"Yan Jin Liu Gu" - the regular script of Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan

There are six main regular script masters in the Tang Dynasty who are prominent in the history of calligraphy. In the early Tang Dynasty, Ou, Yu, Chu and Xue each achieved their own excellence, but Ouyang Xun had the greatest influence. In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, two masters of regular script appeared who were prominent in the history of calligraphy, namely Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan. Yan Shu is fat and Liu Shu is thin, and is known as "Yan Jin Liu Gu" in the world. Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan are both great calligraphers who have a profound influence on later generations.

Later generations often refer to Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy, Du Fu's poetry and Han Yu's writing as the three wonders of Tang Dynasty culture. In the history of calligraphy art, when it comes to regular script, there are four great masters: Yan, Liu, Ou, and Zhao, and Yan Zhenqing ranks first among them. People often mention him together with Wang Xizhi, the sage of calligraphy, thinking that Wang Xizhi is the first in running script and Yan is the first in regular script. Others say that Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Preface" in running script is the best running script in the world, and Yan Zhenqing's "Manuscript of Sacrifice" is the second running script in the world. All this is enough to show that his calligraphy art is outstanding.

Yan Zhenqing (709-785), named Qingchen, was born in Jingzhao Wannian. He was a Jinshi in Kaiyuan of Tang Dynasty and served in the four dynasties of Xuanzong, Suzong, Daizong and Dezong. Because he served as the prefect of Pingyuan, he was given the title of Duke of Lu County and was known as "Yan Pingyuan", also known as "Yan Lu Gong". He was upright by nature, and he lived during the turning period of the Tang Dynasty's prosperity and decline. In the late Xuanzong Dynasty, the treacherous ministers Yang Guozhong, Lu Qi and others were autocratic and good at governing. He fought against them with the independent style of a Confucian scholar. After the Anshi Rebellion, he was a staunch opponent of rebellion and separatism. As an important minister of the country, he put his life and death at risk and did his best to quell the rebellion. At the age of 76, he finally died for his country. His personality and style are admired by future generations.

In Yan Zhenqing’s calligraphy, he first learned from Chu Suiliang, and later from Zhang Xu, and understood the principles of using brushes. This can be seen from his "Twelve Meanings of Zhang Changshi's Calligraphy" written by him. Yan Zhenqing was taught calligraphy by the master Zhang Xu, which made his understanding of the art of calligraphy a qualitative leap. In fact, his study of the art of calligraphy was quite extensive. He had an understanding of seal script, Beibei and the popular folk scripture writing at that time, which eventually formed the characteristics of his majestic, vigorous and broad "Book of the Tang Dynasty".

There are more than 70 kinds of Yan Zhenqing’s calligraphy works, including ink marks and inscription rubbings that have been handed down to this day. Among them, the most famous regular scripts include "Duobao Pagoda Stele", "Ode to the Zhongxing of the Tang Dynasty", "Magu Immortal Altar", "Yan Family Temple Stele", "Guo Family Temple Stele", "Nephew Memorial Manuscript" and "Seat Competition Notice" wait. Here are the key points and a brief introduction.

"Duobao Pagoda Stele" is a book written by Yan Zhenqing when he was 44 years old. It is generally believed that this monument is his early famous work. However, although the calligraphy on this stele is "beautiful and colorful" (Ming Sun Kuang's "Postscript to Calligraphy and Painting"), compared with his later regular script, it is obvious that it has not yet formed its own style. Its stipple structure obviously has some characteristics of the regular scripts of Ou, Yu, Chu and Xue in the early Tang Dynasty. However, this post is dignified and neat, with round and vigorous strokes, and has always been valued by people. Later generations of Yan students mostly started from this style of calligraphy, and then learned Yan's other style of writing, which was quite convenient.

