Liu Gongquan's "Meng Zhao Tie"
Liu Gongquan is good at regular script and has very few works in cursive script. This "Mengzhao Tie" can be said to be Liu Gongquan's best masterpiece in cursive script. However, in the eyes of most beginners, especially laymen, this is almost an "ugly book" that is difficult to appreciate. But why was this "ugly calligraphy" face included in the "Sixth Running Script in the World" by later generations?
Let’s first look at the creative background. "Mengzhao Tie" is a letter written by Liu Gongquan. The main idea of the letter is that he is old and frail, and his abilities are limited. Although he has an idle official position, he cannot do anything important for others. Please forgive me for my difficulties.
Liu Gongquan, Tang Dynasty, Meng Zhao Tie, paper, running script, 26.8x57.4cm
Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing
"Mengzhao Tie" is also known as "Hanlin Tie". It has 7 lines and 27 characters in large running script. It was written in the first year of Changqing (821 AD) when Liu Gongquan was 44 years old and in the prime of life. It was the peak period of his calligraphy creation. , so the words are like a thundering giant striking the sky, swimming alone, and later generations once suspected it was fake, but Ming Zhan Jingfeng's "Xuan Lan Bian" said: "Liu Chengxuan's ink calligraphy is genuine. The brushwork is refreshing and the vertical and horizontal strokes are as expected. Gai started his own family after Emperor Wen and Dali, and it is amazing that he never tires of playing with it." Moreover, this post was collected by the Imperial Household of the Song Dynasty, Han Shineng of the Ming Dynasty, Feng Quan and An Qi of the Qing Dynasty, and later entered the Imperial Household of the Qing Dynasty, and was engraved in " Sanxitang Dharma Tie".
Liu Gongquan wrote so many tablets that if his handwriting could not be found on the tablets of the ministers' families at that time, people would be scolded as unfilial descendants. However, the running script was rarely circulated, so it became even more obvious that the "Mengzhao Tie" was It's so precious.
Tang Dynasty Liu Gongquan's "Mengzhao Tie" The whole volume is original
Whoever is willing to respond to the entrustment of family affection is deeply grateful and grateful. Public power submitted.
This post is majestic, joyful, vigorous, and has magnificent imagery. It has the style of roaring tigers, roaring dragons, and vomiting wild things. Its structure is not like the Liu style regular script, but changes according to the shape and the situation. The writing may be long or short, large or small; it is not as upright as regular script in willow style, but is multi-faceted, dangerous and determined, informal and unrestrained, and rarely constrained by the strict laws of the Tang Dynasty.
Partial HD zoom
His writing style is not as strong and firm as the willow-style regular script. Instead, it has firmness and softness, bones and flesh, either square or round, exposed or hidden, thick but not bloated, thin but not soft, and the lines are Mainly in the center, it is full and round, and the pen and ink are well controlled. Just as Zhou Bida said: "Being calm and happy, but the appearance is graceful, Ou Yu, Chu Xue, are not worth mentioning."
Its compositions are large and small, fat and thin, staggered and scattered, the virtual and the real are dense and dense, complementing each other, taking care of the front and back, focusing on it, escape and release, and changing with the situation.
The "Lanting Continuation" engraved in the Southern Song Dynasty contains the "Hanlin Tie" (or "Mengzhao Tie"), which reads: "The public power has declined in years and the talent has declined. Yesterday, I was favored and released from the Hanlin. I stayed in leisure and cold, and my family entrusted me with it." , who is willing to respond, but to observe deeply, and respect public authority." According to the text, it is speculated that this post should have been written during the reign of Emperor Wenzong when the Liu family was a bachelor of edicts in the Hanlin Academy, and the "go to guard the Hanlin Academy" in this post does not match the diction. It was a title for the duties of officials at that time, so later generations inferred that it might have been written by people in the Song Dynasty based on the general meaning of "Hanlin Tie".
The controversy over the authenticity of the "Mengzhao Tie" has never stopped. Mr. Qi Gong thinks it is a forgery, "but I know that the ink ink in Jinzhuan was written by someone else, and the words were abridged so as not to leave any traces." However, Mr. Xie Zhiliu thinks it is a forgery. Liu Zijie's work is undoubtedly authentic. This is embarrassing.
Mr. Qi and Mr. Xie often have different opinions on the identification of ancient monuments. Mr. Qi mainly relies on the identification of literary and historical materials, while Mr. Xie relies on artistic feelings; Mr. Qi's words are reasonable, and Mr. Xie's feelings are very keen; As soon as Mr. Qi came to his conclusion, he felt like he was disgracing the scenery, but when Mr. Xie said something, he felt like he was speaking too hard to make sense? Who is right?
It's hard to make a conclusion, but all we know is that this is a majestic and extraordinary classic ink painting.
