Huai Su (737-?) In the history of cursive calligraphy art, Huai Su and his "Autobiography" have been discussed by calligraphy enthusiasts for more than 1,200 years since the middle of the Tang Dynasty. Huaisu, who became a monk at the age of ten, was named Zangzhen and his common surname was Qian. He was a native of Lingling, Yongzhou (now Lingling, Hunan). When he was young, he was interested in calligraphy during his spare time in meditation. Being poor and without paper and ink, he planted more than 10,000 banana trees for calligraphy practice and used banana leaves instead of paper. Since the residence is surrounded by banana trees, the residence is humorously called "Green Sky Temple". He also used lacquer trays and lacquer boards to replace paper. He studied diligently and carefully, and the writing on the trays and boards was all through. There were also many broken pen tips, which were buried together, which was called the "Bi Zhong".
He had a relaxed temperament and was keen on cursive writing, but had no intention of practicing Zen. He drank wine and ate meat, made friends with celebrities, and had friends with Li Bai, Yan Zhenqing, etc. Famous for "crazy grass". There are many records about Cinsu in the literature of the Tang Dynasty. "The pen is moved quickly, like a sudden rain and whirlwind, flying and turning, changing at will, and the law is there." Princes and celebrities also loved to make friends with this crazy monk. Renhua of the Tang Dynasty wrote in a poem: "The crazy monk came to Beijing the day before yesterday, rode on the princes' horses in the morning, and stayed in the princes' houses in the evening. Who doesn't make a plain screen, and who doesn't paint the wall with whitewash. The white wall shakes the sunshine, and the plain screen condenses the dawn frost. Wait for you. The sway is unforgettable, the horse welcomes you to sit in the hall, the gold plate holds the wine and the fragrance of bamboo leaves. After ten cups and five cups, you can’t understand it, but after a hundred cups, you start to go crazy..." The predecessors commented on his wild and careless inheritance. Xu has made a new development, which is called "continuing Dian with madness" and also known as "Dian Zhang Zui Su". It has a great influence on future generations.
Huai Su is good at using the center stroke to create large strokes with pure force, such as "sudden rain and whirlwind, filling the hall with momentum", to the state of "suddenly three or five screams, filling the wall with thousands of words". Despite his speed, Huai Su was able to fly through the entire story with very few mistakes. Compared with the messy and imperfect calligraphy methods of many calligraphers, it is actually much better. This is a Kuangcao who knows Huaisu. Although his thoughts are wandering and ever-changing, he never leaves the laws of the Wei and Jin Dynasties. This is indeed due to his extreme penance. There are many handwritings handed down by Huaisu: Thousand-Character Essay, Purity Sutra, Notre Dame Post, Zangzhen Post, Lü Gong Post, Beriberi Post, Self-narrative Post, Ku Bamboo Post, Fish-Eating Post, Forty-Two Chapter Sutra, etc.
Studying the above Huaisu works, the styles are not all the same, and can be divided into three types: First, those that have not completely got rid of the predecessors' style: such as Sheng Sheng, Shi Yu, Ku Xun, Zang Zhen, and Zhu Tie, which retain the Jin method There are many of them, and many of them are in the style of Yan Zhenqing. The second is his unique style of writing, such as the Purity Sutra, the Sutra of Forty-two Chapters, and the Self-Explanation Notes (which can be called the standard Huai Su book). The third is to follow the peaceful and indifferent style of writing, which is like a thousand-character essay on grass. It is very different from his wild and wild style. It has completely changed his appearance, which can be said to be his outstanding feature.
On calligraphy