"The Monument in Praise of Dongfang Shuo's Paintings" was written in regular script by Yan Zhenqing when he was 46 years old. This stele is also called "Dongfang Shuo's Painting Praise and Preface". In the 13th year of Tianbao's reign, he was established in Dezhou (now Leling, Shandong). The calligraphy sage Wang Xizhi once wrote "Ode to Dongfang Shuo's Paintings" in small regular script. Therefore, most people think that it is the work of Linxi Wang Shu. Su Dongpo once said, "Lu Ping wrote steles all his life, but "Dongfang Shuo Hua Zan" was written by Qingxiong. The words are closely compared without losing the clearness. Later, when I saw Yi Shao's edition, I knew that Lu Gong's name was The characters in this book are similar in size, but the luck is good." (Volume 4 of "Dongpo Inscriptions and Postscripts") The structure of "Dongfang Shuo's Painting Praise Stele" is indeed the same as that since the two kings, but the writing style has changed. He emphasizes the ability of the center to penetrate the back of the paper with his pen. It is obvious that he has accepted Zhang Xu's teaching of "cone painting with sand and sealing mud" and practiced it in writing. The power of Shen Xiong revealed in the stippling of this post is consistent with his later mature works. This is an important step taken by Yan Zhenqing in learning from the past and creating something new. He is still learning and exploring, and this post can only be regarded as a transitional work towards mature Yan style calligraphy. The regular script called "Yan Ti" by later generations, which can truly reflect the characteristics of Yan Zhenqing's regular script, was basically completed after he was 60 years old. These works include a large number of works such as "The Stele of Yan Qin's Ceremony", "The Story of Magu Immortal Altar", "Ode to the Zhongxing of the Tang Dynasty", and "The Stele of the Yan Family Temple".

The so-called comprehensive innovation of Yan style regular script means that he wrote something that is different from the so-called "Southern Tie" or "Northern Stele" since the late Han Dynasty and is completely unique to him. Regular script.

It can be said that before Yan Zhenqing, Tang Kaishu was represented by Ou, Yu, Chu, and Xue. Their writing style and structure all inherited Zhong and Wang Kaishu. Although each had its own features, in the In all aspects, it has not been able to break through the barriers of regular script created since King Zhong. This kind of regular script is light and smart, and the dots are charming. The horizontal paintings are mostly left low and the right high. If there are vertical paintings with opposite left and right in a character, the left is light and the right is heavy, and they are opposite to each other. Structurally, Yan Zhenqing's previous regular scripts all used the method of closing the left side and placing it right, and lowering the left side and raising the right side, in order to achieve the effect of bright and clever side. Moreover, most of his previous regular scripts were below Cun Kai script, and there were almost no real large regular scripts. As a type of regular script, Beibei mostly uses square pens, and its structure is round inside and square outside. This is because it is mostly written by folk calligraphers. Therefore, although it is called thick and simple, it does not have high artistic quality. By Yan Zhenqing's time, he extensively studied the works of his predecessors, but he did not follow the rules, but innovated comprehensively. The pen is written with the front and center, emphasizing the use of wrist and arm strength, and the pointillism is based on the circle. The horizontal strokes are light and thin, and the vertical strokes are thick and heavy. The contrast between the horizontal and vertical strokes shows the three-dimensional sense of the characters. The structure also breaks the traditional regular script of left and right. Instead of a tall structure, it adopts a horizontal, vertical, left-right and symmetrical structure. If there are vertical paintings on the left and right opposite each other in a word, the back-to-back posture of the previous regular script is also changed to the posture of hugging each other. Change sideways into uprightness, change elegance into dignity. Due to his comprehensive innovation in the writing brush and structure, his regular script presents a solemn and broad atmosphere, giving people a brand new feeling and truly creating a set of rules for writing in regular script. Yan style regular script has become a typical list book. Most of the list writers in later generations used Yan style, which is enough to prove the success of his innovation.

Ma Zonghuo's "Shu Lin Zao Jian" says: "In the early Tang Dynasty, I left the Jin Dynasty and was still in the womb. I ended up living under the fence of others and could not stand on my own. When I caught Yan Lugong out, he incorporated the ancient methods into new ideas and gave birth to The new method goes beyond the ancient meaning, molds everything, and hides all the advantages... So it became the book of the Tang Dynasty." This is an evaluation of Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy works from the perspective of the history of calligraphy, and believes that Yan style regular script is truly different from his previous ones. The calligraphy style can reflect the spiritual outlook and prosperous atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty. From the reign of Emperor Taizong Zhenguan to the Kaiyuan and Tianbao reigns of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty formed a situation of political enlightenment, social stability, and economic prosperity. In this situation, social thought, culture, and art also became active, and correspondingly reflected a healthy and upward social fashion that advocated strength, strength, clarity, and majesty. In line with political broadness and material wealth, people in the Tang Dynasty admired the elegance and elegance of peonies most in natural flowers, and they also appreciated the beauty of human body, such as the plump and plump Yang Yuhuan. The paintings of the Tang Dynasty advocated magnificence, and the calligraphy of the Tang Dynasty naturally followed suit. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty commented on the merits and demerits of Xi and Xian, saying that Wang Xianzhi's calligraphy was as sparse and thin as a "hungry official". Comparatively speaking, the fat and vigorous calligraphy of Yan Zhenqing satisfied the appreciation psychology of the people of the Tang Dynasty. It is not unreasonable for Ma Zonghuo to call it the "Book of the Tang Dynasty".

