Part of Jinci Temple inscription Li Shimin of Tang Dynasty
"Books are handed down by people". The style of calligraphers' works is ultimately the natural expression of their personal feelings and character. Constantly studying ancient steles and calligraphy and admiring the ancient people's demeanor will exert a subtle influence on the shaping of individual personality. Among the emperors of the past dynasties, Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, inherited Wang Xizhi in his calligraphy style and formed his own character.
Wang Xizhi was a famous calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty of China, known as the "Sage of Calligraphy". Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty became the key figure who pushed Wang Xizhi to the position of "Sage of Calligraphy".
Order someone to copy Preface to Orchid Pavilion
Emperor Taizong's preference for Wang Xizhi can be clearly shown in the event of "Xiao Yi Earns Orchid Pavilion". At that time, Xiao Yi, the supervising imperial envoy, flattered the order and obtained Wang Xizhi's "Orchid Pavilion Preface" from the inheriting disciple of Zen Master Zhiyong, the seventh generation successor of Wang Xizhi. After obtaining the authentic work, it was handed over to Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty.
The Palace Museum in Taipei has a scroll titled "The Painting of Tang Xiaoyi Earning Orchid Pavilion". Yan Liben, the painter, vividly depicts the facial expressions of Xiao Yi's cunning and complacency, and the bewilderment of the eloquent monk, with a sharp contrast. After such rendering, the world's best running script "Orchid Pavilion Preface" adds another classic legend.
After Tang Taizong got the Preface to Orchid Pavilion, he added many calligraphy stories to the world. The most influential one was that Taizong ordered Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang and Feng Chengsu to "copy" the original ink, and from then on, the Preface to Orchid Pavilion was widely spread.
Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty regarded the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion as a treasure in his lifetime, but he did not want to let it go after his death. Before he died, he told his son Li Zhi that he must put the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion in the coffin.
Li Zhi did not disobey his father's order. He buried the Preface to Orchid Pavilion in a jade box with Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty in Zhaoling; However, "Preface to Orchid Pavilion" was not buried... Since Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty promoted Wang Xizhi's calligraphy to the "Sage of Calligraphy", Wang's calligraphy has become a classic that all calligraphers strive to learn.
Double tick ink filling method
At the time of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Wang Xizhi had more than 3000 volumes of calligraphy. At the time of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, there were only more than 160 copies of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. Today, there are only 20 copies of Wang Xizhi in the world.
At that time, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, with the help of Chu Suiliang and others, searched all the way for Wang Xizhi's monuments and treasures. "If there is good on the top, there must be something on the bottom." Wang's calligraphy became the most popular style in the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty sincerely loved Wang Xizhi's book and spared no effort to preserve and promote it. Among them, there are three things that have the greatest impact: one is to order famous calligraphers such as Yu Shinan to copy or copy the Orchid Pavilion Preface, which is the best in the world; Secondly, Wang Xizhi's handwriting was retained by "double tick ink filling method"; The third is to reprint and publish Wang Xizhi's collection of characters.
At present, many of Wang Xizhi's writings have been identified as copies of the Tang Dynasty. For example, the "Qing Tie" collected by the Palace Museum in Taipei was identified as a copy of the Tang Dynasty; The "Aunt Calligraphy" and "Early Moon Calligraphy" collected by the Liaoning Provincial Museum are two of the "Long live Tang Dynasty Calligraphy"; Shangyu Calligraphy collected by Shanghai Museum is a copy of Tang Dynasty; In the United States, "Xing Rang Tie" is a hard yellow double check ink copy; The Japanese royal family has three books, including Bereavement, Er Xie and De Shi; The Japanese private collection of "Mei Zhi Tie" and "Da Bao Tie", which was only published in recent years, were identified as the ink filled copies of Tang Shuanggou.
"Double hook Ink Filling", also known as "Double hook Ink Filling", began in the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. Its main purpose was to copy Wang Xizhi's ink. In the method of calligraphy copying, this technology was the most demanding, time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also the closest to the original. It is made of transparent hard yellow paper, which is covered on the handwriting. The outline is first sketched with a fine pen, and then filled with ink. The accuracy is almost the same as the original.
