Kou
Kou Li (1884-1953) was a native of Pucheng Fu, Shaanxi Province. His father died early and was raised by his widowed mother. Since childhood, he has loved calligraphy and often insists on posting.
In 1906, when he was admitted to the Shaanxi Normal School, he was introduced by Jing Beimu to join the League and follow sun Yat-sen. In October 1908, the sensational "Pu Case" occurred at home and abroad, and he was elected as the general representative of the Xi'an Normal School, and he was also elected as the student representative of the various schools in Xi'an, responsible for convening meetings, drafting petitions, personally negotiating with the Inspector Yamen, and becoming the leader of the Guanzhong Student Movement. Actively supporting the Pucheng student movement has played a great role in promoting the victorious outcome of the "Pu case". In 1909, after graduating from Xi'an Normal School, Kou Wei served as the superintendent of the Tongzhou Middle School, and together with shang Zhengui, the superintendent of the school, led the revolutionary activities of the Dongfu County League Association, and the Tongzhou Middle School became one of the secret organs of the League. From the autumn of 1910 to the spring of 1911, Li Zhongsan, a member of the League, went to Chaoyi County several times to contact Yan Feilong, a famous swordsman in Weibei, and Kou gave Li Zhongsan help in many ways. Later, the knifemen led by Yan Feilong became an important force in the Xinhai Revolution in Shaanxi.
Wells don't curtain
On October 22, 1911, Xi'an was restored, the Xinhai Revolution won victory in Shaanxi, and Kou was elected as the vice president of the Shaanxi Provisional Parliament. In August, JingBeimu reorganized the Shaanxi branch of the League into the Shaanxi branch of the Kuomintang, and Kou served as a member of the branch. In 1913, he was elected to the First House of Representatives.
In 1915, in order to oppose Yuan Shikai's restoration activities, Kou traveled to various places and actively participated in the patriotic movement. In 1917, opposing Duan Qirui's dissolution of the National Assembly, he went south to Guangzhou and participated in the Extraordinary Session of the National Assembly presided over by Sun Yat-sen. Mediated by Sun Yat-sen, he married Pan Liqin, a native of Zhongshan, Guangdong.
In 1916, Yuan Shikai declared himself emperor and sent his close associate Lu Jianzhang to oversee Shaanxi, and Kou actively participated in the anti-Yuan struggle against the land. Later, Duan Qirui, the leader of the Anhui warlords, sent Chen Shu to oversee Shaanxi, and he threw himself into the struggle against Chen.
In October 1923, Cao Kun bribed the election and colluded with The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Wu Jinglian, to bribe the deputies with heavy money. Unmoved by money, Kou angrily went south and defected to Sun Yat-sen, maintaining his revolutionary integrity. At the Grand Marshal's Office, sun Yat-sen's civilian staff such as Wu Zhihui, Xie Wuliang, and Zhang Jiluan were all calligraphers, and Kou Wei drafted official documents with them while studying poetry and books.
Feng Yuxiang
Hu Jingyi
In October 1924, Kou Wei actively participated in the Beijing coup d'état launched by Feng Yuxiang, Hu Jingyi, and Sun Yue, vigorously defying public opinion and clearly proposing to take Cao Kun and Wu Peifu as the goal of struggle. In one fell swoop, he destroyed the rule of the Beiyang warlords and expelled Puyi from the palace. In December of that year, Sun Yat-sen went north to convene the National Assembly, and he went to Tianjin as a representative to greet him. On December 31, Guan Wei was appointed as the chief of the Agricultural and Commercial Department of the Provisional Government, and two months later, he abandoned his official post and stationed in Kaifeng with the Second Army of the Nationalist Army, which was very helpful to Hu Jingyi's presidency of the military and politics of Yu Province. In the spring of 1925, Sun Yat-sen died, Hu Jingyi also died of illness, and Kou was very sad. At this time, the political situation was chaotic, and he withdrew from Beijing. The family was financially strapped, but Kou still insisted on posting, selling words and receiving help from friends for a living, waiting for a new opportunity to save the country.