Generally speaking, when people appreciate Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy, what they appreciate most is the "vigor" and "power" expressed in his characters, which is the manifestation of his personality power. The words are like the person he is, Yan Zhenqing lived from the prosperous Tang Dynasty to the mid-Tang Dynasty. His calligraphy works can be said to express the vigorous power of the country during the prosperous Tang Dynasty on the one hand, and his own enterprising spirit on the other. When the Tang Dynasty went into decline after the Anshi Rebellion, as an important minister of the court, he required himself to work hard to maintain the rule of the Tang Dynasty with his Confucian personality. This spirit is reflected in his calligraphy, which is a sense of perseverance and tenacity of "vigor" and "power". This is very different from the elegant and graceful calligraphy of Wang Xi's school. However, we do not want to belittle the artistic value of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. From the perspective of calligraphy history, Wang Xizhi's calligraphy is innovative, and Yan Zhenqing's regular script has opened up a new realm on this basis. From a purely artistic point of view, Yan style regular script obviously further clarifies and simplifies the rules and writing rules of regular script. There is a simpler and clearer set of rules to follow for the use of pens and structure. This is also an important reason why Yanti regular script became so popular and popular in later generations. From this point of view, the technical and artistic content of Yan Zhenqing's regular script is far inferior to that of Zhong Wang's regular script. This should also be an indisputable fact.

Yan Zhenqing's running script is most famous for his "Manuscript of Memorial to Nephew" and "Notice for Fighting for Seats". "Manuscript of Sacrifice to Nephew", also known as "Manuscript of Sacrifice to Nephew Jiming", was written in the first year of Qianyuan year of Emperor Suzong of Tang Dynasty. Although the matter of offering sacrifices to nephews is a family matter, it is closely related to state affairs. In the fourteenth year of Emperor Xuanzong's Tianbao reign, An Lushan and Shi Siming launched an army from Yuyang to launch a rebellion. At that time, Yan Zhenqing was appointed as the governor of Pingyuan, and his brother Yan Gaoqing was appointed as the governor of Changshan. At the same time, they launched an army to fight against the rebellion. Ji Ming was Yan Gaoqing's youngest son. Pass information back and forth. After Changshan fell, Yan Gaoqing and his son were killed and martyred. Three years later, the Anshi Rebellion subsided. Yan Zhenqing sent people to Hebei to find the whereabouts of Gaoqing's family. As a result, only Ji Ming's skull was brought back from Changshan. Yan Zhenqing was so sad that he wrote this "Manuscripts for Nephew Memorial". Because when I was writing, I was filled with hatred of the country and my family, and I wrote quickly, I had long forgotten the various artistic expressions of calligraphy creation. However, because his artistic skills have reached a very high level, the naturalness of his brushstrokes and composition are increasingly revealed in his hearty scribbling, making content and form achieve a high degree of harmony and unity. So much so that it is considered by later generations to be the most cherished running script after Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Preface".

Liu Gongquan (778-865), courtesy name Chengxuan, was originally from Jingzhaohua. He was another great calligrapher after Yan Zhenqing in the Tang Dynasty. He is also one of the masters of regular script who has the greatest influence on later generations. His regular script, known as Liu style, has always been an important style that must be learned by those who learn regular script, and it is often a must-learn model for beginners to regular script.

Liu Gongquan was 88 years old. He lived in the middle and late Tang Dynasty and experienced the seven dynasties of Tang Xianzong, Mu Zong, Jingzong, Wenzong, Wuzong, Xuanzong and Yizong. When he was in his twenties, he passed the Jinshi examination and entered the court as an official. He successively held the positions of Youshiyi, Shishishishi, Youbuque, Sifengyuanwailang, and admonishment doctor. He served as an official by the emperor's side throughout his life. It can be said that he had a prosperous official career and enjoyed all the wealth and glory. But if you look at the "Biography of Liu Gongquan" in the "Old Book of Tang", you will know that he was just an idle official who read and wrote all his life. In other words, the only thing he enjoyed his whole life was calligraphy. Historical biographies record his involvement in the art of calligraphy, which are talked about by future generations. Regarding his "pen admonishment", it can be found in "Old Tang Book·Liu Gongquan's Biography":

Gongquan's courtesy name is Chengxuan, he was fond of learning at a young age, and he was able to write poems and poems for twelve years. At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, he was promoted to Jinshi and was released as secretary of the provincial school.

