When I said "Mrs. Wei" in the comments of the last issue, I think it is very necessary to talk about it, which is too shocking.
The husband of the "Female Pen Immortal" was "Shu Sheng", and the aunt and teacher of "Shu Sheng" was the first female calligrapher in China, Wei Shuo, a native of Anyi, Hedong (present-day Xia County, Shanxi), who was revered by the world as "Lady Wei".
Lady Wei came from a family of calligraphers, and her great-grandfather Wei Qi achieved Shangshu in the Cao Wei Group of the Three Kingdoms, and her calligraphy was excellent. Her grandfather, Wei Wan, was good at Lishu and Zhangcao, and his works were evaluated as "divine qualities". At that time, Wei Wan, Suo Jing, and Wei Heng (Lady Wei's uncle) were all fascinated by Zhang Zhi's calligraphy (there was a saying that "the tendons of Ou De Boying, the flesh of Jing De Boying, the bones of Heng De Boying"). Under the influence of the entire Moxiang family, Lady Wei fell in love with calligraphy. The Wei family is very open and cares for Lady Wei.
The family's support has energized Lady Wei, who is extremely talented and loves calligraphy. Lady Defender worships the Taoist priest Zhong Xuan as her teacher, and You Shan Kaishu.
In ancient times, in order to encourage the population to have children, early marriage and early childbearing were advocated. In 288, the 17-year-old Lady Wei married Ruyin Taishou Li Zhi, who was good at writing. Husband and wife often have a common hobby about it. It is said that she brought the "Wei calligraphy secret book" to the Li family, and the li family's calligraphy level improved rapidly, developing to the Tang Dynasty, and even the calligraphy of Li Yong (678-747) appeared. It can be seen from this that marrying a wife is a major event that affects future generations, and we cannot be careless.
Later, Lady Wei gave birth to a son named Li Chong. When Li Chong was about to lose the crown, Li Ji died. Mrs. Wei, a single mother, took her son and ran to her sister.
Calligraphy as an art, the ability to liquidate can be strong or weak, in the feudal patriarchal society, women are not like now can show their faces to run for livelihood. Without a solid material base, this consumption is unsustainable.
Lady Wei's sister married Wang Kuang. At that time, the royal family was famous and powerful. Wang Kuang's cousin was the prime minister Wang Dao, and at that time there was a folk song "The king and the horse, share the world", so Lady Wei defected to the right. More importantly, the son born to her sister was 31 years old with her, but he was very close to her, and often pestered Mrs. Wei for calligraphy. Because this child was extremely talented and loved calligraphy, he was fascinated by the search for calligraphy, so Lady Wei decided to take him as an apprentice.
Children are mostly three minutes hot, if you don't give him some chicken soup, it is difficult for him to continue to insist, unless he likes it very, very much, and his heart is itching if he doesn't do it, but it is rare. Mrs. Wei decided to give her nephew a good first lesson.
The story of the first lesson may already be a household name, and its meaning of existence will be there. Some people put this on Mrs. Wei and even other calligraphers, in fact, it is the same, all to motivate people, if you want to learn a skill, there is no shortcut. This lesson is about a person named Zhang Zhi during the Eastern Han Dynasty, who, in order to practice words well, dipped in the pond water in front of his house every day to practice words. Zhang Zhi practiced from the sun rising until the sun set, and then washed the pen in the pond before returning to rest. He does not send a circle of friends, does not show off on vibrato, or simply practices on his own. Over time, the whole pond was blackened with ink, and his words had reached the point where others would call him "Grass Sage".
Her nephew was very encouraged after hearing this, and portrayed an image of Zhang Zhi in her heart, and also began to practice writing in front of her own pond, which has the allusion of Wang Xizhi's ink pond. It is said that his ink pool is even more than Zhang Zhi's, and Zeng Gong, one of the eight masters of the Tang and Song dynasties, also wrote a "Mochi Record" specifically to praise this spirit of hard work.
The famous teacher is a high disciple, and the blue is better than the blue, although it is because of Wang Xizhi that lady Wei was brought out, but without Wang Xizhi, Lady Wei's name is still very loud, even if she is a woman.
Relatives who often interact with each other add to each other, and the teacher-apprentice relationship of common hobbies further strengthens the family affection. In 349, Lady Wei died at the age of 78. Wang Xizhi was very sad and wrote a famous post full of affection for him, "Auntie Post". Many people suspect that it is not written about Mrs. Wei, and combining various factors, it is undoubtedly written about Mrs. Wei.
Women are different from men in many ways, and are even more unique in calligraphy. There are Tang Dynasty divine commentaries: Lady Wei's books such as flower arrangement dancers, low ang beauty. Another example is the beauty on stage, the xian'e shadow, the red lotus reflecting the water, and the blue swamp floating xia.
Calligraphy is not just a lonely existence, it is like a person, there is flesh and blood and temperature. Just think of it as a cold existence, and all you will reap will be cold. The secret of Mrs. Wei's high calligraphy is that she found the truth of being a person in her calligraphy and integrated human temperament into it.
Although there are not many authentic works she has passed down, mainly including "Ming Ji Ti", "Pen Array Map", "Wei Shi and Nan Ti", etc., it is enough to have a work that can give strength to the world.
This sentence "The penmanship is in the bell, the melting bell and the method of wei are in one furnace" is the most classic comment, which concludes with a consolation to this "first female calligrapher in ancient China".
