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How many young people can come up with something good in this calligraphy competition? Not really. Among the series of exhibitions held by the Chinese Calligraphy Association, there is a "National Senior Calligraphy Exhibition" which has a certain age limit for participating writers and provides a platform for the elderly to showcase their calligraphy.

The selection results of the "3rd National Senior Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition" have come out. 98-year-old Chen Yuezheng from Zhejiang was selected, which attracted the attention of the entire calligraphy community.

Like many old calligraphers, Mr. Chen Yuezheng started learning calligraphy after retirement. He has been practicing hard for decades until today, when he "made a name for himself" on the stage of the National Calligraphy Exhibition.

At present, there is a general prejudice against elderly calligraphy in the calligraphy community, thinking that the elderly learn calligraphy late, have poor foundations, and are biased in their thinking and are not very receptive to new things. Therefore, there are not many people who can write good calligraphy. To some extent, "elderly calligraphy" has become a synonym for vulgar taste.

In fact, among the vast number of elderly calligraphy fans, there are also many who practice calligraphy seriously, seek advice humbly, and study hard. After Chen Yuezheng's wife passed away in her fifties, he accidentally developed a strong interest in calligraphy and has been studying it since then.

In this "Old Calligraphy Exhibition", Mr. Chen Yuezheng's works are in regular script. Everyone knows that writing small regular script is more difficult than writing large regular script, especially for an elderly person. Writing small regular script not only tests his pen power, but also his eyesight.

Wen Zheng is nearly 90 years old, but he can still write in small characters, which is a rare example in the history of calligraphy. It is precisely because small regular script is a huge challenge for the elderly. From this point, it can be seen that it is not easy for Mr. Chen Yuezheng to enter the Chinese calligraphy exhibition with regular script at the age of 98.

Compared with the calligraphy of contemporary young painters, Mr. Chen Yuezheng's regular script may be relatively weak in technique, more popular in atmosphere, relatively simple in changes, and more traditional in style. However, he still has much to learn from for future generations.

Just like the small regular script of Mr. Chen Yuezheng, it gives people a sense of tranquility and peace. Mr. Chen Yuezheng's calligraphy has no hurried rhythm and no elegant posture, but every word is so serious, so neat, so peaceful, which makes people feel relaxed and happy.

Sun Guoting said: "When learning to write in scattered forms, one should seek to write in a smooth and even manner; when one can write in a smooth and even manner, one must try to take risks; when one knows the dangers, one should return to the right path." This means that there are three stages in learning calligraphy: the first stage is "smooth", the second stage is "changing", the third stage is "dangerous", and the last stage is "smooth". This is what is called "both people and calligraphy grow old together".

From this point, we can see that the highest realm of calligraphy is still "plainness". The so-called "plainness" means that after knowing the rules of calligraphy, the characters are written unconsciously. Every word of Mr. Chen Yuezheng reveals a sense of tranquility that is detached from the world, which is a realm of calligraphy.

Perhaps in the eyes of calligraphers, Chen Yuezheng's calligraphy still has some problems, but this nearly 100-year-old man has the kind of demeanor of being experienced and seeing through the world, which is not something that ordinary calligraphers can do.

Moreover, calligraphy has more than one influence on a person. For calligraphers, it may be a way to make a living; for young calligraphers, it is a way to stand out and become famous. But for the elderly, it may just be a pastime, a way to cultivate one's character.

Different purposes and different moods will lead to great differences in handwriting.