively, and the words are very close to each other, which seems to be crowded, but the inside of the characters is very loose; On the contrary, the willow body is very tight on the inside, but loose on the periphery, which is related to its characteristic of "oblique drawing and tight knots". The word "country" in the figure below is used.

Third, the face body is light and vertically heavy, and the difference between the horizontal and vertical willow body is small.

Horizontal and vertical weight are typical characteristics of the face, and the advantage of writing in this way is that it can make the face more calm, so that it will not be bloated because of the thick strokes; The willow body narrows this difference, and the horizontal and vertical strokes are more harmonious. For example, the word "king" in the picture below.

Fourth, the strokes of the face body are round, and the willow body is angular and angular.

Yan Zhenqing is good at using the center, so his characters are round and full of strokes, whether they are regular script or line brush; There are more square brushes in the willow body, and the dot painting, the turning point of the stroke and the starting and closing of the pen are often triangular, square or prismatic, protruding like a human bone, so it is called "strong bones". The word "Qing" in the figure below is used.

Liu Gongquan. 778-865), the name Chenghang, a famous calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty, was a native of Jingzhaohuayuan (now Yaozhou District, Tongchuan City, Shaanxi). The official is the young master of the prince, and is known as the young master of Liu. Liu Gongquan's calligraphy is famous for regular script and Yan Zhenqing.

The same name, known as "Yan Liu". His calligraphy beginner Wang Xizhi.

Later, I looked at the calligraphy of famous masters in the Tang Dynasty and thought that Yan Zhenqing and Ouyang Xun.

The word is the best, it absorbs the length of Yan and Ou, between the Jin people and the grace and majesty of Yan Shu, an original pen body has been formed, called willow body, which is known for its strength and strength, and has the reputation of "Yan muscle willow bone" in later generations.

In fact, Liu Gongquan did not write well when he was a child, and was often criticized by his teachers and father. He humbly listened to the teachings of others, and after a year of hard work, his handwriting improved greatly and was praised by his teachers. There are many times of praise, and Liu Gongquan also feels that he is very remarkable.

One day, Liu Gongquan and a few friends held a big block writing competition. He quickly wrote one, full of hope that he would win the championship, and there was a smug look on his face. An old man who sold tofu saw that Liu Gongquan was so immodest and reckless, so he wanted to pour some cold water on him.

The old man walked over and said to him, "There is a man in Huayuan City who writes with his feet and writes better than you. ”

Liu Gongquan naturally didn't believe it, and was very unconvinced, so he rushed to Huayuan City early the next morning. He saw with his own eyes that the armless old man pressed the paper on the ground with his left foot, and held the brush with his right foot, and wrote couplets in a flying and phoenix dance, and wrote many times better than he did not know. He calmed down and thought about it, and felt that what he wrote was really nothing.

He sincerely said to the armless old man: "Liu Gongquan would like to worship you as a teacher, and ask the teacher to tell me the secret of writing." The armless old man pondered for a moment and wrote him four sentences:

Write all the eight jars of water, the inkstone dyes the waterlogged pond black, win the hundreds of parents, and start to fly the dragon and phoenix. The old man explained, "This is the secret of writing."

I have been practicing writing with my feet for more than 50 years, and I have washed the inkstone in the half-acre pond every day after using up eight large tanks of water to practice ink and calligraphy, and the pond water is dyed black. But there is a sky outside the sky, and there are mountains outside the mountains, and my words are still far away! ”

Liu Gongquan firmly remembered the old man's words. From then on, he practiced writing more diligently. He collected the characters of many ancient calligraphers, pondered them repeatedly, and absorbed the strengths of the preparation family.

He often visited the famous calligraphers of the time and humbly sought advice from them. He also often asked classmates, relatives, friends, and strangers to point out his calligraphy shortcomings. Liu Gongquan continued to study hard in the field of calligraphy, and finally became a great calligrapher at that time.

Later, Liu Gongquan Jinshi and the first.

The official was appointed as the right pick-up, the bachelor of the servant, and finally the title of Hedong County Duke, the prince and the young master, and the prince and the prince.

Liu Gongquan received the teaching of "virtue" in the "Liu's Family Motto" since he was a child, and his life and calligraphy are Confucian.

Style, Liu Gongquan's "pen advice", has become a kind of "model" for later generations of scholars.