Who was the first female calligrapher in China?

The first female calligrapher in China was Mrs Wei, who was the first teacher of Wang Xizhi.

Wei Shuo, also known as Mrs. Wei, was a famous calligrapher in Jin Dynasty. His name was Mao Yi (AD 272-349), and he was from Anyi, Hedong (now Xiaxian North, Shanxi). Wei Shuo was the wife of Li Moment, the prefect of Ruyin (now Fuyang, Anhui), and was called Mrs. Wei. Wei Jiashi wrote calligraphy, and Wei Shuo was also good at official script. Mrs Wei studied under Zhong You, and her teaching method was wonderful. Wang Xizhi studied calligraphy from him when he was young, and Mrs. Wei was the first teacher of the "book sage".

outline

Mrs. Wei was a famous female calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Hedong Anyi (now Xia County, Shanxi Province) people. The real name is Shuo, and the word Mao Yi. Wei Guan, the ancestor of the clan, was an ordinary official in the Western Jin Dynasty. Together with Suo Jing, he recorded history and was good at cursive writing, so he was called "two unique works in one episode". Wang Youjun (Wang Xizhi) is the teacher. The wife of Li Moment, the satrap of Ruyin, is called Mrs. Wei. Studied under Zhong You and You. The eight lines of regular script handed down from ancient times in Chunhua Pavilion post and calligraphy theory's brush strokes are probably written by people skilled in this field. Family background (niece of Wei Guan, the father of Northern School, and cousin of Wei Huan) is very famous in contemporary times. Starting from his father Wei Heng, Huang Menlang became an official, and his calligraphy was also very good. He wrote four-body calligraphy. Fahualu said that her brushwork was integrated with that of Zhong You, Zhong You and Wei. The clouds in the brushwork are like this: the horizontal is like a thousand miles of clouds, the point is like a mountain stone, the left is like a broken horn of a rhinoceros, the vertical is like a dead vine, the grip is like a mighty wave, the grip is like a crossbow hair of a hundred troops, and the hook is like a strong crossbow tendon. There are Ming Ji Tie and Wei Shi Nan Tie handed down from generation to generation. She once wrote a poem about cursive script and was entrusted to write an "urgent chapter" for the court. Its glyph changed from a square in Zhong You to a rectangle, and its lines were delicate and peaceful, elegant and graceful, and it was far away from the official residence, indicating that regular script was mature and common at that time. Song Chen Si's "Letters" quoted a book review in the Tang Dynasty, saying that her calligraphy was "like a flower arranging dancer, with low beauty; Another example is the beauty on the stage, the fairy taking pictures, the red lotus reflecting the water, and the blue marsh floating clouds, which should not be a compliment. "

Relevant textual research

Mrs. Wei (272-350) was born in Anyi, Hedong (now Xiaxian, Shanxi). Wei family in Hedong of Wei and Jin Dynasties is a famous calligraphy family.

Mrs Wei's followers Wei San, Guan and Wei Heng are all famous calligraphers and calligraphers. Mrs. Wei was influenced by her family since childhood and became a master of calligraphy. Later he became Wang Xizhi's calligraphy teacher. To some extent, without Mrs. Wei's enlightenment education, there would be no later book sage Wang Xizhi. Many calligraphy history books have recorded Mrs. Wei's calligraphy achievements, calligraphy characteristics and the relationship with Wang Xizhi. Here are two examples: Xin's "Naming Ancient Letters" reads: "The wife of Jinzhong's mother is good at the clock method. Wang is a teacher. " The book "Zhang Tang Huaiguan" breaks down: "Mrs. Wei is famous and has a strong word. Ting Weizhan's daughter-in-law, Heng Zhicong (should be her sister), Ru Yin (now Fuyang, Anhui). Press: The original note "It should be Jiangzhou" is wrong. According to the Biography of Li Moment, Li Moment was appointed as the satrap of Ruyin by Sima Yue, the king of the East China Sea, for his meritorious service in defending his hometown when he was young. There was no Jiangzhou in the world at that time. Jiangzhou is now Jiujiang, Jiangxi, and it was called Chai Sang at that time. Li Ju's last official was the wife of General Anxi, the governor of three counties in Henan Province, the prefect of Xingyang and Li Ju, the commander of Xiuwu County. Li Shu is very good, and the rule is the Palace. Cloud: breaking the ice of the jade pot, the moon of the rotten Yao platform, like a fragrant tree, is like a breeze. The right army is rarely taught. Yonghe died in five years at the age of 78. Zi Ke (should be filled in) is a Zhongshulang and also a book. " These records all mentioned that Mrs Wei was Wang Xizhi's calligraphy teacher, and Mrs Wei studied calligraphy in Zhong You. His calligraphy is characterized by elegance and charm. Besides being the initiator of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, Mrs. Wei may also be Wang Xizhi's aunt. Its main basis is that Yan Ji and Tao's Book and History Society both call Wei and Wei the middle table. Wang Jiapu, compiled by Wang Jiapu, even marked the words under his father.