Li Ting went to Xiazhou and was appointed secretary-general. When Emperor Mu Zong ascended the throne, he went to the memorial service. The emperor summoned him and said to Gongquan: "I saw your handwriting in the Buddhist temple and I have been thinking about it for a long time." That day, he paid homage to You and collected the materials. Que, Si Feng Yuanwailang.

Mu Zong was a secluded person in politics, so he asked Gong Quan how good his pen was, and he replied: "Use your pen with your heart in mind, and if your heart is upright, your pen will be correct."

"A right heart makes a right pen" has become a famous saying in the calligraphy circles of Liu Gongquan's "pen admonishment". Generally speaking, calligraphy ranks at the bottom of the six arts and is highly difficult as an art. For feudal scholars, cultivation, order, governance, and peace, calligraphy are only related to self-cultivation, and have nothing to do with governing the country and the world. Liu Gongquan's ingenious double-entendre response of "A righteous heart makes a righteous pen" not only revealed the wonderful skills of calligraphy, but also served as a satirical admonishment for the emperor to rule the world with a sincere heart. Therefore, the art of calligraphy seems to have some connection with governing the country and the world. Therefore, Liu Gongquan's "pen admonishment" was passed down as a good talk.

However, it is unclear whether Liu Gongquan intended to use the calligraphy talk to "admonish" him in this matter. Mu Zong of the Tang Dynasty was not a good emperor, he was fatuous and ignorant, and he ignored the rules and regulations. He "changed his appearance" after listening to Liu Gongquan's words. Maybe it was just his sensitivity; maybe it was none of these, but just a brilliant stroke of writing by historians. But for Liu Gongquan, it is inevitably a kind of complimentary word attached to it. Therefore, Mr. Qi Gong's "Queju on Shu" says:

Jin Meixu follows the pen to write the correct argument, and the correct heart can deceive the fool.

The books and tablets ask where the heart is, and the flattering eunuchs and monks praise the imperial army.

But in the final analysis, the reason why Liu Gongquan can leave his name in history is because of his attainments in calligraphy. The so-called outspokenness and courage to admonish is just to add a little bit of glory to the emperor's courtier who is a calligrapher. . As for him, the most glorious thing in historical records is about calligraphy. Because of his calligraphy, he was promoted by the emperor to be a bachelor of calligraphy, and he was favored by several emperors in succession. As a result, his status as a calligrapher became more and more prominent.

With Liu Gongquan’s worth, who among the people in the world would not regard Liu Shu as his calligraphy treasure? Who wouldn’t take it as an honor to obtain Liu Shu? There are two sentences in "The New Book of Tang Dynasty: The Biography of Liu Gongquan": "The inscriptions on the ministers' family monuments at that time were not written by him, and people regarded their descendants as unfilial." Good guy, they have put Liu Gongquan's calligraphy on the line again, and it is the same as the most important ones. Feudal ethics are hanging up. Another sentence says: "Anyone who pays tribute from foreigners will sign a separate currency saying: 'Here is the willow book'." Its reputation is not limited to China within the four seas. Liu Gongquan was rich because of his good writing skills. He handed over all the gold and jade treasures he received to his two servants Haiou and Long An for safekeeping. The master does not care about money, but the servant loves money. If the opportunity arises, the servant will use his wealth to enrich his own pockets. One time, a silver cup belonging to Liu Gongquan was missing. He asked the seagull about it, but the seagull pretended not to know. Liu Gongquan was silent for a moment and said that it was probably "Yinbei Feathered". If we say that Huaisu is an outsider, who loves calligraphy, does not eat food, or worships Buddha, it is a kind of detachment, then Liu Gongquan is a person from the inside. He does not care about things, does not care about money, and is very confused.

A confused person can understand things. What he understands is calligraphy, how to innovate the art of calligraphy, and how to write his own willow script.

