In modern Yan calligraphy, Hua Shikui, Qian Nanyuan, and Tan Yanmin can be said to be Xiao Chu who learned Yan. However, in addition to these three people, there is also an underestimated or even overlooked Yan Kai famous artist, he is Yan Xishan's secretary Jia Jingde! As a lifelong political veteran, Jia Jingde did not use the title of the book, but his Yan body calligraphy is considered to be a person who is "good at writing Yan Kai and has the charm of Yan Kai" in modern times, and even has the evaluation of hua, qian, and Tan.
Jia Jingde (1880~1960), also spelled Yuru, was a native of Qinshui County, Zezhou Prefecture, Shanxi Province (present-day Qinshui County, Jincheng, Shanxi) in the late Qing Dynasty, a matchmaker between Yan Xishan and Yuan Shikai, the only supporter of the high-level jin sui clan in the Central Plains War, the permanent secretary general of Yan Xishan, and the final funeral person.
Jia Jingde came from a family of poetry and books, and is a jinshi and the first, his literary skills are very deep, "four books", "five classics", Tang poems, Song ci familiar with the flow, he not only loves to drink and write poetry with literary friends in his spare time, but also likes Han Mo Danqing, although he can not paint, and calligraphy is very accomplished, often with friends to give poems, write banners to give each other. As early as the eighth year of the Republic of China (1919), when he was an official in Beijing, he organized the "Man Society" poetry club with more than a dozen literary youths who were active in the Literary Circle in Beijing at that time, and wrote many poems. In Taiyuan in 1923, in his leisure time of participating in politics, he and some famous literati in Shanxi at that time, such as Guo Xiangsheng, Li Lianggong, Chang Zixiang, etc., often gathered together to compose poems and drink tea, and their relationship was very close. At the same time, he and his literary friends established the "Daoyuan Poetry Society", and often participated in poetry and calligraphy activities. In 1941, when he was in Chongqing, he collected his poems into a book, called "Taoyuan Poetry Collection", published by Zhonghua Bookstore. After arriving in Taiwan, he published the "TaoYuan Anthology".
Jia Jingde's calligraphy, along with Yu Youren, Liang Hancao and Ji Zigao, was once known as the "Four Masters of Chinese Calligraphy". The calligraphy community believes that his characters are "the most evocative to write yan style", "the style of the book is neat and orderly, and the pen is powerful." The two kings, from Yan, Ou, Liu, and Zhao, are completely orthodox calligraphy in the 'Pavilion Style'." In today's calligraphy market, his poems are sold at high prices.