Mrs. Wei's wife, Jiang, is also a calligraphy family. Mrs Wei's son, Li Chong, her brother and both have titles. Especially in the early years of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Shili's calligraphy achievements can be compared with those of Wang Xun (uncle) and Yu Yi, the calligraphy authorities at that time. In the Tang Dynasty, a calligrapher like Li Yong appeared in Jiangxia. Before Jiang Dongjin, no one was famous for his calligraphy. The prosperity of Li calligraphy after the Eastern Jin Dynasty was related to Mrs. Wei's marriage to the Li family. Although Mrs. Wei is only two years older than her husband, if Mrs. Wei marries the Li family at the age of 18, she will only be a teenager at the age of 16. It can be considered that it is precisely because of Mrs. Wei's teaching that the Li family can reach the peak of calligraphy. In its introduction, Shuduan said that "pushing his aunt (that is, Mrs. Wei)" is proof. Good ancient books are not easy to read, the brushwork is confidential, and it is not easy to pass on. Once you have the correct brushwork and see high-level books, you have the important conditions to become a famous artist. Mrs. Wei's enlightenment calligraphy teaching not only influenced Wang Xizhi (Wang Xizhi also had a mentor, that is, his uncle Wang Xun), but also created a calligraphy family named Jiang. You did a good job.

In the second year of Yonghe, Mrs. Wei came with her son, and Yonghe died in the fifth year.

When did Mrs Wei come to Shan County? His son Li Chong recorded in his biography: "Chu Mao, the general of the Northern Expedition, was led to join the army. Fill the house as poor as a church mouse and beg for it. Make it a county and ask it. Chong said,' poor apes throw themselves into the forest, so why not choose wood in their leisure time?' This is an order from the county government. Suffering from my mother's worries, I am convinced that I am a great writer. "

The biography also said that Li Chong was "not so lonely". It can be seen that Mrs. Wei is supported by her son. Li Chongyuan was a Wang Dao rafter in Beijing, and later joined the army as a clerk. The clerk joined the army as a small official, and his salary was not high. He called himself a "poor family" and was too busy to choose wood. So, he took advantage of the opportunity to join the army and asked to "go out." So, when did Chu recommend him as a county magistrate? According to Jin Mu Geography, in the second year of Yonghe (A.D. 346), in autumn and July, Chu You, an assassin in Yanzhou, was recruited as the general of Peking University, and was appointed as the third division of government. Yanzhou secretariat is not qualified to "open the government". After opening the government, it is necessary to recruit aides, so the upper limit of Li Chong's trip to Shan County is after Yonghe in July. In July of Yonghe five years, Chu Taizu was defeated in the Northern Expedition and retreated to Guangling. In December that year, Chu died of illness. Therefore, it is only three years since Li Chong took office as county magistrate in July of Yonghe two years to July of Yonghe five years. It seems that it is most likely that Li Chong took office in Yonghe for three years (347). It is said that Mrs Wei died in Yu Yonghe for five years. The exact time of death was not specified. If I assume that the aunt in the aunt's post means that Mrs. Wei can be established, then the aunt's post was written on 1 1 month 13. At that time, Xihe was still a general in Beijing, and it took several days or even longer for the obituary to travel from Shan County to Beijing, so Mrs. Wei died in Yu Yonghe in late October or early November of five years.

"The Biography of Wang Xizhi in the Book of Jin" said: "Sun Chuo, Li Chong, Xu Xun and Zhifu are all famous people with literary meaning. And build a room in the east, just as it is. " Wang Xizhi reigned in Yonghe for seven years. At that time, Li Chong lived in seclusion because of his mother's funeral, and it was OK to describe it as "building a house in the East Palace", but Li Chong was no longer on the list of repairing Lanting in Yonghe for nine years. It shows that Li Chongyong has gone to Beijing as a great writer after eight years of mourning. Therefore, Xi Zhihe was only a "good friend" in Yonghe Huiji for seven or eight years, when Mrs. Wei had passed away.

