Zhao Mengfu's small regular script

Author: Zhao Mengfu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-01-01
Features: Small regular script is widely used in daily life, possessing a broad practical value. In ancient imperial examinations, all written essays for the final imperial assessment were meticulously copied in regular script. Thus, scholars dedicated their lives to mastering this art. Styles like the Song Dynasty's institutional script, the Ming Dynasty's Taige ceremonial script, and the Qing Dynasty's imperial academy script were all characterized by meticulousness and adherence to rules. For over a thousand years, these scripts have been passed down and used. From a certain perspective, rulers also intended to demonstrate discipline and rules to the people. Unfortunately, despite their shared beauty in rationality, these small regular scripts lack individual artistic charm and personal interest. Therefore, from the aesthetic perspective of calligraphy art, only when proficiency, form, spirit, artistic method, and emotional reasoning are perfectly combined can they reveal their captivating beauty. This can be considered an aesthetic ideal. However, in reality, small regular script can generally be divided into two main categories: one prioritizes rationality, with precise and delicate brushwork, balanced and well-structured characters, and demonstrates the author's skill in neatness; the other prioritizes artistic interest, with simple and elegant brushwork, unconventional and dynamic character structures, and reveals the author's personality in their irregularity. Of course, rationality and artistic interest cannot be abruptly separated. For beginners of small regular script, rationality is the foundation. Only after mastering this can one enter the realm of artistic interest. The famous Yuan Dynasty calligrapher Zhao Mengfu's "Biography of Ji An" can be considered a representative work of the rationality-based style.