The word "tiger" is probably one of the oldest words, and from the oracle bone, the ancients carved the lifelike pictographic "tiger" character, reflecting the ancestors' reverence for this beast. Since then, with the evolution of Chinese characters, the word "tiger" has also changed all the way, and with the interpretation of generations of calligraphers, it has left a thousand styles.
A few days ago, with the arrival of the Lunar Year of the Tiger, a 80-meter-high "tiger" character Cliff carving located on huangjing mountain in Huangshi, Hubei Province, was forwarded by netizens on Weibo in order to seek the auspicious year of the tiger (see picture below). At the same time, many people said, how does this "tiger" word not look like the "tiger" I know?
According to the data, this "tiger" character stone carving was born in the last lunar year of the tiger, that is, in 2010, after completion, it became the world's largest single Chinese character, according to locals in Huangshi, this "tiger" character is taken from the famous calligrapher and painter Zhao Mengfu of the Yuan Dynasty.
Zhao Mengfu's "Tiger" character (one)
However, after reviewing and comparing some relevant calligraphy materials, the Red Star News reporter found that the "tiger" character on the Huangjing Mountain seemed to be more like the "tiger" character of Wang Duo, a calligrapher at the end of the Ming Dynasty.
Wang Duo's "Tiger" character (one)
Dai Mingdao, vice chairman of the Chengdu Calligraphers Association, told the Red Star News reporter after seeing this big character of Moya: This "tiger" is actually written in cursive.
Ming Dynasty calligrapher Xu Wei's cursive "tiger" character
As for whether it was written by Zhao Mengfu, it may have to be examined again. Because calligraphy is handwritten, even if the tiger characters written by the same calligrapher are different forms of expression in different periods, they cannot be exactly the same. Dai Mingdao said, "But such a large character is carved out, and the final effect must be somewhat different from the imagination..."
Dai Ming Dao New Year's writing tiger character series, there is a separate oracle bone "tiger" character in the upper right corner, do you recognize it?
Red Star News reporter Qiao Xueyang
Edited by Duan Xueying
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