The Five Dynasties
Yang Ningshi
Yang Ningshi (873-945), who styled himself Jingdu and Xubai, was from Huayin county, Shanxi Province. He was a secretary of the late period of Tang Dynasty, and later he was the young tutor of the prince during the period of Wudai, so he was also called "tutor Yang". He spent a feigned crazy life in Luoyang. That was how he got the name "Crazy Yang". The handwriting of Yang was influenced a lot by Yan Zhenqing of the Tang Dynasty, later Yang also learned from the penmanship of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi in Wei and Jin Dynasty. Finally he formed his own style with a variation of delicate and pretty, simple and unsophisticated changes, which enjoyed a high position in writing. He was also considered as the important calligrapher whose writing was the successor of Tang Dynasty and the ancestor of Song Dynasty. He was a leader of the trend in revealing meaning in writing in Song Dynasty.
Huang Tingjian in Song Dynasty once said, "People all try to mimic Lanting by Wang Xizhi, trying so hard but without any result. However, the crazy Yang from Luoyang, achieved this realm to the surprise of all." This "crazy Yang" refers to Yang Ningshi, "this realm" means he achieved high in his writing. Mi Fu also praised him to be "innocent and idle", as natural and vivid as "wind and rain".
His works includes "Jiuhua Tie", "Luhongcaotang shizhituba", "Hot Summer Tie", "The Daily Life of Immoral Fa".
Jiuhua Tie
"Jiuhua Tie" (a handwritten copy on the flower of fragrant-flowered garlic) by Yang Ningshi
"Jiuhua Tie", one of Yang Ningshi' representatives, is a handwritten copy of running and regular calligraphic style. Plenty of space in the copy is the most evident feature of the work. There are a lot blanks between characters and lines, which is rare to see in the running style works. Whereas, there are implicit links between them, and this renders a thorough style to the work. The most remarkable feature of "Jiuhua Tie" lies in the ending strokes, which appears to be plain, but actually are quite unusual. The work combines the paradox of tight and loose feature, without any actual links, which makes the work natural and interesting. Yang Ningshi is said to be "good at both poems and essays". These essays become the wonderful works which are rare to see in the history of calligraphy.
