Mi Fu's Thatched Stream Poem Scroll, Shu Susu Scroll, and its calligraphy techniques

Author: Wang Xindu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-01-19
Features: Mi Fu was born in the third year of Emperor Renzong's Huhuo reign of the Northern Song Dynasty (1051 AD) and died in the first year of Emperor Huizong's Daguan reign (1107 AD). He was originally from Taiyuan (now part of Shanxi Province) and later moved to Xiangyang (now part of Hubei Province) to settle in Runzhou (now Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province). His original name was "Fu," which he changed to "Fu" after the age of forty-one. He styled himself Yuanzhang, Xiangyang Manshi, Lumen Jushi, Haiyue Wai Shi, etc. Legend has it that he was exceptionally intelligent from a young age. At the age of six, he could recite a hundred regulated verse poems in a day, and by the age of seven or eight, he began studying the calligraphy of Yan Zhenqing and could write large characters. By his teens, he was already carving steles, and others praised his work as having the brushwork of Li Yong. In the third year of Emperor Huizong's Chongning reign (1104 AD), he was summoned as a professor of painting and calligraphy and later served as a Vice Director of the Ministry of Rites, earning the nickname "Mi Nan Gong." Due to his eccentric behavior, he was also called "Mi Dian." Mi Fu was skilled in poetry and prose, painting, and calligraphy, as well as art appreciation. He refused to plagiarize the words of predecessors and valued novelty and danger in his writing. Mi Fu devoted himself deeply to calligraphy throughout his life, achieving great success. The Song Shi (History of the Song Dynasty) biography said he "excelled in calligraphy, with a deep and soaring brushwork, capturing the essence of Wang Xianzhi's style." The Xuanhe Shupu (Emperor Huizong's Collection of Calligraphy) said: "Generally, his calligraphy imitated Wang Xizhi, his poetry pursued Li Bai, his seal script followed Shi Zhu, and his clerical script learned from Shi Yiguan. In his later years, he transcended the rules and deeply grasped the meaning beyond the surface. He once said that a good calligrapher only needs 'the brush,' but he alone had 'four sides.' Those who understood agreed. Mi Fu was extremely diligent in studying calligraphy. He once said, 'In my lifetime, I have written ten thousand pieces of hemp paper and spread them across the world.' His son Mi Youren said, 'The genuine works of the Jin and Tang dynasties he collected were displayed on his desk every day, and he never put down his brush in his studies.' He learned calligraphy by imitating various masters from bottom to top. In the self-introduction of his calligraphy study in the eighth volume of the Qunyu Tang Faptie, he said: 'The principle of learning calligraphy is to first write on walls. When writing, one must hang the brush, with the tip touching the wall. Over time, one will naturally find the interest. When I first learned Yan Zhenqing, I was seven or eight years old, and my characters were too large for a single scroll. I saw Liu Gongquan and admired his tight composition, so I learned the Diamond Sutra by Liu Gongquan. Over time, I realized it originated from Ou Yangxun, so I learned Ou. Over time, it became like printing boards arranged in rows, so I admired Chu Suiliang and studied him for a long time. I also admired Duan Jizhou for his turning and turning, full and complete in all directions. Over time, I realized Duan was fully tied to the Lanting by Wang Xizhi, so I studied all the calligraphy collections and entered the simplicity of the Jin and Wei dynasties, abandoning Zhong Yao's square style to learn Shi Yiguan's Liu Kuan Stele. For seal script, I loved the Zhu Chu and the Shigudu inscriptions. I also realized that bamboo slips were written with bamboo brushes and lacquer, and the inscriptions on bronze drums were wonderful and ancient. As I grew older, I mainly wrote walls following Shen Chuanshi.' From this, we can see that Mi Fu's study of calligraphy went through a long stage. He could absorb the strengths of various masters, integrate them, and create his own style. Among them, Chu Suiliang had the greatest influence on him, and even in his later years, his calligraphy still showed the brushwork of Chu's style. In addition, Wang Xizhi, Wang Xianzhi, Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan, Ou Yangxun, Li Yong, and others also influenced him to varying degrees.