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We have heard many stories about geniuses. Their success can only be admired, but cannot be replicated, and cannot bring substantial help to the public. Only those who achieve "overtaking on the curve" through their own hard work can truly inspire us. Because these deeds prove that as long as the method is right and enough effort is made, everyone can become a "master".

There is a master in the history of calligraphy who has been passed down through the ages with his perseverance in the ink pool and the tomb of pens. He is Wen Zhengming. Wen Zhengming, originally named Bi and alias Hengshan, was born in 1470 in a family of officials in Changzhou (now Suzhou, Jiangsu). His father and grandfather were both well-known talents. But when he was a child, Wen Zhengming seemed to have failed to inherit this excellent gene.

Historical records show that Wen Zhengming was "unintelligent in childhood". He could not speak when he was seven or eight years old, and could barely recognize words when he was eleven or twelve years old. Tang Bohu, who studied with him, was already known as a "child prodigy", but Wen Zhengming could not recite the Four Books and Five Classics fluently. But compared to Tang, Wen Zhengming was more stable and gentle in character.

Wen Lin said to his friends many times: "Ziwei's talent should be developed, but he is frivolous and I am afraid he will never achieve anything. My son will achieve great things in the future, which is not as good as I can achieve." This was indeed the case. After middle age, Wen Zhengming's achievements in calligraphy and painting surpassed Tang Bohu, and because Tang was frivolous, he was involved in an imperial examination fraud case, and from then on he had no chance of a career in officialdom and became impoverished.

Wen Zhengming's achievements in poetry, calligraphy and painting made him the first of the "Four Talents of Jiangnan" and the "First of the Ming Dynasty", but he took the imperial examination nine times and failed every time. In fact, the four talents of Jiangnan all failed in the imperial examination, which also shows the rigidity of this system after the Ming Dynasty.

Wen Zhengming was an all-round poet, calligrapher, painter and seal carver, and his calligraphy was particularly good. Among the five styles of calligraphy, the most exquisite one was the running script. Among his running scripts handed down from generation to generation, the "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng" written when he was 84 years old was his "masterpiece" of his life. This alone is enough to make him famous forever. The opening of this article is written as "Nanchang Ancient County", which is different from the well-known "Yuzhang Ancient County". This is not a mistake, but to avoid the name of Li Yu, the Emperor Daizong of Tang.

This work is 23.5 cm long and 211 cm wide, with 76 lines and more than 800 characters, and the character size is about 2 cm. Wen Zhengming copied the famous "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng" many times in his life, and the existing one has reached the realm of "both the person and the book are old". Wen Zhengming's running script was inspired by Zhao Mengfu, Mi Fu, Wang Xizhi and others.

The Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng is based on the brushwork of the Preface to the Sacred Teachings, and has the fluency and delicacy of the "Zhao style". First, take the momentum in the air, then follow the tip of the pen into the paper, the tip of the pen rubs and rubs against the paper, the center and side of the pen are used together, the strokes are vigorous and agile, the writing is slow and fast, and the pen is square and round. The characters are mainly inward-pushing, long and continuous, and the brushstrokes echo in an orderly manner. Compared with Zhao Mengfu, Wen Zhengming's characters are more vigorous and sophisticated, and less charming.

At the age of 84, Wen Zhengming wrote this "masterpiece" with powerful brushstrokes, exquisite and delicate rules. He can be called a "phenomenon of the ages". By copying his work thoroughly, we can master the ancient people's brushwork and our running script level will have a qualitative leap.

Now, we have reproduced Wen Zhengming's "Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng" in ultra-high definition and 12 colors. Seeing this work is like seeing the original, which is very convenient for copying and appreciation. If you are interested, please click the link below to take a look!