Biography of Yan Zhenqing
Yan Zhenqing (709-784), known as Qingchen and alias Ying Fang, was born in Linyi County, Langyu County (now Linyi City, Shandong Province), and was born in Wannian County, Jingzhao Prefecture (now Chang'an District, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province). Tang Dynasty famous minister, calligrapher.
A calligrapher who died for his country
Yan Zhenqing's ancestors Yan Zhitui and Yan Shigu are both famous university scholars, he lost his father at the age of three, and his mother raised him and attached great importance to his education.
Yan Zhenqing has been diligent and studious since childhood, well-read, and works in dictionaries, especially good at calligraphy. Many of the elders in his family were known for their calligraphy and gave him a lot of guidance. Due to his poor family and lack of money to buy paper and pencils, Yan Zhenqing painted the wall with yellow clay and practiced calligraphy on it.
After entering the official career, Yan Zhenqing specially asked the "grass saint" Zhang Xu for penmanship. Yan Zhenqing's sincerity in learning moved Zhang Xu, who was unwilling to teach his apprentices easily, so he taught the great calligrapher Zhong Xuan's original "Twelve Meanings of Brushwork", and told him the secret of the great calligrapher Chu Suiliang in the early Tang Dynasty "like a cone to draw sand, such as printing clay". Under Zhang Xu's careful guidance, Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy improved by leaps and bounds.
However, Yan Zhenqing's career was not smooth, because he was upright and vicious, he was jealous of the traitorous minister Yang Guozhong, and was expelled from the imperial court and served as a taishou in Pingyuan County (now Lingxian County, Shandong Province).
By this time, the Hu general An Lushan, who was in charge of guarding Hebei (present-day Beijing, Hebei Province, and parts of Shandong Province), had already shown signs of rebellion, and Pingyuan County happened to be under the jurisdiction of An Lushan.
Yan Zhenqing was keenly aware of his inevitable rebellion, and under the pretext of continuous rain, he stepped up the repair of the city wall, dredged the moat, selected strong men, and enriched the treasury in case of accidents. In order to confuse An Lushan, Yan Zhenqing drank every day with a group of literati. An Lushan really thought that he was just a scholar and did not guard against him.
When An Lushan rebelled, all the areas north of the Yellow River fell, and only Pingyuan County Chi Shencheng was fortified and insisted on resisting. When Tang Xuanzong learned of the fall of Hebei, he sighed and said: "Isn't there a loyal minister in the twenty-four counties of Hebei?" When Yan Zhenqing's envoy entered the court, Xuanzong said very excitedly: "I don't know what Yan Zhenqing looks like, I didn't expect him to be so loyal!"
Soon, Yan Zhenqing's cousin, Yan Gaoqing, the Taishou of Changshan County (now Zhengding County, Hebei Province), and his son Yan Jiming were both killed by the rebels because they swore not to surrender. Yan Zhenqing sent someone to search, but only found Yan Jiming's skull.
Yan Zhenqing was grief-stricken and wrote the famous "Manuscript for the Sacrifice of Nephews". Because his chest was full of national hatred and family hatred, Yan Zhenqing's writing was like a tide, and he did it in one go, and he showed more and more the naturalness of the pen in his heart's content. Later generations praised the "Manuscript of the Sacrifice of Nephews" as "the second book in the world", and its status was second only to Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Collection Preface".
With the fall of the eastern capital Luoyang and the capital Chang'an, the forces of Yan Zhenqing and others who insisted on resistance in Hebei became more and more isolated, and the rebels also strengthened their attacks, except for the three counties such as Pingyuan County, all of which fell.
Yan Zhenqing said to everyone: "The rebels are menacing and irresistible. If you surrender, it will humiliate the imperial court, it is better to rush directly to the emperor's temporary residence, if you are convicted for this, I will die without regrets. So he abandoned the county seat, crossed the Yellow River and rushed to Fengxiang Mansion (now Fengxiang County, Shaanxi Province) to meet Tang Suzong. Although Yan Zhenqing's resistance to An Lushan in Hebei ended in failure, it greatly restrained the rebels' westward advance.
After returning to the imperial court, Yan Zhenqing was repeatedly excluded, and his career was still not smooth. Later, Huaixi (present-day Henan Province and Anhui Province) made Li Xilie rebel, and the traitorous minister Lu Qi suggested to the imperial court to send Yan Zhenqing to appease him. Yan Zhenqing knew that there was a lot of luck and little luck, but he still resolutely went to Huaixi.
At a banquet, when Li Xilie was persuaded to appoint Yan Zhenqing as prime minister after being called emperor, Yan Zhenqing angrily rebuked: "Have you ever heard of Changshan guarding Yan Gaoqing? He is my elder brother. When An Lushan rebelled, he was the first to raise volunteers, and he scolded the thieves until he was killed. I will stick to my integrity like him, and after I die, how can I be tempted and threatened by you!"
Yan Zhenqing resolutely refused to surrender and was killed by Li Xilie at the age of 76.
Yan Zhenqing is not only a generation of famous ministers, but also famous as a calligrapher in later generations. In the early Tang Dynasty, calligraphy was shrouded by Wang Xizhi, and Ouyang Xun and Chu Suiliang were all kings of learning and had their own faces, which were all the rage.
Yan Zhenqing innovated on the basis of inheriting the tradition, and his regular script was broad and square, and the gesture was majestic and majestic, and he was called "Yan Ti". Its regular script "Duobao Pagoda Tablet", "Yan Qinli Tablet", "Yanjia Temple Tablet", and the book "Fight for the Seat Post" are all rare artistic treasures. Yan Zhenqing is as famous as Liu Gongquan, a great calligrapher who is slightly later than him, and is collectively called "Yan Liu", with the reputation of "Yan Muscle and Willow Bone".
Su Shi, a great poet and calligrapher of the Song Dynasty, commented that Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy was "majestic and unique, and changed the ancient method", just like Du Fu's poetry. "Yan Ti" has become another milestone in the history of mainland calligraphy after Wang Xizhi's "Right Military Style", and his regular script represents the highest achievement of calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty and has a far-reaching impact on later generations.
This article is excerpted from "Twenty-four Histories Read Now, Language and History Are Progressing" - the eighth volume of "Old Tang Book", which is officially authorized to be published, welcome to continue to pay attention.