Sui Dynasty

Zhiyong

Monk Zhiyong, the original family name called Wang, was born in Kuaiji, Shandong province, during the period of Chen and Sui Dynasty. He was the seventh generation descendant of the famous calligrapher in Jin Dynasty, Wangxizhi. He became a monk of Yongxin Temple in hid earlier years. Zhiyong studied calligraphy hard. He once wrote about 800 copies of "Zhen Cao Qian Zi Wen" and then distributed them to other temples in the east of Zhejiang Province. The stories, "Tuibizhong" and "Tiemenxian", were about his experience of studying calligraphy. Zhiyong got a great achievement of calligraphy. Sushi, the famous calligrapher of Song Dynasty, once paid Zhiyong the compliment of his works in "Dong Po Ti Shi". The main meaning of the compliment was that "from the works of Zhiyong, we can see that his calligraphy is full of power, the structure is special and symmetric... Just like appreciating the poem of Tao Pengze, it is interesting when we read it for many times. Nowadays the only work of Zhiyong is "Zhengcao Qianziwen".

真草千字文 01

真草千字文02

"Zhengcao Qianziwen" (Zheng and Cao are two kinds of writing styles) written by Zhiyong

Zhiyong was interested in calligraphy. In his later time, he used two types of writing to write Qianziwen for more than thousand copies. And then he selected 800 copies of to distribute them to other temples in the east of Zhejiang Province. However now there is only one cope. Zhiyong used the brush in a smart way the that the work presendted the charming features, the well-balanced thin an thick strokes, and well-ending strokes. The character was round, of peace and varied in rhythm. It was valuable