Ancient famous calligrapher
3 min readWang Xizhi was born in a callgraphic family in Shandong Province.When young，he served as a court official in the Jin Dynasty，and later he gave up his position and completely devoted himself to calligraphy.He is considered the greatest calligrapher of all time and is honored as the sage of calligraphy.
Wang first learnt calligraphy from his father，and he then began a systematic study under the instruction of a female calligrapher，Madam Wei（242-349）.He worked very hard copying works of previous calligraphers.It is said that the pond in his courtyard became black because he always cleaned his brushes after practicing.In his middle age，Wang visited many famous mountains.Wherever he went，he would search for good calligraphic works and copy them.He learnt from many prestigious calligraphers and examined a lot of stele inscriptions.By accumulating a large number of calligraphic materials，he further studied calligraphic theories and developed an unrestrained style of his own.He was good at various types of scripts，but Running Script was considered his best mastered script.
According to the record，Wang created nearly 1，000 calligraphic works，but few of his original handwritings survived.Most of works we see today are copies made by calligraphers of later dynasties.The most famous masterpiece of Wang is Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection.It is said that Wang invited some literati to celebrate the coming of spring at the Orchid Pavilion.Each guest was required to compose a poem.After the gathering，Wang collected all the poems and wrote Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection in running hand in memory of the happy gathering.
Yan Zhenqing（709-785）was born in an aristocratic family of Shaanxi Province.
He served as the court official for some time.He was famous for his unique Regular Script.He first copied Wang Xizhi’s style，and later he developed a robust and powerful style of his own.
His style was called Yan style and attracted the attention of calligraphers of later generations.His masterpieces included Treasury Pagoda Stele，Stele of Eulogy to Dongfang Shuo，and so on.
Liu Gongquan（778-865）was born in Shaanxi Province.He first learnt the handwriting of Wang Xizhi and later began copying Yan Zhenqing’s style.Absorbing the writing of previous calligraphers，Liu Gongquan developed his own style，known as Liu style.Together，Yan Zhenqing’s style and Liu Gongquan’s style are called“muscle of Yan and bone of Liu” Liu’s handwritings were appreciated by several emperors and thus became fashionable.It is said that after the court officials died，their offspring asked Liu to write their epitaphs.Even the foreigners who came to China wanted to pay a large sum of money to buy his works.Liu Gongquan left many calligraphic works，such as Occult Pagoda Stele and Orchid Pavilion Poetry.
Ouyang Xun（557-641）was born in Hunan Province.He was also famous for the Regular Script with his own features，called Ou style.His calligraphy was rigorous and grand.
