The Tang Dynasty was the peak stage of the development of calligraphy in China's history, and Chu Suiliang, as one of the four famous calligraphers in the early Tang Dynasty, immersed himself in the study of the calligraphy creation skills of the ancients, and finally created his own unique artistic style, which had a profound impact on the development of calligraphy art in later generations.
Chu Suiliang was born in 586, the last year of the Sui Dynasty, and was a famous calligrapher and politician in the early Tang Dynasty. The four major calligraphers of the early Tang Dynasty were Ouyang Qian, Chu Suiliang, Yu Shinan, and Xue Ji, and Chu Suiliang, as one of the representative figures, had a profound impact on the art of calligraphy in later generations. Chu Suiliang was very good at calligraphy, began to imitate and learn Yu Shinan, and later began to learn Wang Xizhi, is considered to be one of the four major calligraphers in the early Tang Dynasty, and his heirloom ink treasures include "MengShiShi Stele" and "Yanta Sacred Order".
1. Chu Suiliang's calligraphy art achievements
Chu Suiliang was brilliant since childhood, and because of the influence of his father, he often went in and out of the official circles, and extensively dabbled in the history of the classics, had a good literary accomplishment and artistic foundation, and often studied Mo Bao in depth. When he was young, his calligraphy was highly praised by Ouyang Yuan, who was considered a rare talent, and also received the guidance of Ouyang Yuan. However, the calligrapher who was most respected and admired by Chu Suiliang when he was young was Yu Shinan, not only Yu Shinan's own calligraphy attainment was very high, but also Yu Shinan, as a descendant of Wang Xi, also had the most Wang family ink treasures. In addition, Yu Shinan's own calligraphy works are round and flowing, soft on the outside and rigid on the inside, with the bones of the immortal Taoists, and his calligraphy style is unique. In addition to calligraphy, Yu Shinan was also a knowledgeable person, which was even more admired by Chu Suiliang, who then once worshiped under Yu Shinan's door and was diligent.
Later, Chu Suiliang also visited the famous scholar Shi Ling, who was famous for his calligraphy, and Shi Ling himself was the calligraphy teacher of Tang Taizong Li Shimin, and according to relevant records, his calligraphy was "exquisite in penmanship, not reducing Ou and Yu". The years of studying calligraphy with Shi Ling had an important impact on the style of Chu Suiliang's calligraphy works.
Chu Suiliang, as a smart and studious calligrapher who is not willing to be left behind, has his own artistic dreams. At that time, his teachers Ouyang Qian and Yu Shinan were already famous all over the world, and Chu Suiliang did not stand still, but absorbed the strengths of their calligraphy works, and achieved the purpose of integration, thus also showing the unique artistic techniques in his calligraphy works. Tang Taizong Li Shimin's own inclusive thinking method also influenced artistic creation, coupled with Li Shimin's own great love for art, which played an important role in promoting the development of culture and art. In terms of calligraphy, Li Shimin set up a special institution of the state, the Hongwen Museum, to teach calligraphy, with Ouyang Qing and Yu Shinan as teachers to teach the art of calligraphy, under the influence of this atmosphere, there were many calligraphers, and the stars were brilliant, Chu Suiliang was one of the outstanding representatives, and became the mainstay of Tang Dynasty calligraphy.
Chu Suiliang has great respect for the "Book of Wang", and his works are very similar to Wang Xizhi's works in terms of morphology, and he pursues the charm of Wang Xizhi's pen more deliberately, and the study of the "Book of Wang" has gone deep into the unimaginable points of ordinary people. Once Tang Taizong got the ink treasure of the ancients and asked Chu Suiliang to see if it was from Wang Xizhi, and after Chu Suiliang read it again, he clearly told Tang Taizong that it was Wang Xizhi's fake. Chu Suiliang's continuous appreciation and copying of Wang Xizhi's works, coupled with the absorption of the advantages of his family's works, has achieved artistic attainments that are difficult for ordinary people to achieve. Chu Suiliang did not become complacent after reaching this artistic realm, but continued to study on the road of art, and added to the new calligraphy art that he had pursued in the style of Han wei Lishu works in the early Tang Dynasty, thus emerging in the ancient calligraphy style other than the gorgeous calligraphy works of the early Tang Dynasty, forming his own unique pen art achievement that can reveal personal emotions in calligraphy and at the same time full of his own pen bones.