Liu Gongquan’s handwritten inscriptions and ink inscriptions include the Diamond Sutra, the Thirteen Lines of Luo Shen Fu in regular script written by Lin Wang Xianzhi, the Li Tie Inscription and Postscript, the Sutra of Saving People, and the Sutra of Yin Fu, "Pure Sutra", "Heart Sutra", "Niansheng Tie", "Lanting Tie", "Mrs. Su's Epitaph", "Li Sheng Stele", "Gao Zhiyu Stele" and so on dozens of kinds. Among them, regular script and running script are the majority. The most representative ones are his regular script "Diamond Sutra", "Mysterious Tower Stele" and "Shence Army Stele".

"Diamond Sutra", the full name is "Vajra Prajnaparamita Sutra". The stone was carved in the fourth year of Tang Changqing (824), when Liu Gongquan was 42 years old. This post is Liu's earliest work seen today. There are photocopies published in China. This post has initially shown the style characteristics of "Liu Ti". "Old Tang Book·Liu Gongquan Biography" commented that this post "has the styles of Zhong, Wang, Ou, Yu, Chu, and Lu, and he is particularly proud of it." It shows that he integrated the strengths of other families to form his own family, but his bone strength is not strong and he is still lacking. Sophisticated.

"Mysterious Tower Stele", written by Pei Xiu, written by Liu Gongquan, standing stone in the first year of Huichang in Tang Dynasty (841). Liu Gongquan was 64 years old at the time, and his inscription contained 1,512 words. The original stone is now in the Forest of Steles in Xi'an. Among the rubbings handed down from ancient times, the best ones are Tang rubbings and Song rubbings. "Books that are expensive, thin and hard, can reach the gods." The biggest feature of this stele is that it is thin and hard. The so-called "Yan Jin Liu Gu", this post is Liu Gongquan's representative work to win with the strength of bones. Mr. Qi Gong commented on this post in "Introduction to Calligraphy" and said: "The style of his calligraphy is dignified and handsome, basically symmetrical on the left and right, light horizontally and heavy vertically, short and thick, with the right shoulder slightly raised; long horizontal lines are particularly thin and long, with clear beginnings and ends. From the overall point of view, the vertical strokes are vigorous and the strokes are clean and neat. The writing is strong and strong, the knots are tight, the bones are deep, and the roundness is thicker than the clearness. The artistic style is the success of Liu Gongquan's inheritance and integration of Jin and Tang Dynasty regular scripts and his unique new ideas."

"The Monument of Shence's Army", the full name is "The Monument of the Emperor's Inspection to the Zuo Shence's Army" by Cui Xuan. Written by Liu Gongquan. In the third year of Huichang, Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty erected a stone in the Chang'an Palace. The original stone has been lost, but the upper volume of the Song rubbings has missing pages and is now in the Beijing Library. The location of the next volume is unknown. This stele was written when Liu Gongquan was sixty-six years old, two years later than "Xuanmi Pagoda", and the characters are slightly richer than "Xuanmi Pagoda". If "Xuanmi Pagoda" is fresh and powerful, then "Shence Army" is There is an aura of qingxiong. Sun Chengze, a native of the Qing Dynasty, commented on this post and said: "The Monument of Shence's Military Discipline and Saint Virtue written by Liu Xueshi is the most wonderful thing in his life. It has a strong wind and a gentle demeanor." However, the influence of this monument is not as good as that of the "Mysterious Tower Stele". .

In the art garden of regular script in the Tang Dynasty, Liu Gongquan was the latest master to emerge in terms of time sequence. However, his achievements and reputation were second only to Yan Zhenqing, and surpassed the four families of Ou, Yu, Chu and Xue in the early Tang Dynasty. Logically speaking, regular script has the least room for innovation, and it only comes later. The harder it is to write your own style. But Liu Gongquan did it, and he did it very well. So how did Liu Gongquan create his new body?

The "Old Tang Book·Liu Gongquan's Biography" says: "Gongquan first learned Wang Shu (Wang Xizhi, Wang Xianzhi), read all over modern calligraphy, his style is powerful and charming, and he has become a family of his own." "("Six Schools of Shu Tang" "After the Book") Dongpo only grasped his most important point and did not compare with the rest. Dong Qichang said: "Liu Chengxuan Shu tried his best to change the right military method, but he did not want to be similar to the "Ye Tie" ("Essays on Painting the Zen Room"). ), again only emphasizing the new aspect of his reforms.