Yang Hucheng
In the winter of 1930, Yang Hucheng presided over the administration of Shaanxi, and Kou was invited back to Shaanxi to serve as a member of the provincial government. At that time, some officials used their powers to make a fortune, and Kou Wei was deeply disgusted, and repeatedly proposed to Yang Hucheng that he should be severely punished, and he made many enemies. Once, when talking about arbitrarily distributing things to the common people for the purpose of building a road, he quarreled with Feng Qinzai, commander of the Forty-second Division of the Seventeenth Route Army, and Kou smashed Feng Yi's tea bowl in a fit of anger. Soon after, Kou's provincial government commissioners were dismissed. At that time, some people said that Kou Xiao smashed a committee member with a tea bowl.
Shao Lizi
In May 1933, Shao Lizi presided over the Administration of Shaanxi, and Kou was appointed as an adviser to the provincial government. With the support of Shao Lizi and Yang Hucheng, Kou Li, Together with Zhang Hanshan and Dang Qingfan, initiated the establishment of the "Xijing Jinshi Calligraphy and Painting Society", with Kou as its president, aiming to "promote modern culture through research, and invigorate the national spirit through artistic influence." "This is the earliest and most influential calligraphy and painting society established in Shaanxi, with complete organization and frequent activities, holding exhibitions, publishing journals, and editing and publishing the "Xijing Jinshi Calligraphy and Painting Collection". On the one hand, they struggled for the democratic revolution, ran newspapers, and promoted education; on the other hand, they collected, finely appraised, sorted out historical materials, and wrote books and said that they not only influenced future generations with their own artistic practice, but more importantly, they had a sense of community, and directly promoted the prosperity and development of Shaanxi's calligraphy and painting creation in the form of "learning" organization, which had a far-reaching impact on Shaanxi's calligraphy and painting cause. He also had great friendship with the famous collector Ke Xinnong, and preserved for him the garden house "Half Garden", which for a time became an excellent place for celebrities and Tibetan friends to appreciate and exchange, and gather elegant gatherings.
In 1934, at the suggestion of Kou Hui, Yang Hucheng ordered the progressive Cheng Bairen to found the "Qinfeng Weekly" (later renamed "Qinfeng Daily"), with Kou as the chairman of the board, and wrote the masthead and the newspaper plaque, which was written in ancient style.
Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng second general
In the summer of 1935, Zhang Xueliang was ordered by Chiang Kai-shek to lead his troops into Shaanxi to "suppress the Communists", and Chiang Kai-shek secretly ordered Zhang and Yang to monitor each other. Later, Yang Hucheng became aware. Because Kou Hui had a friendship with Zhang Xueliang in Beiping, Yang Hucheng entrusted Kou to contact each other to promote mutual understanding between Zhang and Yang, eliminate misunderstandings, and promote close cooperation between Zhang and Yang. During this period, Kou Wei wrote a banner for Yang Hucheng's wife Xie Baozhen, and the entire section was near the "Songyue Lingmiao Stele", which was written in simple ink and thick, ancient and strange, including: "Wei Yi is exuberant, not strict and self-censuring", "Nine Li chaos, the people are muddy, jiasheng is unclean" and other sentences, which are intended to be in a chaotic world and conform to the will of the people, and should be admired by the world. At that time, Yang Hucheng built an apartment on Jiufu Street in Xi'an, named "Stop Garden", which means "Stop Ge Xi Wu", and asked Kou Xi to write a plaque in the book. Yang Kou was extremely close, often talking about and studying historical knowledge, and also discussing some important military and political matters. When the "Xi'an Incident" was approaching, Yang Hucheng went in and out of the Kou family almost every day, and he was very close, and Kou actively ran for Zhang and Yang and did a lot of useful work.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Kou served as a member of the Provisional Senate of Shaanxi Province. He was deeply dissatisfied with Chiang Kai-shek's dictatorship, attacked the Kuomintang's perverse behavior, and advocated abolishing harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes and lightening the peasants' burdens. He had close relations with Du Bincheng, Wang Juren, Wu Mengming, and other well-known progressive figures in Shaanxi, covering up for yang Xiaochu, an underground party member, and giving them material support.