Character set copying is widely distributed
Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty loved Wang Xizhi's calligraphy very much. In addition to finding a famous calligrapher to copy the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion, he copied Wang Xizhi's ink with the "double hook ink filling method"; Moreover, Wang Xizhi's calligraphy was combined into an article in the form of word collection, and made into steles, which were copied endlessly and widely distributed.
In the 19th year of Zhenguan period, Dharma Master Xuanzang of the Three Zang Sect returned to Chang'an from India to collect Buddhist scriptures. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty invited the Dharma Master to translate Buddhist scriptures in Hongfu Temple. In three years, he completed 657 Buddhist scriptures. Emperor Taizong also wrote a preface for this purpose and engraved a monument to commemorate it, which is called the Preface Monument of the Three Zang Sect of the Tang Dynasty. There are two types of this monument:
First, it was written by Chu Suiliang, a famous regular script writer at that time, and was completed in the fourth year of Yonghui of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty. It stood under the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in Cien Temple in Xi'an, also known as the Preface Stele of the Three Tibetan Sacred Religions in the Wild Goose Pagoda; Second, Master Huairen of Hongfu Temple compiled the Monument of the Holy Religion Preface of Wang Xizhi by collecting Wang Xizhi's handwriting, which was completed in the third year of Xianheng.
Master Huairen's collection of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy into a tablet is the first in the history of calligraphy. The collection of characters on this stele is directly copied from the authentic works of Wang Xizhi in the Inner House, which is a masterpiece of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. More than a thousand years ago, when there was no photography and photocopying technology, it was a very difficult thing.
Master Huairen devoted 24 years to completing this masterpiece. This stone is exquisitely described, stippling and turning to show its own potential, and reproduce the beautiful charm of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. Later generations praised this monument as "seamless, better than self transportation".
In addition to the Preface to the Sanzang Sacred Religion of the Tang Dynasty, Monk Daya can still be seen at present with the Monk's Stele of Xingfu Temple (broken when unearthed in the Ming Dynasty, also known as the Broken Stele of Xingfu Temple) completed in the ninth year of the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty; In the 6th year of Heda era, Li Ang, the Emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty, issued a decree to complete the "Vajra Sutra Collection of Wang Xizhi's Book". The stone tablet has been lost, and only the rubbings remain.
Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty
Calligraphy for people to learn is called "Fa Tie", which collects the ink of famous calligraphies and carves them into a template, and cuts and frames them into a volume. The earliest calligraphy was Chunhua Pavilion Calligraphy, which was made by Renzong in the Song Dynasty.
There are more than 100 emperors, famous ministers and famous calligraphers, and 420 works in total. The first volume is about emperors. There are 19 emperors from Emperor Zhangdi of Han Dynasty to Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty, and the calligraphy of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty accounts for half, which is the sum of the other 18 emperors, ranking the highest among all emperors in history.
Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty learned calligraphy from Yu Shinan at that time, but he was more interested in Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. In the historical evaluation of calligraphy, how do later generations view the characters of Tang Taizong?
Zhang Huaiguan, a famous critic in the history of calligraphy, said in Shuduan: "(Taizong) The beauty of calligraphy, with God's help, the scale of cutting grass and clerical script, and the transformation of Zhang and Wang into modern and ancient times, is perfect, which is nothing to be called." This is certainly a rhetoric.
Another commentator, Dou Xiang, objectively wrote in Shufu: "Taizong had collected Wang characters, and enlightened by his holy words. Although he had climbed the Lu well, he had not ascended the throne, and his quality was better than his literature, his appearance was able to be all, and his style and integrity were combined."
During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the word "character" was used in literary theory and painting theory. At first, it was used to evaluate characters, usually referring to people's indomitable character and upright temperament. Dou Ke is used to describe Taizong's calligraphy, which is deliberately emphasized. The focus is on the strength of calligraphy.
Boneness is just the view of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty on calligraphy aesthetics. His On the Book records that "when I face the ancient books today, I don't study their situation, but only seek their strength, and the situation develops itself." It can be seen that although Emperor Taizong was influenced by Wang Xizhi and Yu Shinan, his calligraphy still has its own strength, which is higher than the emperors of all previous dynasties.
