Zhang Yuzhao and Yang Shoujing of the late Qing Dynasty are two outstanding calligraphers in the history of calligraphy art, and they have achieved extraordinary results in the field of calligraphy.
Zhang Yuzhao (张裕钊), courtesy name Lianqing (1823-1894), was a native of Wuchang, Hubei Province, and an official, essayist, and calligrapher of the late Qing Dynasty. Yang Shoujing (杨守敬), courtesy name Yiwu , was a late Linsu old man (1839-1915), a native of Yidu, Hubei Province, a calligrapher, epigrapher, and historical geographer of the late Qing Dynasty. Zhang and Yang both lived in the period of Daoguang, Xianfeng, Tongzhi, and Guangxu in the late period, when China was in a period of gradual deepening of semi-feudalism and semi-colonies, political fainting and corruption, and the country's external troubles and internal troubles.
Zhang Yuzhao was sixteen years older than Yang Shoujing, and both of them lived to be more than seventy years old. They studied calligraphy assiduously and started their own families, which had a great influence on calligraphy at that time and later. When Yang Shoujing was forty-two years old, he was invited to Japan by the Japanese envoy (minister) He Zi I. The following year, the Qing court sent Li Shuchang to take over as minister in Japan. According to the official customs, when he went to Lilai, the old people of the embassy were replaced with new ones. At this time, Yang Shoujing was worried that he and Li Su did not know each other and were preparing to return to China; when the late Zhang Yuzhao came to write a letter, he told him that he had taken the initiative to recommend the matter to Li Shuchang (Zhang and Li were the sons and daughters of the family), and Yang Shoujing's travels were at ease.
Because this was the support that Yang Shoujing was able to complete the "Chronicle of Visiting Japan" during his four years in Japan, assisted Minister Lai in printing the "Guyi Series", and wrote the "Twenty Volumes of the Series of Books". Yang Shoujing has made contributions to promoting Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges and won the reputation he deserves for the country. When Yang Shoujing returned from Japan with honors, Zhang Yuzhao said in a letter to his old friend Wu Zhifu that there were people who traveled east from Li Shuchang to help the kings, and there were people like Yang Shoujing who were full of learning to help and assist? This shows Zhang's emphasis and friendship with Yang!
After Zhang Yuzhao and Yang Shoujing were "zhongju", they were not fascinated by the road of "meeting the test", but focused their energy and interest on studying and practicing calligraphy diligently. Zhang Yuzhao was an ancient scholar who knew the I Ching and traced the geography of certain water systems, showing a knowledgeable scholarly demeanor.
Zhang Yuzhao is diligent in learning the North Monument, the seal is able to be subordinate, the collection is complete and innovative, the book style is majestic, and the list book is particularly good at it. Kang Youwei said in his famous book "Guangyi Zhou Shuangyi" that Zhang Shu used a pen: "Turn to Titon, with the square as the circle; the place where it falls is subtle, and the circle is the square." Kang Youwei also said: Zhang Yuzhao's book "Gao Gu Hun Mu ... Unparalleled in millennia. "It can be said that it is extremely praiseworthy. Due to the long-term dispute between the north stele and the south stele in the calligraphy circle: "Chongti Light Stele" and "Honorable Stele Thin Ti", it seems that the gap is very large. Kang is an advocate of the "Honorable Monument", and his arguments are inevitably biased and incomplete. Zhang Yuzhao is the practitioner of the "Honorable Monument", although he has a lot of simple and majestic temperament, due to the lack of posting, he is less beautiful and wonderful.
Chinese calligraphy art is closely related to the occurrence and development of the entire Chinese culture, and it is difficult to appear calligraphy talents without multi-faceted cultivation and quality. Yang Shoujing believes that the famous calligraphers of all generations must have three points: "Talent is the first, more is second, more writing is second, and this conclusion is also." ("Liang Shanzhou Answers Zhang Batang Book") also said: "And Yu adds two points: one is to be of high quality, and the high quality is to write elegantly and not to fall into the world; first, to learn to be rich, to have a chest full of everything, and to naturally overflow the line." Everyone in the past, do not prepare for this. Yang Shoujing's exposition of the introduction and supplement of the Xueshu Dialect is very insightful, and lists the academic way into five.
Yang Shoujing's diligent study and practice in his life made him a famous public opinion scholar, a famous epigrapher, and a famous calligrapher in the late Qing Dynasty. He was good at research, discernment, and the Japanese were fascinated by it. His seal, his affiliation, his true deeds, and his deeds are all in a good state. After Yang Shoujing was forty-eight years old, he was desperate for fame and concentrated on writing books, writing dozens of works. He has dabbled in calligraphy and is diligent, and seems to be more comprehensive and in-depth than Zhang Yuzhao. In his later years, he went to Shanghai twice to write books, and his reputation was greatly enhanced.
The influence of Zhang Yuzhao and Yang Shoujing's calligraphy achievements spread as far as Japan. When Zhang Yuzhao was in Hubei, the Japanese Miyajima Makoto sent his son to sail west to seek advice from you; when Yang Shoujing was in Shanghai, the Japanese Mizuno Shumei came to give poetry and was willing to serve his disciples, who spread the history of Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges as a good story and could be compared with each other.
Zhang Yuzhao and Yang Shoujing are secretive about the other sister art poetry of calligraphy, and the other is unintentional. In fact, Zhang can write poetry, and Yang can also lead Er to manipulate. For example, when Mizuno asked Yang Shoujing for a poem, Yang Shoujingkou occupied two poems as an answer. Its one cloud: the strange book is crowned with thousands of volumes, and it cherishes and is attentive to outsiders. Looking at the smoke mist, HaHu should be a ghost god. Before that, Zhang Yuzhao wrote a poem with a sense of evenness.
In a letter to Wu Zhifu, he said: "Recent events have made people angry, worried, occasional, fortunately, no intention to show people." "Even feel the poetry cloud: even touched Liang Ping to attack the tiger's whiskers, aggressive this move is a good plan, the salary is not solved first, the crossbow can be forbidden after the arc; how can there be a cure for hunger poison, poor from the police to get lost, eat the navel he would rather say, 100,000 horizontal grinding a throw lose! The poem implicitly speaks of a kind of resentment and incompetence against those in high positions.
It is said that Zhang Yuzhao was once one of the four great disciples of "Zengmen" and was superior to Yang Shoujing in terms of chance encounters. But he did not use this relationship to benefit himself, he was an official but a cabinet secretary, and his name was not filial piety. He was a relatively turbulent person, so he was able to devote himself to writing, and eventually became a famous calligrapher. In his handling of the teacher-student relationship with Zeng Guofan, he may be "learned" and obedient, and "meritorious work" cannot be agreed. Perhaps he had sensed that the suppression of the so-called "ZTE cause" of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Revolution was a great injustice; but he did not adopt a contemptuous attitude. Yang Shoujing, who is younger than Zhang Yuzhao, has less of this psychological burden and is immersed in calligraphy and learning.