Personality influence

Mrs. Wei not only made outstanding achievements in the practice of calligraphy art, but also made great achievements in the theory of calligraphy art, made a comprehensive and in-depth discussion, wrote a volume of "Pen Tu", comprehensively and in-depth consulted relevant calligraphy theory, and put forward her own views. In her book, she first pointed out that the beauty of calligraphy is "not using a pen first". Advocating learning calligraphy should be traced back to the source, learning from the ancients, and opposing practice makes perfect, learning without support, learning without use, learning without success. Mrs. Wei also suggested that when studying and creating, we should pay attention to the varieties and origins of pens, ink, paper and inkstones, and emphasize that if workers want to do well, they must first sharpen their tools. It is also emphasized that attention should be paid to writing, and different writing styles should adopt different writing methods. Through concrete analysis, it is said, "Those who are impatient in write slowly are those who are impatient in write slowly. The pen is close but not tight, and the heart is uneven. The first pen will fail; If the pen is in a hurry, the one who intends to write first wins. " Beyond the scope of simply discussing the use of pen, this paper makes a profound discussion on the relationship between pen and meaning in calligraphy art and the cultivation of calligraphers.

Mrs. Wei also has an incisive exposition on using a pen when writing different fonts. She thinks that there are six ways to use a pen, namely, seal script "flying over the eaves", composition "dangerous and horrible", eight-part essay "graceful and restrained" and flying white characters "Geng Jie and Te Li". If "every word is like its shape", then ". It should be said that Mrs. Wei's exposition on the use of pens still has some merits today. In essence, she raised the question of calligraphers mastering different writing styles. As for strokes, Mrs. Wei put forward seven standards for seven different strokes. Teacher Wei's vivid and appropriate description of seven basic strokes is a good way for beginners to get started.

In addition, Mrs. Wei also put forward the theoretical principles of beginners' calligraphy in Bi Tu, such as "you must write big books first, not small ones" and "good scholars don't write, good writers don't learn", which is also valuable experience. On the basis of the above discussion, Mrs. Wei summed up her overall understanding of calligraphy art and put forward the theory of "strength and strength": "If you write a little ink painting, you must do your best to send it." "Well written is skinny, and poorly written is fleshy. The skinny and fleshy one is called Jin Shu; The fleshy bones are called ink pigs. The strong and the strong are holy, and the weak are sick. "

This is essentially the result of Mrs. Wei's life-long practice of calligraphy art, which represents her overall understanding of the theory of calligraphy art, points out the direction and road for later calligraphers, becomes an important content and evaluation standard in China calligraphy theory, and has a great influence on the development of calligraphy theory and practice in past dynasties. Although Mrs. Wei's "brush drawing" refers to and draws lessons from some predecessors' expositions, on the basis of inheritance, Mrs. Wei's development and creation are indispensable.

folklore

Clean Mo Chi.

There is a 10-mu pond at the east end of Suzhuang Village, which is called Mrs. Wei Wash. It is said that Mrs Wei practiced calligraphy when she was a child, and her attitude was very serious. Sometimes she writes for hours. When you are tired, go to the pool in front of the door to wash the pens and inkstones. Once, when she was tired of practicing calligraphy, she put her pen and inkstone in a bucket and put them in a pond. The water in the pond was dyed black from then on, and later generations called this pond Mrs. Wei wash.

Eat ink

There is a story about Mrs. Wei eating ink. That is to say, Mrs. Wei often reads while eating, and once she ate up the ink with a bun. Wang Xizhi came to see if she had eaten, and saw that the food was still on the table, and the ink in the inkstone was gone. They couldn't help laughing when Mrs. Wei realized that she had eaten up the ink with buns.

Give the goose the finishing touch

Once, Wang Xizhi painted a goose, and everything was well drawn. Even if his eyes were left or right, he always felt that the painting was not good. So, I asked Mrs. Wei to make the finishing point for the goose. Mrs Wei took the pen and nodded, but just then, the goose flew away.

Ink rain

One summer, Mrs. Wei learned calligraphy and wrote down almost all the stones, bark and places where she could write on the surrounding mountains. One day, it suddenly rained heavily, and the stones and bark were washed brightly, and the rain and ink mixed into black water, so there was the legendary story of "ink rain on the mountain".

Guanyin mother cake

One day, Mrs Wei disguised herself as Guanyin's mother and went to the market to sell cakes. she

Cooking is different from others. She put the chopping board in front of her face, put the pancake behind her back, and a cake rolled from head to back, just falling into the pancake. The onlookers were packed and full of praise. Later, Wang Xizhi came to see it. When he saw the excitement, he couldn't help but blurt out, this craft is great. Mrs. Wei listened to Wang Xizhi's voice and said that Wang Xizhi's calligraphy was not as good as Wang Xizhi's. Wang Xizhi thought that the fairy touched him, and he was happy, but he felt that this Guanyin mother's skill in pancakes was too high, and her own words could not match her. So I secretly made up my mind that I must practice to be as wonderful as Guanyin's mother's pancakes. From then on, I studied hard with Mrs. Wei for another year, and then I bid farewell to my teacher, went to the society, merged the talents of celebrities, became a school of my own, and finally became a generation of calligraphy masters.