The famous painter mi fu of the Song Dynasty said in his evaluation of Chu Suiliang, "Chu Suiliang is like a familiar war horse, and the action thus has a kind of arrogance", and the characteristics of the proud color art are that it is very famous in the history of calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty, and it is also ——— the school of calligraphy art respected by later generations of calligraphers. Chu Suiliang's calligraphy works not only grasp the size of the font very well, but also good at other styles of calligraphy, and have their own innovations and changes in calligraphy modeling, which is also where Chu Suiliang's calligraphy achievements are outstanding compared to other early Tang Dynasty four schools. Later, after the calligraphy art style of Chu body was recognized by other calligraphers and was regarded as a model, it began to form its own unique authority in calligraphy, and all those who needed to learn the "Book of King" had to learn The Chu style first. This trend spread from the early Tang Dynasty after Chu Suiliang's calligraphy was recognized, until the early Tang Dynasty, and later although it gradually weakened, it did not disappear fundamentally, which can see the longevity of Chu body art.
During the Zhenguan years, Li Shimin began to vigorously promote Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, and Chu Suiliang, as an official in charge of cultural education in the imperial court, was also influenced by Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. Chu Suiliang compiled a special book on Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, the Bibliography of the Right Army, which recorded: "When the book cover was written by Emperor Taizong, Emperor Taizong liked the 'Right Army' the most. Despite this, the shadow of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy can still be seen in Chu Suiliang's early calligraphy works. The transformation of Chu Suiliang's calligraphy art was after Yu Shinan's death, Chu Suiliang began to replace Yu Shinan's work position under the recommendation of Wei Zheng, and this period was also the most vigorous stage of Chu Suiliang's artistic creation, among which the more famous one is the "Yique Buddha Shrine Monument". The pen strength of the "Yi que Buddha Niche Stele" is strong, has the meaning of Northern Wei calligraphy, and takes the square pen as the main feature, and the overall structure is very bone strength and very generous, which is very different from the later Chu Suiliang's graceful body. Moreover, Chu Suiliang's pursuit of the shape of the Han Wei Li book in calligraphy can be used as a typical example in his calligraphy works. "Meng Mage Monument" is a representative work of Chu Suiliang's artistic style change, Chu Suiliang gradually changed from the previous square pen to the round pen, in this work contains square pen and round pen, which is an artistic treasure in his works.
As a late work of Chu Suiliang, the calligraphy of the Yanta Sacred Order has reached a natural artistic realm, and its spirit is soaring, and it contains a solemn temperament in the ethereal, and its momentum is strong enough without the slightest decline, which has been highly praised by critics of successive dynasties. Wang Xuzhou once commented: "The pen is thin and strong, like a hundred-year-old wilt vine, the sky is flying, the slag is exhausted and the void is clear, I want its charm to be superb, I want to be an inch away from the paper, such as hanging in the air on a sunny day, and the immortals are roaring trees, so it is impossible to judge it." He continued to comment: "The Zhugongshu seems to be thin, but in fact it is plump, it seems to be ancient, but in fact it is gorgeous, depressed, and the pen is in the air, suddenly falling, accidental and paper, and the words outside the work, the meaning between the pens, can not be grouped." In Chu Suiliang's later years, the shadow of the Second King can be seen in his calligraphy, and this open, sparse, rich and majestic artistic style also marks that the calligraphy of the early Tang Dynasty began to get rid of the influence of Sui Dynasty calligraphy and stand on its own, which is also a sign that the Tang Dynasty calligraphy began to mature.
