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Zhang Xu
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Gushi Sitie
| Zhang Xu (710-750), also known as Zhang Changshi
for his official post, was a native of today's Suzhou
of Jiangsu
Province. Zhang once served as a regional officer, drank wine to extremes
and indulged fully in life's pleasures. He usually wrote crazily after drinking
while also shouting and walking about. Records show he soaked his own hair with
ink and used it to create a calligraphy
work, thus earning himself the nickname "Crazy Zhang."
Zhang enjoyed considerable fame in his day, and is
counted among the Tang poet Du
Fu's "Eight Drunken Immortals," together with other famous Tang poets, such
as Li
Bai
and He Zhizhang .
Zhang was good at kaishu
(regular
script) and caoshu
(cursive script), especially kuangcao (wild cursive script). While inheriting
the calligraphic heritage of "Er Wangs (Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi)," Zhang
also added his original creation. His kaishu calligraphy, assuming a touch of
the writing style of Ouyang Xun and Yu Shinan (both were kaishu masters of the
Tang
Dynasty
),
looks dignified and vigorous, well exhibiting the subtleness of the kaishu
style.
Zhang Xu's kuangcao calligraphy shows much diversity. According to a modern
scholar, Han Yutao, Zhang's calligraphy works have three properties. First, they
were wild. He always finished a calligraphic work in one sweep. Hence, when
reading his calligraphy work, one can feel the momentum. Second, they were
strange and always varied. Zhang's calligraphy is as unpredictable as his
brushstrokes and character structures are unfathomable. Third, they were
formidable. Previous Chinese calligraphic works had a slender beauty, while the
calligraphy work of Zhang Xu makes the reader feel as if one's head were pressed
down by stones. Reading Zhang's calligraphy, one may have the feeling of being
threatened by a sword. Yet, he respects his dignity. Though Zhang Xu's kuangcao
were wild and crazy, his brushstroke technique adhered to certain rules, and he
was also proficient at the more restrained kaishu calligraphy. Only a few of
Zhang Xu's works have remained to this day, and among the masterpieces are
Gushi Sitie and Shiwuri Tie.
Author: Jessie
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