In 1938, when Jiang Dingwen presided over the administration of Shaanxi, he once sent someone to the Kou family, asked Kou to write four screens, and stated that he was sending an important person. Kou Wei asked someone to pay the deposit, and the person who came said, "Chairman Jiang wants a word, can you still ask for money?" Kou replied, "He was his chairman, and I sold my words." He was the chairman of the government, and I sold words to support my family. "The people who came were dumbfounded.
"Stop Garden" list book
Semi-circle list book
In 1943, when Zhu Shaozhou presided over the Shaanxi government, Yang Hucheng had been imprisoned by Chiang Kai-shek for 6 years. Zhu Shaozhou sent 5,000 pieces of the ocean to ask Kou Wei to add a horizontal line to the word "stop", so that "stop garden" became "zheng yuan", which meant to please Chiang Kai-shek named "Zhongzheng". Kou Replied, "I've seen the money thing." Although I am poor now, the owner of the garden is not at home, and it is inappropriate for me to change the name of the garden. Kou Wei was the "elder of the party state", and Zhu Shaozhou could not do anything with him. Another time, Zhu Shaozhou invited Deng Baoshan, Zuo Xiezhong, Hu Jingtong, Kou Xiao, and other military and political dignitaries at a banquet in the Zhiyuan Garden, and during the banquet, Army Major General Zhang Kunsheng suggested that Kou Kunsheng add a horizontal to the word "stop" in the Zhi Garden to change it to the word "zheng". Changing "Stop Garden" to "Main Garden" is just a horizontal gesture, but this horizontal change is not only the name of a house, it changes a person's integrity and honor. The upright Kou Yi was in a posture of not moving, showing his iron bones.
Hu Zongnan
In 1947, Du Bincheng, director of the Northwest General Branch of the Democratic League, was killed in Xi'an, and Wang Juren, Wu Mengming, and others were also arrested. Kou Wei was very indignant, angrily rebuked Hu Zongnan in front of his face, and gave clothes to Wang Juren and Wu Mengming, who were in prison, to take care of their families. He also tried to protect Cheng Bairen's safety. In the winter of 1948, when the Kuomintang was preparing to convene the "National Congress," the authorities, in order to whitewash "democracy," took advantage of Kou's prestige and invited him to participate in the election campaign and was willing to bear the funds for the campaign, but he sternly refused. He is not afraid of power, and his fearless spirit of righteousness and outspokenness is admirable.
Zhang Zhizhong
In May 1949, when the Kuomintang Hu Zongnan collapsed, on the pretext of protecting the safety of the Kuomintang bigwigs, he coerced Kou Hui, Zhang Fengfei, Ma Jun, and others to Hanzhong, planning to fly from Hanzhong to Sichuan and then to Taiwan. On the way, Kou Wei still wrote with him and wrote endlessly. After arriving in Hanzhong, Kou and his party refused to go to Taiwan on the grounds that they were old and did not adapt to the southern climate and life. Kou Wei said, "Even if you die here, you won't go to Taiwan." At that time, Hu Zongnan collapsed and could not form an army, and it was difficult to protect himself, so he used a plane to send Kou Wei and others to Lanzhou. In Lanzhou, Kou Wei and others lived in the Baoqingtang Tea House opened by Yan Shutang, a native of Lintong, Shaanxi, and there were many local gentry visiting and asking for words, so Kou Hui sold words to solve difficulties in life, and wrote many plaques and left a lot of banners in Lanzhou. After the liberation of Lanzhou, Peng Dehuai set up a banquet at the Tao Lechun Hotel to comfort Kou Hui and Zhang Fengfei, and sent special personnel to take care of them, and escorted Kou Hui and his party back to Xi'an by car. On the way back to Xi'an, he encountered continuous rain in Changwu County, so he stayed in Tingkou Primary School. When the news came out, visitors and seekers followed, and Kou Wei wrote more than ten words to the local people. He returned to Xi'an in late August of the same year. It was welcomed by the cpc leadership of the CPC and people from all walks of life in Xi'an. At that time, Zhang Zhizhong led the Kuomintang delegation to Beiping for peace talks, and after the peace talks broke down, Zhang Zhizhong stayed in Beiping with a contradictory mood, and soon after, the Kuomintang announced that Zhang Zhizhong had been expelled from the party and issued an arrest warrant. Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai personally comforted and enlightened, and Zhang Zhizhong, after a fierce ideological struggle, wrote a couplet: "Reason is clear and there are few worries; the idle years are wide." "Please write." This couplet, written by Kou Wei in Lishu, hung in Zhang Zhizhong's study until Zhang Zhizhong's death.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Kou served as a member of the Shaanxi Provincial People's Government, and during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, he betrayed his inkblots and donated them to the state to support the Chinese and Korean people's anti-aggression war with the proceeds, which won quite praise from society.
