Zhang Xu (? 675-? 750) "Zhang Xu takes off his hat and tops his head in front of the prince, and swipes paper like clouds of smoke" - Zhang Xu in Du Fu's works is vividly displayed before our eyes, and his brilliance has always been famous for the world. Overwhelmed.
Zhang Xu, also known as Bogao and Jiming, was born in Wujun (Suzhou, Jiangsu). His first official position was Changshu Wei, and later he became a long official in Jinwu, and was known as "Zhang Changshi". His mother, Lu, was the niece of Lu Jianzhi, a calligrapher in the early Tang Dynasty, and the granddaughter of Yu Shinan. The Lu family passed down their business through books from generation to generation, which is well-known in history. Zhang Xu is free and uninhibited, open-minded, outstanding, talented and knowledgeable. Being friendly with Li Bai and He Zhizhang, Du Fu listed the three of them among the "Eight Immortals in Drinking". He is a very unique cursive calligrapher. Because he often gets drunk, he screams and runs away, and then writes a book. He even writes with his hair dipped in ink, so he is also known as "Zhang Dian". Hou Huaisu inherited and developed his writing style, which was also named after cursive script, and was also called "Dian Zhang Zuisu". Emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty once issued an edict to regard Li Bai's poetry, Pei Min's sword dance, and Zhang Xu's cursive calligraphy as the "three wonders". He also worked in poetry, and together with He Zhizhang, Zhang Ruoxu and Bao Rong, he was known as the "Four Scholars in Wuzhong".
Zhang Xu's calligraphy was first developed by Zhang Zhi and Er Wang, and he achieved the highest level in cursive script. He himself is proud to inherit the tradition of the "Two Kings", and his every word is legal. On the other hand, he imitates Zhang Zhi's cursive calligraphy skills and creates wild cursive calligraphy that is free and upright, unpredictable and shocking to the world. According to legend, he saw the princess fighting with the bearer and learned the meaning of calligraphy from the advocacy. When he was in Ye County, Henan, he loved to watch Lady Gongsun dancing with the Xihe sword, and he became the god of cursive calligraphy. Yan Zhenqing resigned from office twice to ask him for advice on penmanship. Zhang Xu is a pure artist. He pours his full emotions into the dot paintings, as if there is no one else around, as drunk as crazy, as crazy as crazy. Han Yu of the Tang Dynasty praised it in his "Preface to Master Gao Xian": "Happiness, anger, embarrassment, sadness, joy, resentment, longing, drunkenness, boredom, injustice, whatever moves the heart, must be expressed in cursive writing. Looking at things, one can see mountains, rivers, cliffs and valleys, birds, beasts, insects and fish, vegetation and flowers, the sun, moon and stars, wind, rain, fire, thunder and thunder, singing, dancing and fighting, and the changes in the world. The joy and astonishment are all contained in the book, so the book of the rising sun , changes like ghosts and gods, cannot be traced, and will be famous for future generations throughout his life." This is a true portrayal of a true artist's persistence in art. No wonder later generations have praised and criticized Ou, Yu, Chu, Yan, Liu, Su, etc. when discussing Tang calligraphy, but they all praise Zhang Xu. This is unique in the history of art.
The handwritten writings handed down from ancient times include "Tie of Belly Pain" and "Four Notes of Ancient Poems".
