Shen Du (1357-1434) was named Minze and his nickname was Zile. A native of Huating (now Songjiang, Shanghai). He is good at writing in various styles, and his calligraphy is graceful and graceful. Dong Qichang highly praised Er Shen, saying that "Wen (Zheng Ming) and Zhu (Yun Ming) were the benchmarks of the moment, but they wanted to surpass Er Shen, but they could not Ye." Taizong of the Ming Dynasty paid great attention to calligraphy. Li Shao's "New Accounts of the Dynasty's History" recorded: "Taizong recruited those who were good at calligraphy and gave them official positions. He liked Yunjian Erchen's bachelors the most. ." When the official arrives, he teaches the bachelor. He was as famous as his younger brother Can, and was also known as "Mr. Er Shen" and "Bachelor of the University".
At that time, many golden and jade volumes and important imperial edicts in the imperial court were written by him. Because of the eight-part imperial examination at that time, scholars followed suit and became the popular "Taige style". The Ming and Qing dynasties promoted the pavilion style, which restricted and stifled the free spirit of calligraphy creation. However, this is also a revival of the spirit of "advocating law" in the history of calligraphy. The style of the pavilion advocates rigorous laws, meticulous attention to detail, elegance and patience, and no faults. This is not something ordinary people can achieve. It is impossible to write a decent pavilion style without more than ten or even decades of continuous practice.
Shen Du's "Jingzhai Admonition Book" is in regular script, 23.8cm in length and 49.4cm in width. Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing
The inscription is "On the midwinter solstice of the 16th year of Yongle, Hanlin scholar Shen Du wrote in the clouds." There are three seals: "Shen Minze", "Yutang bachelor" and "Zilexuan". There are three seals on the collection: "Qin and Han Ten Seals Zhai Zang", "Zhang Ji Xiong Seal" and "Rizao Treasures".
The work was written in 1418 (the 16th year of Yongle) when Shen Du was 52 years old. The characters are upright and rigorous, the writing is steady and steady, and the body is round and round, showing superb skills. It is a classic work of "Taige style". It's just that there is too much focus on sophistication and elegance, so there is less variation in the pen and ink. This is also a common problem in the "Taige style" where thousands of people have the same appearance and the same thing is the same. Wang Wenzhi, a calligrapher in the Qing Dynasty, once wrote a poem praising: "The brothers of the Shen family straightened their words, and their hairpins and brushes all inherited their kindness. They are elegant and suitable for writing and making imperial edicts. Today, there are special halls and pavilions." This poem explains why Shen Du There are many books written in the style of "proverbs" and "inscriptions", but it is rare to write poems and essays by oneself. (Writer: Hua Ning)