Jadeite Cabbage

In other words, Mrs. Wei's "Pen Map" was written and presented to the emperor for reading. After reading it, the emperor even claimed that it was well written, so he called the minister and gave her a rare treasure-jade cabbage. Mrs. Wei couldn't put it down when she was alive, and often kept a desk. After her death, her family took the jade cabbage as a memorial token, and it was buried with the approval of the emperor. This national treasure is now in the Palace Museum in Taiwan.

Used jade inkstone

In the early days of liberation, all the students studying in Suzhuang Village School knew that there was a strange big jade inkstone on the teacher's desk. That big jade inkstone is half a foot thick and more than a foot long. It is oval, with lifelike dragons carved on all sides. Legend has it that this jade inkstone was used by the great calligrapher Mrs. Wei. During the land reform, the peasant association found it from the rich man's house and gave it to the school. Since then, everyone has regarded the jade inkstone as a "family heirloom" of the school. When students grind ink for the teacher, the teacher asks the students to cherish the jade inkstone and learn the excellent quality and spirit of Wei Fu when he studied China's calligraphy hard since childhood. However, this jade inkstone disappeared in the early 1950s, leaving a deep regret for the Wei family.

Teach Wang Xizhi's calligraphy

Wang Xizhi, a famous calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was a famous female calligrapher who studied under Wei Shuo. People call her Mrs. Wei.

When Wang Xizhi was 7 years old, he began to learn calligraphy. Mrs Wei likes his cleverness very much. He not only taught Wang Xizhi to write wholeheartedly, but also loved to enlighten and encourage Wang Xizhi with stories of his predecessors practicing calligraphy. On one occasion, Wang Xizhi asked Mrs. Wei, "Teacher, how can I practice writing as soon as possible?"

Mrs. Wei saw that Wang Xizhi was in a hurry, cute and ridiculous, and said, "Don't worry, son. Let me tell you a story about Mo Chi first! It was in the Eastern Han Dynasty that there was a man named Zhang Zhi. In order to practice his calligraphy well, he practices calligraphy in the pond in front of his house every day. He came out of the sun and practiced until the sun went down. After writing, he washed his pen and inkstone in the pond. After a long time, the washed ink dyed the whole pond black. Later, his handwriting became better and better, and the cursive script was lively and smooth.

While listening to Mrs. Wei's story about Zhang Zhi, Wang Xizhi thought: In order to practice calligraphy well, Zhang Zhi dyed the pond black with the water that washed the pen and inkstone. How hard he works! If I work as hard as Zhang Zhi, I can practice my calligraphy well.

After that, under the specific guidance of Mrs. Wei, Wang Xizhi practiced calligraphy harder. Like Zhang Zhi, he practices calligraphy every day and goes to the pond in front of his house to wash pens and inkstones. Over time, the original clear as a mirror pond has also become Mo Chi.

Later, every time Wang Xizhi moved, he washed his pen and inkstone in the pool in front of the door. It is said that he left more Mo Chi than Zhang Zhi. Ceng Gong, a writer in the Northern Song Dynasty, admired Wang Xizhi's hard work and wrote an article "Mo Chi Ji" to praise Wang Xizhi.

Mrs. Wei taught Wang Xizhi calligraphy, and also taught him that there are days outside, and there are people outside, so we should not be proud and lazy. Therefore, Wang Xizhi later studied Zhang Zhi's cursive script and Zhong You's regular script, but he still felt that it was not enough. He is determined to read widely, learn from more calligraphers and learn from others' strengths.

Later, Wang Xizhi grew up and went to Wuchang, Jiujiang and other places to be an official. Wherever Wang Xizhi went, he always remembered Mrs. Wei's teachings and looked at the inscriptions left by his predecessors. He always copied carefully, took it out whenever he had time, carefully pondered the characteristics and realized the truth with his heart.

After seeing calligraphy, Wang Xizhi became fascinated with it. On the way or when sitting down, he did not forget to ponder the structure, momentum and writing of the bookshelf. As he thought about it, he scratched himself with his fingers. After a long time, even his skirt was cut.

Wang Xizhi's son Wang Xianzhi asked him why, and he said to his son, "You will lose your virginity in the future!"

Wang Xizhi has been practicing hard, and his wrist has become very powerful, and his pen is also very powerful. He often thinks in his heart: according to Mrs. Wei's teaching, only by absorbing the strengths of a hundred schools of thought and gaining an ever-changing god can we make innovations.