Mi Fu commented on Sun Guoting: "Whoever obtains the Second King's Law of Tang Cao is unsurpassed"

Excerpted from Wang Genquan's "Book Genealogy" review

Mi Fu (1051–1107) was a Northern Song Dynasty calligrapher, painter, and critic of calligraphy and painting. Initially named 黻, later changed to 芾, character Yuanzhang, Xiangyang resident, Haiyue Mountain people and so on. Originally from Taiyuan, he later moved to Xiangyang, Hubei Province, and long lived in Runzhou (present-day Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province). He once served as a school secretary, a doctor of calligraphy and painting, and a member of the ceremonial department. Good poetry, gong calligraphy, good at seal, li, kai, line, cursive and other calligraphy. Long at copying, can reach the degree of chaos. Together with Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, cai Xiang, and known as the four major calligraphers of the Song Dynasty. Mi Fu has a strange personality and a crazy demeanor, and is known as "Mi Qian". He is the author of "History of Books", "History of Painting", "Treasure Chapter to Be Visited" and so on.

Mi Fu is known as "arrogant and arrogant" in the history of books, and in his article "Famous Sayings of Haiyue", while affirming the calligraphy of himself and his two sons, he denied fourteen Tang Dynasty calligraphers, including "Ou, Yu, Yan, and Liu". It is such an "arrogant and arrogant" person, but he is extremely sure of Sun Guoting's words. In his "History of Books", Mi Fu said: "Sun Guoting's cursive "Book Genealogy" even has a right military law. Writing is done close to the front and straight, which is the law of court. Where the world is called the Right Army Book, there are such words, all Sun Pen also. Fan TangCao has obtained the Law of the Two Kings, which is unparalleled. ”

Whether Or not Mi Fu's comments on other calligraphers are objective or not, we will leave it aside for the time being, but in terms of Sun Guoting's comments alone, it should be said that they are objective. "The writing is close to the front and straight", which refers to the knot of a single word. "Settle down close to the front" refers to the compactness of the dot painting. "And straight" refers to the uprightness of the font and the strength of the central stroke. Looking at the inkblot of the Book Spectrum, this is indeed the case. The whole article is concluded, the foot rules are well-behaved, strict and rigorous, there are bones and qi, and there is no kicking arm and leg.

Sun Guoting is another calligrapher in the history of Chinese calligraphy after Wang Xizhi. "Sun Guoting's cursive "Book Genealogy" even won the Right Military Law", "Those who have obtained the Law of the Second King of Tang Cao are unsurpassed by their right". Tang Taizong Li Shimin looked at Sun Guoting's characters in the same way, and many people who studied cursive calligraphy in previous generations took the "Book Genealogy" as a temporary study of the Fa. In the history of calligraphy, many calligraphers have tasted their calligraphy works, searched for famous books, and obtained the Two Kings' Dharma, and no one can surpass Sun Guoting, nor can they surpass the cursive works of the "Book Spectrum".

Mi Fu's comment on Sun Guoting's words is directly related to Mi Fu's witnessing of Sun Guoting's Inkblot in the Book Ofe. In the "History of Books", Mi Fu said: "Every time Yu arrives at the capital, (Wang Jie) invites him to the first, that is, to publish a large book post, Suo Yu Linxue. The meaning of this passage is that every time Mi Fu came down, Wang Xie would invite Mi Fu to his palace. After going there, Wang Yi took out many famous writers' posts and asked Mi Fu to write them. Among these posthumous posts written by Mi Fulin are the inkblots of Sun Guoting's "Book Genealogy". Whether Wang Yi let Mi Fu lin write the ink of Sun Guoting's "Book Genealogy" is unknown, but Mi Fu must have witnessed the ink of Sun Guoting's "Book Spectrum". As for whether Mi Fu had carefully read the "Book Notation" and understood Sun Guoting's theory of calligraphy art thought, it would be a different matter.

How did Sun Guoting's "Book Genealogy" inkblot in Wang Xue's house? It is not unrelated to Wang Yi's status. Wang Yi (王诜; pinyin: wángēn), courtesy name Jinqing, was a painter of the Northern Song Dynasty who was a native of Taiyuan (present-day Taiyuan, Shanxi) and later moved to Beijing (present-day Kaifeng, Henan). In the second year of the Northern Song Dynasty (1069), he married Emperor Yingzong's daughter Princess Dachang of the Shu Kingdom, and paid homage to the general Zuo Wei and the Lieutenant Ofoma. In the second year of Yuan Feng, he was implicated by Su Shi and demoted the official Junzhou.

It should be pointed out that Mi Fu's admiration for Sun Guoting is only a respect for the inkblot of his "Book Spectrum", and does not involve the "Book Spectrum" theory of calligraphy art thought. As a theoretical work of calligraphy art thought, the value of the "Book Notation" is far greater than the value of the inkblot of the "Book Notation". Commenting on Sun Guoting and his "Book Genealogy", we must not only stop at Han Mo's appreciation, but also pay attention to his profound theory of calligraphy art thought. Only in this way can we interpret and comment on Sun Guoting' "Tang Zhi does not meet people", a rare and rare calligraphy in the history of calligraphy.