Second, the influence of Chu Suiliang's calligraphy art on later generations
Although there are very few works handed down by Chu Suiliang, we can still appreciate the different artistic styles in his calligraphy from these works. Judging from his earlier works, although the time difference between the Yi que Buddha Shrine Monument and the Meng Master Monument is tightly one year, the difference in his calligraphy style is very large, which is difficult for other calligraphers to achieve. From this, we can see that although Chu Suiliang is constantly copying the calligraphy works of the ancients, he can also innovate on the basis of his own understanding, so this is not a simple copy. Through this continuous learning, coupled with eclecticism, Chu Suiliang was able to create his own unique calligraphic art works.
In addition to being influenced by Ouyang Qing, Yu Shinan and Shi Ling, Chu Suiliang also copied the inkblots of many ancient people in the palace. Under the influence of this artistic atmosphere, Chu Suiliang can deeply understand the characteristics of the ancients in the creation of calligraphy, and can absorb and apply them to his own calligraphy works, reaching the realm of being fascinating, handy and free. In the Tang Dynasty, the most profound influence on Chu Suiliang's calligraphy and art works should be Shi Ling, and in Chu Suiliang's calligraphy works, we can see the Han Li relics in Shi Ling's calligraphy and the meaning of the Southern Dynasty Gaogu. The characteristics of Chu Suiliang's calligraphy art have had a profound impact on the calligraphy creation of later generations. Through his brilliant artistic achievements, he clearly showed future generations the connection between calligraphy and calligraphy, and showed the common laws in the art of calligraphy.
As the mainstay of the calligraphy art of the Tang Dynasty, Chu Suiliang's influence on later generations was very profound and extensive. Liu Xizai's "Outline of books" said: "Zhu henan was the main teacher of the Tang Dynasty. This sentence seems to be exaggerated, but it is also very in line with historical reality. Since the appearance of the "Sacred Order of the Wild Goose Pagoda", the world has heard the wind and moved, and has bent its waist for its calligraphy art, in the social wind
At one time, the more obvious signs were the counterfeits that pretended to be his name began to appear continuously, and the more representative ones were "Ni Kuanzan", "Yin Rune Sutra", "Dead Tree Endowment" and so on. Although these are all forgeries pretending to be Chu Suiliang, the artistic level of these forgeries is very high, which provides evidence and reference for a comprehensive understanding of Chu Suiliang's calligraphy art. Since then, the calligraphy art of the Tang Dynasty has been influenced by Chu Suiliang, and even reached the point of equal division with Wang Xizhi, which really opened the prelude to the calligraphy art of the Tang Dynasty.
Successive generations of calligraphers have been more or less influenced by chu Suiliang's calligraphy art, such as Xue Ji, Zhong Shaojing, Wei Qiwu and others in the Tang Dynasty. Among them, those who were most influenced by it and achieved the highest artistic achievements should be Yan Zhenqing, who is a symbol of Tang Dynasty calligraphy, and Zhang Xu, a cursive calligrapher. From Zhang Xu's "Langguan Shiji", it can be clearly seen that it is very close to the calligraphy art of Chu Suiliang's early period. In Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy works, people have rarely been able to see the traces of Chu Suiliang's calligraphy art, but Yan Zhenqing once studied under Zhang Xu, and he himself also studied Chu Suiliang's calligraphy, and in Yan Zhenqing's later years, he once proposed the creation method of "house leak marks", which originated from Chu Suiliang, which has reached a very common and skilled point in Xue Ji's calligraphy works. In the Sui Dynasty, Mi Fu was most influenced by Chu Suiliang, and although Mi Fu had a lot of ridicule for ancient calligraphy, he had a special love for Chu Suiliang, and his evaluation of Chu Suiliang was also very high. Since then, most calligraphers have drawn nourishment from Chu Suiliang's calligraphy art to improve their calligraphy art.
As a breakthrough in the calligraphy art of the "Two Kings", Chu Suiliang was the first and most successful of the four major calligraphers of the early Tang Dynasty, and had a profound impact on the calligraphy creation of later generations. Even Yan Zhenqing, a calligrapher, tried his best to explore Chu Suiliang's pen skills from his teacher Zhang Xu, and absorbed a lot of nutrition from his calligraphy, and finally achieved his position in the art of calligraphy.