Zhu Xi (1130-1200) had the courtesy name Yuanhui and Zhonghui. His ancestral home is Wuyuan, Huizhou (now part of Jiangxi). He has lived in Wuyi Mountain for a long time and settled in Kaoting, Jianyang (now Jianyang City, Fujian) in his later years.
Zhu Xi entered school at the age of 5 and paid tribute to his hometown at the age of 18. The following year (the 18th year of Shaoxing, Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty, 1148), he was awarded the rank of Jinshi. During Zhu Xi's 71-year career, he served as an official for 9 years. During the rest of his time, he mostly wrote books and lectured on Taoism. His works include more than 70 books and more than 460 volumes, mainly including "Annotations to the Four Books", "Collected Poems", and "Chu Ci". "Collected Annotations", "Tai Chi Tu Explanation", "Tong Shu Jie", "Xi Ming Jie", "Tong Jian Outline", etc.; he founded 27 academies with thousands of students. Zhu Xi was the most famous Neo-Confucian in China's Southern Song Dynasty and the greatest feudal educator after Confucius. His philosophical thoughts and educational thoughts had a great influence on the politics and culture of China's late feudal society.
Zhu Xi studied calligraphy since childhood with his father Zhu Song and Wu Yi San teachers Liu Zihui, Liu Mianzhi and Hu Shen. He tried to learn Cao Mengde's calligraphy, and later studied Zhong Yao's regular script and Yan Zhenqing's cursive calligraphy. Since ancient times, ink ink that has been passed down from generation to generation, even if it is fragmentary or fragmentary, has been treasured as a treasure. Although his calligraphy art has been highly praised throughout history, and he has written quite a lot of handwriting in his lifetime, unfortunately most of it has been lost. Tao Zongyi of the Ming Dynasty's "Book and History Meeting": "Zhu Xi continued the Taoist tradition, entered the holy realm, and was also good at calligraphy. He was good at cursive writing, especially large calligraphy. His writing was calm and elegant. Although the pieces were sparse, people competed for the secrets, which was nothing short of exciting. Guibi." When learning calligraphy in the Han and Wei dynasties, they admired the Jin and Tang Dynasties, advocating the restoration of the past but not the past, being original, simple and distant, and ancient and peaceful. It was beyond the imagination of the common people and had the style of the Jin people. The fame of his thoughts and theories has overshadowed the glory of his calligraphy art. Zhu Xi was good at writing, cursive, and especially large calligraphy. His works handed down today are mainly cursive scripts and slippers, with very few large calligraphy ink.
Zhu Xi’s calligraphy handed down from ancient times:
"Peng Hu Hand Scroll" is in a foreign private collection. The whole volume consists of three parts: (1) Title. (2) Zhu Xi wrote 102 characters in cursive hand. (3) Inscriptions and postscripts by Song Wen Tianxiang, Ming Fang Xiaoru, Zhu Yunming, Hai Rui and Tang Yin.
"Fragmentary Manuscript of the Original Meaning of the Zhouyi Collection" collected in Japan
"Poem Notes in Cursive Script" Collection of Nanjing Museum
"Volume of Twenty Ode to the South of the City by Zhang Jingfu" Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing
"Longing Note" Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei
"Annotated Manuscripts on Four Books" collected by Liaoning Provincial Museum
"Shuhan Manuscript Volume" collected by Liaoning Provincial Museum
"Remaining Manuscripts of Annotations on the Analects of Confucius" collected in Japan
"Tie to Yanxiu Shaofu" Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei
Dictionary of the Book of Changes Collection, National Palace Museum, Taipei
"Gift to the disciple Yan Zhong, Yan Xiao and the same ranking" poem album, domestic private collection
"Letter to Cheng Yunfu" Collection of Liaoning Provincial Museum
"Giving Calligraphy" Collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing
"Autumn Deep Tie" Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei
"Bu Zhu Tie" collected by Tokyo National Museum, Japan
calligraphy style
Zhu Xi's calligraphy is known as "the style of the Han and Wei dynasties" and "the rhyme and grace". The strokes are round and smooth, making good use of the center. The movement is calm and smooth, and the edge is hidden in the brush. There is no trace of mania. The structure is steady and elegant, the movement is coherent, not deliberately neat, and the style is free and natural. Zhu Xi is the master of Confucian philosophy. The lines of his calligraphy are filled with the spirit of a scholar. It is conceivable that he admires traditional laws. He advocated that "every word has its own laws and rules," but it must also be "tolerant and aloof." In other words, calligraphy must enter the method and be able to produce it, so that the pen and ink can express the natural mood. Celebrities in the past dynasties spoke highly of his calligraphy, and they also clearly revealed his unique calligraphy style: Ming Tao Zongyi's "History of Calligraphy"
"Zhu Xi continued the Taoist tradition and entered the sacred realm. He was also good at calligraphy and calligraphy. He was good at cursive writing, especially large calligraphy. His writings were calm and elegant. Although the pieces are fragmentary, people are competing for the secrets, and they are no more than precious stones."
"Zhenze Collection" by Wang Shizhen of Ming Dynasty
"Hui Weng's calligraphy is very fast. He had no intention of seeking craftsmanship, but looked for his dots and strokes. All of them are in line with the standards of a calligrapher."
Lu Jian inscribed Zhu Xi's "Zhu Zicheng Nan Singing Poems"
"His words are all spoken in a clear way, and the words are also written in vertical strokes, with relaxed and relaxed postures. Although there are many famous writers in the Jin and Tang Dynasties, they are not easy to compare."
Song Wen Tianxiang's postscript to Zhu Xi's "Peng Hu Hand Scroll"
"Forefathers said in writings that true ministers have loyal ministers in their writings, but now that we have seen the writing style of Duke Wen, it is not wrong to say so."
Ming Zhu Yunming's postscript Zhu Xi's "Peng Hu Hand Scroll"
"Mr. Hui'ang is loyal to ancient times, knowledgeable and ancient, and has been a sage for the world, which has shown through the ages. However, he is particularly wonderful at calligraphy. He has written very few books in his life, so few of them have been seen by later generations. This volume has been in the collection of Huang Shi Sima for a long time. After that, he wandered in the world. I only saw him once when I was teaching, but I didn't get to see him fully and felt sorry for him. Fortunately, I saw him again in a friend's house, which is enough to be related to his writings. I used this book to preface his book. ”.
"Peng Hu Hand Scroll" by Zhu Xi, Rui of Ming Dynasty
"This book is elegant and graceful, and it is truly a natural masterpiece."