"People's Mansion" list book
In 1953, Chen Yi inspected Xi'an, just in time for the completion of the People's Building, the provincial government leaders asked Chen Yi to write an inscription for the building, Chen Yi saw the "People's Building" inscribed by Kou Yi with a lishu, and greatly praised, saying: "There is an inscription by Kou Lao, I am not good at writing it again." My words are really not as good as sir's. "The People's Mansion" is the last list book written by Kou Wei in his lifetime. When writing, carry a table of eight immortals to the courtyard; write it, and every word is as large as a tabletop. Today, the "People's Building" inscribed by Kou Wei is still carved at the top of the door of the Xi'an People's Building.
On September 6, 1953, Kou died of a heart attack in Xi'an at the age of 70. Buried in the hometown of Pucheng City.
Kou is first and foremost a fighter for a firm democratic revolution. He was fierce, eloquent, generous and righteous. During the Republic of China period, he experienced many major historical events that were shocking and terrifying. It is really born and died in the storm, through the tide of turbulence. In the changing times, whether it was a high-ranking official or a poverty at the low tide of the revolution, Kou Wei always cared about Han Mo and kept daily classes. Kou is well versed in calligraphy and the art of gold and stone. Gong Li Shu and Wei Stele and Xing Shu. In his later years, he made a seal, and when he was directly fighting with the law, when he was sprinkled, he saw the grass and was interesting. During the Republic of China period, when people talked about Shaanxi calligraphy, they were called Yu and Kou, and they were on a par with Yu Youren. Most of the plaques of xi'an street merchants are proud of Kou's list of books; the words "General Yang Hucheng's Tombstone", "Li Yizhi's Tombstone", and "Wang Zhuoting's Tombstone" are all from his hand; the Xi'an People's Building List Book Banner is praised as his elaborate work in his later years.
Kou Miaoyan, the eldest daughter of Kou
Kou was long and thin, and his voice was loud. Xi opera, whether it is Peking Opera, Yu Opera or Jin Opera. Most of the famous actors who came to Xi'an from other places to perform became his guests, talking and laughing, singing and playing, which was very lively. Yu Qin cavity, more proficient, has a unique insight, has revised the "Yuanmen Chopper", "Huluyu", "Zhou Ren Huifu" and other famous Qin cavity scripts; in 1939, he participated in the organization of the Xi'an Qinguang Troupe. In life, he does not believe in gods and ghosts, and only sacrifices his mother during the New Year. Kou Wei lost his life in his early years, grew up pulled by his widowed mother, and suffered hardships, so he was very simple. Kou Wei had five daughters and two sons, and he was very strict in teaching. When the child drops the steamed bread on the table or on the floor when eating, Kou Yu will seriously say, "Eat it!" "The eldest daughter is a wonderful word, careful and studious, and is deeply loved by her father, who often displays paper in front of the book when he writes. In his later years, because of the large number of people who asked for books, he concentrated on writing every five or six days. When writing a book, whether it is a high-ranking official or a noble person, or relatives and friends, he will refuse to do so. It is often the father and daughter who are in the study, and the father swings and spreads the paper. But for young post-school, it is not turned away. Some of the younger generations who like calligraphy, when they heard about the day Kou Wei wrote, rushed to watch. Dozens of people gathered in front of the case, silently, and the study only had the rustle of Kou's pen. For four or five hours in a row, Kou Li never stopped writing until he had finished writing the prepared rice paper. Then, with the young people, we talk about calligraphy, talk loudly, and without tiredness.
