Cui Xuelu Calligraphy Art
#1
The origin of cursive script
Cursive script is the supreme expression of the Chinese calligraphy that is closest to the soul and philosophy. Its origin can be traced back to the emergence of oracle bone inscriptions. Emerging from nature, oracle bone script started with depicting tangible objects and gradually evolved into a free and ever-changing form of pictographic writing. In its early stages, oracle bone script was written in a hasty manner, where "neither true nor cursive, it is both true and cursive": there was not a single stroke that was straight, no font that was regular, and no line of text that was uniform. Throughout history, oracle bone script gradually became more standardized and neat.
#2
The evolution of cursive script
cursive script is a simplified and speedy way of writing Chinese characters. It deviates from the previous style of writing each character independently and in a square and straight manner. In contrast, cursive script has a round and flowing style with connected strokes and characters. It has been present throughout the entire history of calligraphy, including the oracle bone script, bronze script, seal script, and regular script. The regular script and cursive script complement each other and are both important styles in calligraphy.
The Han Li quick writing style: "Zhang Cao" is an early form of cursive script. The strokes within each character are rounded and connected to each other, reflecting the fast writing style, but the characters themselves are still independent and not linked together.
By the end of the Han Dynasty, Zhang Zhi, revered as the "sage of cursive script," broke away from the "zhangcao" style and created the "jinci" style, in which every stroke is connected, every character is linked, and even the flow of the entire piece is carefully considered. Zhang Zhi shattered the previous rigid style of flat strokes and isolated characters, and established a more rounded, expressive, and continuous style of large cursive script.
The style of the "Two Wangs" in the Eastern Jin Dynasty is known as "Yiqing Da Cao": Wang Xizhi's elegance and Wang Xianzhi's transcendence are both excellent inheritors of Zhang Zhi's cursive script. Wang Xizhi is revered as the "sage of calligraphy" and his brushwork is full of subtle and profound changes.
In the middle of the Tang Dynasty in the 7th century, it was a renaissance era of "establishing the foundation of Taoism, awakening of humanism, and liberation of individuality" in history. Five hundred years after Zhang Zhi, the "sage of cursive script" of the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Xu, unleashed his creativity and went beyond all bounds. From rationality to madness, from big cursive script to wild cursive script, and then to erratic cursive script: he wrote in a wild and uncontrolled manner, reaching the state of "no-self" and integrating the carefree spirit of Laozi culture. He is the ultimate master of "divine release" in cursive script, and I therefore call him the "erratic cursive divine scripture".
Yan Zhenqing, also known as Lu Gong, was a master in various styles of calligraphy, known for his upright and powerful writing. I regard him as the "Supreme Master" of calligraphy. During his twenty years in office in the Luoyang region, he resigned twice and became a disciple of Zhang Xu. He wrote "Shu Zhang Changshi Shier Bifa Yi" and created a new calligraphic realm that combined the styles of seal, clerical, regular, and cursive scripts. His calligraphy was round and harmonious, without any hindrance. His "Ji Zhi Wen Gao" is hailed as the "number one calligraphy work in the world" in contemporary times, surpassing even the "Calligraphy Saint" Wang Xizhi.
After Yan Zhenqing, there was also "drunken monk" Huaisu. He observed the unexpected and peculiar changes of clouds during summer days and realized the essence of cursive script. In his "drunken cursive," he freely and boldly wielded his brush, relying entirely on intuition and transforming technique into philosophy. He is often compared with Zhang Xu's mad cursive script and is called "continuing Zhang Xu's madness." These three masters are the "three shining stars" of the Tang dynasty's cursive script revival.
The famous calligraphers of cursive script after the Tang Dynasty have been passed down from generation to generation, including Yang Ningshi of the Five Dynasties, Huang Tingjian of the Northern Song Dynasty, and Xu Wei, Wang Duo, and Fu Shan of the Ming Dynasty.
In today's "cloud era," people can easily access an unlimited wealth of cultural information and share a free and broad artistic space, but writing is becoming increasingly distant from our daily lives.
If you can try to appreciate and experience cursive script, and even try writing it yourself, you will feel the beauty and pleasure of freedom and natural harmony.
Cursive script is the eternal light of individuality and free spirit that has remained unchanged throughout Chinese history.