Liu Xizai of the Qing Dynasty reviewed them one by one and said: "Liu Chengxuan's "Li Sheng Stele" comes from "Huadu Temple"; "Xuanmi Pagoda" comes from Yan's "Guo Family Temple". To "Yizhou Puzhao" "Temple Stele", although it was compiled by later generations, it is strong and graceful, and it is similar to Chu Gong." ("Yi Gui·Shu Lun") Such a one-to-one comparison is not unreasonable, but it is also a bit of showing off. His modesty. After looking at the comments from the above-mentioned scholars, the "Old Book of Tang" is the most appropriate. Just imagine that Liu Gongquan has lived for 88 years. He should have more than 70 years of experience in Linchi. He should have learned everything in seal script, official script, Zhen script and Xing script for more than 70 years. "Old Book of Tang" says that he "read all over modern (that is, Tang Dynasty) calligraphy", which means that he had extensive and in-depth study of the regular script of the great masters of the Tang Dynasty. Among them, the most effective ones should be the regular scripts of Ouyang Xun and Yan Zhenqing. In other words, it can be said that Ou's writing skills are his best, and his structure is his Yan's strength, finally forming his "powerful" Liu style calligraphy.

If Liu style script is a new style of its own, then what are the aspects of Liu Gongquan’s greatest contribution to regular script?

It can be said that Liu Gongquan was the final perfecter of Tang regular script art. When people talk about calligraphy, they often say that people in the Tang Dynasty "advocated law", but in fact they mainly refer to regular script. The regular scripts of various schools in the early Tang Dynasty and those of Yan Zhenqing and others were also famous for advocating the Dharma. But none of them can compare with Liu Gongquan's regular script, which has such high and strict requirements for legal regulations. The subtlety of his writing and dotting is unparalleled, and the discipline and rigor of his arrangement of structures are also unparalleled. Based on the author's experience of studying Tang Kai script, learning Ou, Yu, Chu, Xue and Yan Zhenqing styles is like climbing a slope; learning Liu style is like climbing a wall, which is laborious and difficult to make any progress. The reason is that his rules are too rigorous and too technical. Such strict legal requirements and subtle technical skills are not necessarily a good thing from the perspective of artistic expression. Therefore, when later generations evaluate Liuti regular script, most of them are classified as wonderful products, but few are regarded as divine products. But in terms of the standardization of Chinese character writing, there is a complete set of writing standards and clear rules that can be followed, which undoubtedly makes Liu style more useful and more beneficial to beginners. This is also an important reason why Liu Ti became so popular in later generations.

In addition to the regular script of Liu style being more standardized than the regular script of several other great calligraphers in the Tang Dynasty, the characteristics of Liu style are what the world calls "Yan Jin Liu Gu", Liu style is Win with "bone strength". This shows that when people appreciate Yan and Liu, they only have obvious differences in fatness and thinness, but there is not much difference in structure between Yan and Liu. In other words, the Liu body inherits the structural characteristics of the Yan body. Despite this, the structures of the Yan body and the Willow body are still different. The stipples on the Yan body are thin horizontally and thick vertically, and the left and right symmetrical vertical paintings are mostly hugging each other, forming a trend of tightness on the outside and looseness on the inside. Willow style is different. It has stipple arrangement, intention and rigor in every aspect. Pay special attention to the compactness of the middle palace, which forms its structural characteristics of tight inside and loose outside. The eye-catching feature of the Yan body lies in its momentum, while the eye-catching feature of the Liu body lies in its precision. If the appearance is based on the gods, then the willow will be inferior to the Yan; if the appearance is based on the gods, then the Yan will be inferior to the willow. The beauty of a book is the most important, followed by its form and quality. This is the reason why it is known as "Yan Liu" in the world. But whether it is divine or wonderful, its realm is beyond what ordinary calligraphers can pursue.

Liu Gongquan also wrote running scripts such as "Preface to Lanting Poems" and "Mengzhao Poster". Song Mi Yuanzhang's "Haiyue Quotes" commented on him as "a Taoist priest in the mountains, who has been well cultivated, has a clean and healthy look, and has no trace of worldliness." ." It can be seen that his calligraphy skills are not shallow. Liu Gongquan's calligraphy art had a great influence at that time. His contemporaries such as Shen Chuanshi and Pei Xiu all learned Liu style and became successful. It is needless to say that there were so many people in later generations who learned Liu style.