After the Revolution of 1911, the Qing Dynasty collapsed and a large number of officials were laid off. Among them, those with outstanding calligraphy skills either sought economic and personal independence or were forced to make a living. Became a famous calligrapher in the Republic of China. According to "Ink Forest on the Sea", as many as 671 calligraphers and painters gathered in Shanghai around the late Qing Dynasty. Although the country was in turmoil, the economy was depressed, and wars were raging at that time, their participation brought an unprecedented new situation in the development of Chinese calligraphy, which greatly stimulated people's desire to buy and promoted the prosperity of the calligraphy art market. Because of the high demand, calligraphy at that time was incredibly expensive.

In the early years of the Republic of China, Chen Baochen, Shen Zengzhi, Zhang Jian, Chen Sanli, Zhu Zumou, Kang Youwei, Zeng Xi, Li Ruiqing, Zheng Xiaoxu, etc., who left Beijing for Shanghai, considered themselves old people, and most of them made a living by writing. They were high-ranking officials and famous scholars in the former Qing Dynasty, and they were very famous. Although the price of calligraphy was very high, there was still an endless stream of people asking for calligraphy. Zheng Xiaoxu inscribed the words "Bank of Communications" for the Bank of Communications, and polished the pen with four thousand taels of silver. For the first edition of "Etymology" published in 1915, he received a writing fee of 500 taels. He inscribed the name of the Commercial Press for two thousand taels per character. Although it had been written, the Commercial Press required the title to be dated "such and such year of the Republic of China", which angered the Qing Dynasty official. He burned the calligraphy treasure on the spot, and 10,000 taels of silver were wasted in this way. But he didn't care.

Not only are the calligraphy of these former Qing Dynasty veterans expensive, but the calligraphy of officials in the Republic of China is also expensive. At that time, you could become an official if you didn't know how to draw, but it was difficult to become an official if you couldn't write well. In addition, it was the trend of the Republic of China for military men to study literature. Chiang Kai-shek, Zhang Fenghui, Zhang Boying, Li Yuanhong, Xu Shichang, and Feng Yuxiang all wrote well. During the Anti-Japanese War, Wu Jingheng, a veteran of the Kuomintang, had difficulty living in Chongqing, so he placed an advertisement in Chongqing's "Central Daily News" stating that he would start writing calligraphy. Until the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, when he returned to Shanghai, his business was still booming, and he was nicknamed the "Calligraphy and Painting Trust", 7 During that time, he got 50,000 to 60,000 silver dollars from selling calligraphy.