Anti-style calligraphy is a special calligraphy style, historically known as "Anti-Zuo calligraphy". Among the known cultural relics, anti-Zuo script first appeared on bronze mirrors and bricks from the Eastern Jin Dynasty during the Erwang period. Seals, which originated in the pre-Qin Dynasty, became popular in the Six Dynasties. Inspired by the seals, "stone tablets and ink rubbings" appeared during this period. The Six Dynasties was a period of rapid development of Chinese calligraphy. Calligraphers were particularly active and dared to break the rules and invent according to their own expertise. Various calligraphy styles. Inspired by the dual inspiration of seals and "stone tablets and ink rubbings", Anti-Zuo Shu was born during this period.

In the Liang Datong period of the Southern Dynasties, Emperor Wu of Liang and his ministers were all good calligraphers. In this strong calligraphy atmosphere, anti-Zuo calligraphy became popular for a while. However, in this period of frequent regime changes, large and small dynasties rose and fell alternately, and many cultural factors influenced and penetrated each other. Due to the difficulty of writing, Anti-Zuo Shu gradually withdrew from the mainstream culture.

The style of calligraphy in the Southern Dynasties was relatively liberal and tolerant, and there were many "miscellaneous" styles. To put it more simply, they were all kinds of strange calligraphy styles. And the strange thing is that "weird hybrids are easy to reproduce and renovate". Many people rushed to imitate it, and it became a feature of that era - not just the Wei and Jin calligraphy styles that we consider to be extremely orthodox today.

Among them, "Anti-Left Book" is an example. The left-hand reverse calligraphy is known as "anti-left calligraphy" in history, also known as "Zhongqingxianfa" and "mirror calligraphy".

Liang Yuyuanwei's "Lun Shu" of the Southern Dynasties records: "The anti-Zuo calligraphy was created by Kong Jingtong, a scholar of the Middle East Palace in Datong, and he realized it after seeing it. So he sat down to answer the question, but none of you had any knowledge, so he Call it the method of leisure among the masses."

As a historical symbol, many celebrities and people with lofty ideals in ancient and modern times have made many comments, and books have also left different descriptions. Among them, Qian Zhongshu, a famous modern writer and literary researcher, said: "(Yu Yuanwei) said that Kong Jingtong created the 'reverse Zuoshu'. At that time, the left line was like Lu and the reverse structure was like 'mirror reflection'." ("Guan Zui Bian 2") 26 "Quan Liang Wen" Volume 67, page 1464) pointed out two characteristics of Anti-Zuo Shu: 1. The writing is written from right to left, which is opposite to the normal writing direction; 2. The structure is reversed, which is a mirror image relationship with the usual structure. . Press, the so-called "Lu" means Lu script, which is a left-moving script in ancient India.

At present, examples can still be seen in Nanjing, the birthplace of anti-Zuoshu. The most important discoveries today are two examples of national heritage-class cultural relics on the Shinto stone pillars of the mausoleums of the Southern Dynasties: one is the stone pillar on the east side of the Shinto tomb of Emperor Xiao Shunzhi of Liang Wen in Danyang, which is engraved with the inscription "The Shinto of Emperor Taizu Wen" written by Emperor Wu of Liang on the left. The side stone pillars contain the main text "The Divine Way of the Emperor Taizu Wen", which is exactly the same as the opposite. The inscription and the stone forehead are mirror-symmetrical, which gives people a sense of handsomeness, simplicity, solemnity and solemnity. Another example of the most perfectly preserved anti-Zuo calligraphy is at The stone pillar on the west side of Xiao Jing's tomb shrine in the farmland of Shiyue Village, Qixia District, eastern suburbs of Nanjing. The stone pillar is 6.5 meters high and 2.48 meters in circumference. The upper part of the pillar base is round and the lower part is round. The pillar body is round. The upper part of the stone pillar has a rectangular forehead with the inscription " The regular calligraphy inscription *** has 23 inverted characters "Liang's former servant Zhongfu General Kaifu Yi Tongsansi Wu Ping Zhonghou Xiao Gong's Shinto" is clearly written.

This "Anti-Zuoshu" is quite neat, rigorous, well-proportioned and harmonious, so Kang Youwei praised it in "Guang Yi Zhou Shuang Yi" as "a smooth and even style".

However, this kind of "anti-Leftist writing" that was popular during the Liang Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty soon disappeared.

The reason is that it later entered the Tang Dynasty where "law was respected". Tang Dynasty calligraphy commentaries unceremoniously criticized this "vaudeville-style" calligraphy as: "calligraphy heretics, calligraphy troubles"!

Although "the more bizarre and bizarre the technique is, the easier it is to incite people's desire to imitate", such hybrids as "Anti-Leftist Books" can only "reduced to the humble Confucianism of the lower society." Hand Juggling" has become the dust of history.

However, nowadays we can still occasionally see such "miscellaneous players", such as the unique art of "reverse horizontal calligraphy", "left-handed calligraphy" and "writing calligraphy with both hands at the same time, forward and backward." "Etc. According to the above historical trajectory, it is not considered "calligraphy" at all, and can barely be classified as "acrobatics".

Reference: Liu Tao, "Wei and Jin Calligraphy Style"