Kou's "Ode to the West Narrow"
Kou Wei was written by Yang Hucheng's mother
Kou Xiao's left wrist handwriting Li Bai "Early White Emperor City"
Kou Calligraphy
Kou Xiao can all five bodies, idle writing Orchid, beautiful and elegant, regret the vicissitudes of the world, the scale is not passed on. Kou First Learned Yan Zhenqing, Ouyang Qian, You Xi Li Beihai, and later immersed himself in the North Monument, taking the Fa "Zhang Ronglong", "Zhang HeiNu", etc.; Xing and Cao started from the Second King, and studied the "Sacred Order", "Xingfu Temple Half-Cut Stele", etc.; in his later years, yu Li was widely involved in the work, such as "Zhang Qian", "Shi Men Song", "Ritual Instrument", "Kong Zhou", "Shi Chen", "Cao Quan", "Xia Cheng", etc., especially "Zhang Qian", "Shi Men Song", "Heng Fang", "Lou Shou", "Xia Cheng", etc., especially "Zhang Qian", "Shi Men Song", "Heng Fang", "Lou Shou", "Xia Cheng", etc. A considerable part of Kou's posthumous works are imitations of various inscriptions. In his later years, Kou Wei opened his own doors and sprang freely, all of which became a good structure. Its lishu dot painting is strong and thick, the knot body is solid and broad, and it flies in a stable and strict manner; the list book is majestic and magnificent, and those who do not have great talent and courage cannot do it. Kou Li's book is written in large characters, the pen is full of vitality, the power can be carried, the sky is flying, the momentum is magnificent, and it is like a mountain. His writings integrate the Two Kings, Han Li, Wei Bei, and Li Beihai into a furnace, and when they see the cursive writing of the chapters, the wind and bones are rugged. The body is rugged, seeking stability with danger, clumsily and skillfully; with both square and round circles, hidden and exposed to each other, vertical and horizontal, and full of spirit. The pen is full of grace and thickness, and the atmosphere of the scrolls and the charm of handsomeness and ease are full of vigor and thickness. Kou's calligraphy, majestic and majestic, such as a tiger squatting on a lion, not angry and arrogant, has an awe-inspiring and inviolable potential, and the passionate publicity makes his works have a distinct personality charm. Admire the book of Kou, that is, as if facing its people, the heroism comes to the face. Its people are pleasant and cheerful, so their book pulse is smooth; its people take the world as their heart, so their books are in good weather. Imposing, self-contained, unique, and able to write with his left wrist, his skills are not reduced. It is worthy of being one of the founders of Shaanxi's calligraphy industry in the last century.
The inauguration ceremony of a large monument in Kou's hometown
In order to permanently commemorate this elder of the Xinhai Revolution, in 2018, the large-scale inscription in the hometown of Kou Xiao on the Qingming Festival was officially inaugurated, and a grand unveiling ceremony was held in Neifu Village, Pucheng County, Shaanxi Province, which was located next to the cemetery of Mr. Kou Li in Neifu Village, which was majestic and solemn, showing the high wind and bright festival of Kou Lao's uprightness, which made the admirers awe-inspiring. The lofty righteousness of this book tycoon will surely inspire those who come after him to forge ahead with great vigor and courage!
A recent photo of Mr. Feng Baozhe
Mr. Feng Baozhe Profile: Born in 1938, a native of Longchi Town, Pucheng County, Shaanxi Province. Senior economist, member of China Yuelian Society, researcher of China Couplet Culture Research Institute, member of Shaanxi Poetry Society, executive director of Shaanxi Yuelian Society, former executive vice president and current consultant of Weinan Yuelian Society, consultant of Pucheng County Poetry and Qulian Society.
Source: Courtesy of the author
Original author: Feng Baozhe
Editorial: The Story of Yimen Village