The reason why Zhao Mengfu can become a generation of masters is inseparable from his tireless study, especially his obsession and study of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, which runs through his life.
In the second year of his reign (1309 AD), the fifty-six-year-old Zhao Mengfu vowed to go through the entire volume of the Chunhua Secret Cabinet Fa Ti. Since then, in six years, at the age of sixty-one, all ten volumes have been completed, which can be called the deepest and most diligent work. "The calligraphy is not lost, and so is the thesis." It is his high evaluation of the "Cabinet".
However, he did not stop at this point, but continued to concentrate on the march towards Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. For example, the study of Wang Xizhi's "Seventeen Theses" proves that Zhao Shi focused on right-hand calligraphy in his later years.
Zhao Mengfu's "Pro SeventeenThirties"
Collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei
According to the end of the volume, it is known that it was written when he was sixty-three years old, but carefully identified, the pen used is different from the previous Zhao Shu. This is one of the keys to our reading that requires special consideration.
Secondly, the phenomenon of wording and change in the order of the post appears in this volume, which is also not related to Song Tuo's "Seventeen Theses", and it is not known where the model of the post comes from.
This volume is deposited by Mr. Wang Shijie, and the top of the volume has the collection marks of Wu Ting, Xiang Yuanbian and others, which can be described as an orderly circulation.
(Partial content appreciation)