Zhi Yong's True Script Thousand Characters and Its Strokes

Author: Luo Hengguang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-03-01
Features: Zhi Yong and the True Script Thousand Characters
Zhi Yong, styled Fazhi, was from Kuaiji (now Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province) and a renowned calligrapher during the transitional period between the Southern Dynasties of Chen and the Sui Dynasty. He was the descendant of Wang Xizhi, the fifth son of Wang Xizhi, the revered "Sage of Calligraphy," and the seventh-generation grandson of Wang Xizhi. Due to his decision to renounce worldly life with his brother Xiao Hongbin and become a monk at the Yongxin Temple in Shanyin, he was known as "Zhi Yong Monk" or "Yong Monk."
From a young age, Zhi Yong inherited his family's calligraphic legacy and studied the works of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xuanzhi under Xiao Ziyun. He resided on the upper floors of Yongxin Temple for decades, vowing, "I will not descend from the tower until my calligraphy reaches perfection." His dedication to calligraphy was extraordinary—so many brushes he had used until they were worn out were collected in large bamboo baskets. He buried these worn-out brushes in the ground, forming a mound he called the "Brush Grave," and inscribed the characters "Brush Grave" in person as a memorial.
After his fame as a calligrapher grew, numerous seekers came to him for his works, making his temple gates so crowded that the thresholds were worn down. To address this, the temple had to encase the gates in iron. Thus, he was also known as the "Iron-Threshold Monk." As the direct inheritor of the Wang family's calligraphic tradition, Zhi Yong not only rigorously preserved the family's methods and devoutly carried forward its legacy but also passed it on to later masters such as Yu Shidao and Lu Jianzhi, ushering in a new era of calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty. He is widely recognized as a pivotal figure who bridged the gap between past and future in Chinese calligraphy and holds a significant place in its history. Generations of calligraphers have praised him. The Northern Song scholar Mi Nan Gong described him as "graceful, smooth, round, and strong, with excellence in all directions," while Su Dongpo remarked, "His calligraphy possesses profound strength and stability, embodying the essence of all styles. At the peak of his skill, he achieved a simplicity that was both distant and profound—like reading Tao Pengze's poetry, which initially seems scattered and unrestrained but reveals its extraordinary charm upon repeated reading."
In the Ming dynasty, Jie Jin's Spring Rain Miscellaneous Notes stated: "After Wang Xizhi and Wang Xuanzhi, no one else in the world excelled in calligraphy. Only Zhi Yong truly carried forward the family's tradition, reviving calligraphy studies, which flourished in the Tang Dynasty." His cursive script was concise in stroke, strict in structure, and adhered to the rules. The strokes were thick and powerful, yet the artistic spirit was vibrant. His regular script blended square and round forms, with inner strength, dense structure, elegant posture, and a style reminiscent of the calligraphic principles of the Jin Dynasty. He deeply studied the "Eight Methods of the Character 'Yong.'"
It is said that after Cui Yuan, Zhang Zhi, Zhong Yao, and Wang Xizhi, Zhi Yong "unveiled the essence" and passed it on to Yu Shidao of the Tang Dynasty. According to the Northern Song Xuanhe Calligraphy Spectrum, the Song imperial collection once held twenty-three authentic works by Zhi Yong, including thirteen in cursive script and ten in regular script. Among these, fifteen were of the Thousand Characters, showing his fondness for writing it.
Legend has it that Zhi Yong wrote countless Thousand Characters at Yongxin Temple, selecting eight hundred of the best and distributing them to famous monasteries in Zhejiang. These works, when circulated, caused a sensation across the land, with many seeking to purchase them, often fetching prices exceeding ten thousand gold pieces. Over thirteen hundred years since the Sui Dynasty, despite wars and upheavals, his works have endured, as he wrote so many that some inked copies still exist today.
Zhi Yong's True Script Thousand Characters was already spreading to Japan in the Tang Dynasty through monks and envoys, greatly influencing Japanese calligraphy. There are two surviving copies of Zhi Yong's True Script Thousand Characters: one an inked manuscript brought to Japan in the Tang Dynasty, and the other a stone carving from the Northern Song Dynasty by Dong Xichang, preserved in the Xi'an Stele Forest. The True and Cursive Script Thousand Characters published in this book is a cropped reproduction of the inked manuscript preserved in Japan.
It is recorded that writing the Thousand Characters as a text began during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty. Emperor Wu, a great admirer of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, collected many of Wang's works and ordered Yin Tieshi to select one thousand unique characters, which were compiled into a rhyming text by the literary attendant Zhou Xingsi. This text later became a standard for students learning to read and write. Zhi Yong also devoted much time and effort to copying the Thousand Characters from Wang's works, diligently studying the family's calligraphic tradition.
Scholars of later generations highly praised Zhi Yong's Thousand Characters. For instance, He Shaoji of the Qing Dynasty in Dongzhou Study Gold and Stone Notes said, "Zhi Yong's Thousand Characters are like brushstrokes falling from the void and returning to it—so ethereal that even the 'leakage' of ink cannot compare." Feng Ban of the Qing Dynasty in Dull Rooster's Calligraphy Essentials remarked, "Many modern printed copies of Wang Xizhi's Huangting (a small regular script version of the Huangting Jing) are inferior, and without seeing the original, it is difficult to appreciate the subtleties of the brushwork. Only by studying Zhi Yong's Thousand Characters can one truly grasp the essence." Feng Ban pointed out the necessity of learning from Zhi Yong's Thousand Characters.
Even today, Wang Xizhi's original works are as rare as "dragons soaring in the sky," with none remaining. It is impossible to directly study his calligraphic wisdom from his originals. Copies of famous works like the Huangting Jing are far removed from the originals, lacking the spirit and essence of the Wang family's calligraphy. Therefore, studying Zhi Yong's Thousand Characters, which faithfully preserves the Wang family's style, is an excellent way to understand Wang's brushwork.
For years, I have studied Zhi Yong's True Script Thousand Characters, particularly admiring its round brushstrokes, dense structure, and subtle power—neither forceful nor harsh, with a timeless elegance. I often recommend this piece to beginners for copying. In recent years, I have been appointed as a part-time professor of calligraphy at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts, and have included it as one of the model texts for students to study. Students generally agree that it greatly aids in understanding the basic style of regular script before the Tang Dynasty, especially the characteristics of the Jin and Southern-Northern Dynasties. From the perspective of comparative calligraphy, it also provides a reference for analyzing and researching regular script of the Tang Dynasty and later periods.
This book introduces Zhi Yong's True Script Thousand Characters in the general order of calligraphy learning, covering three parts: basic strokes, radicals, and character structure. While the first two parts focus on general techniques, the third part emphasizes personal insights and lessons learned. Due to the limitations of my calligraphic skill and understanding, there may be omissions or inaccuracies in this text. I sincerely hope the readers will kindly point them out.
—Luo Hengguang