The most beautiful regular script in the past 800 years, this calligraphy skill is profound and makes people mesmerized.

In the minds of many calligraphers, there are five styles of Chinese calligraphy, seal script and official script. There is a certain relationship between cursive script, running script and regular script among these five calligraphy styles, but there is no basis for who is who. In terms of the rules of pen use and structure, each calligraphy style has different rules under most pen usage situations. Can be used as an independent existence.

Today we will introduce another conventional calligraphy style besides the "Five Styles" - Xingkai.

Zhao Ziang's "Humble Room Inscription" in regular script

I don’t know when Xingkai became a form of writing. Our calligraphy style between running script and regular script is called Xingkai. Among the calligraphy of the Jin people, most of the correspondence between literati was written in cursive script. The popular use of running script came after the Tang Dynasty. Among the later generations, the person who was famous for his regular script was Zhao Ziang of the Yuan Dynasty.

Zhao Ziang has a regular script work written in his early years - "Inscription on a Humble Room". This calligraphy was once hailed as the most beautiful regular script in 800 years. This calligraphy is so powerful that it makes people mesmerized!

Zhao Ziang is one of the few all-rounders in the history of Chinese calligraphy. Why is he said to be an all-rounder?

Zhao Ziang's "Humble Room Inscription" in regular script

Zhao Ziang is one of the "Four Masters of Regular Script" in calligraphy. His standard of regular script is as famous as Ouyang Xun, Yan Zhenqing, and Liu Gongquan of the Tang Dynasty. He is one of the few people in the history of calligraphy who can master the "five styles". Not only is his regular script the best in the world, He has unique skills in running script, cursive script, seal script, official script and small regular script.

In addition to calligraphy, Zhao Ziang's most influential thing is his painting skills. He is a master-level figure who founded a sect. People in later generations who learn painting all draw nourishment from Zhao Ziang. Secondly, he was also proficient in music and archeology, and his knowledge of poetry was also known as "the first among the Yuan people". He also knew economics. After becoming an official, he did many good things for the people.

Zhao Ziang's "Humble Room Inscription" in regular script

So when it comes to overall strength, Zhao Ziang is not inferior to Wang Xizhi. For the next 800 years, no one could surpass him.

We don't know exactly how old Zhao Ziang was when he wrote this regular script work "Inscription on a Humble Room", but the nobility and strength revealed in this calligraphy are difficult for other calligraphers to match.

From the perspective of the evolution of calligraphy history, the emergence of regular script and running script is almost parallel, and there is no such basic relationship. The basis of regular script's writing is the "square fold and spread" method, while the writing and starting and turning methods of running script are mostly based on the "one extension straight down" and "seal twisting and twisting" strokes. Therefore, in both Under such different calligraphy systems, the two calligraphy styles cannot form a basic relationship.

Zhao Ziang's "Humble Room Inscription" in regular script

But regular script is different. Zhao Ziang's "Humble Room Inscription" takes into account the different writing paradigms and structural methods of the two calligraphy styles, making them a perfect fusion.

Mr. Qi Gong once said: Regular script should be written in regular script, and running script should be written in regular script.

This means that the regular script should show the movement of the strokes and have a sense of agility and avoid being rigid, while the running script should show the strength of the regular script and remember to write smoothly. This is also a problem that many beginners tend to make.

Many people learn regular script and write their calligraphy into a dead end, unable to write running script or cursive script for the rest of their lives. Many people study cursive script throughout their lives but never write regular script well.

Zhao Ziang's "Humble Room Inscription" in regular script

Zhao Ziang's work "Inscription on a Humble Room" in running script will give these people a good inspiration. When you copy this calligraphy several times, it will be of great benefit to you to understand the running script and regular script.

Zhao Ziang's "Humble Room Inscription" in regular script

Zhao Ziang's "Inscription on a Humble Room" is now stored in the Guangdong Provincial Museum and is its "treasure." Now we have copied this work 1:1 according to the original size, and restored the work exactly like the original.

To purchase this work, please click below to purchase:

Zhao Ziang's "Humble Room Inscription" in regular script