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Before the popularization of printing in the Song Dynasty, it was not easy for people to learn calligraphy, because it was difficult to mass-produce various inscriptions and calligraphy. If you wanted to learn the ancients' calligraphy, you could only learn from the calligraphy collection at home or borrow from relatives and friends. Therefore, only wealthy families or calligraphy families could produce calligraphy masters, such as the Two Wangs, the Four Masters of the Early Tang Dynasty, Yan and Liu.

There are three unique things in the Tang Dynasty, namely Pei Min's sword dance, Li Bai's poetry and Zhang Xu's cursive script. The sword dance has been lost, and the artistic conception of Li Bai's poetry depends entirely on our imagination, but Zhang Xu's works have been handed down, allowing us to directly feel the atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty. In order to exaggerate the high level of Zhang Xu's calligraphy, many people often make up some fictitious stories, such as that he was from a poor family and was self-taught.

In fact, Zhang Xu was born into a family of calligraphers. He was a typical example of inheriting family traditions and making breakthroughs. The two people who had the greatest influence on him were his uncle Lu Yanyuan and grandfather Lu Jianzhi. The two Lus inherited the Wei and Jin calligraphy styles and passed them on to Zhang Xu. This can be verified in the Essentials of Calligraphy: "(Ouyang) Xun passed it on to Lu Jianzhi, Jianzhi passed it on to his nephew Yanyuan, and Yanyuan passed it on to Zhang Xu."

Lu Jianzhi was a key figure in the transition from Northern and Southern Dynasties calligraphy to Tang Dynasty calligraphy. He learned calligraphy from his uncle Yu Shinan since he was young, and a few years later he was known as "better than his uncle". He also received guidance from Ouyang Xun, and then followed the Wei and Jin dynasties, learning the brushwork of Zhang Zhi, Zhong Yao, Lu Ji, and the two Wangs.

Very few of his works have been handed down, and Wenfu is his most classic work, which is known as "the best running script in the Tang Dynasty". In terms of its authenticity and meticulousness, it is three times more beautiful than Lanting Preface. Zhang Xu is already a great calligrapher, and Lu Jianzhi is even more admirable, worthy of the saying "old ginger is still spicy".

According to the "Shiqu Baoji", "Wen Fu" is "eight inches long and one zhang, one chi and one inch wide (26.6 cm long and 370 cm wide), written in running script, with 144 lines and 1,668 characters." The character diameter is about 2 cm, and it has been handed down in order. There are also postscripts by Zhao Mengfu, Liu Ji, Wei Su, Sun Chengze and others at the end of the volume.

Postscript by Zhao Mengfu

In his later years, Zhao Mengfu studied this post hard and realized many brush techniques from it. He praised it highly: "The right is the authentic running script of Wenfu by Lu Jianzhi of the Tang Dynasty. The calligraphers in the early Tang Dynasty were called Ou, Yu, Chu and Xue. In terms of calligraphy, how can he be inferior to the four?" Lu Ji, the original author of "Wenfu", was the ancestor of Lu Jianzhi. In order not to disgrace the famous writings of his ancestors, Jianzhi dared not write until his calligraphy reached its peak in his later years. Liu Bowen directly exclaimed: "The lyrics of Lu Jianzhi of the Jin Dynasty and the calligraphy of Lu Jianzhi of the Tang Dynasty can be said to be two beauties."

Postscript by Liu Ji

The strokes of this work are delicate, precise, vigorous and graceful. The starting, ending and turning points are clever and natural, the sharpness is restrained, and the strokes are stretched. The characters are mixed, the center of gravity is staggered, and the handwriting is of different sizes, which is quite dynamic. The composition is well-organized, and the response, ups and downs, and yielding are all clever and accurate. Each one is a "standard textbook" for learning running script!

If we can copy Lu Jianzhi's "Wen Fu" thoroughly and fully comprehend the brushwork therein, we will also learn the essence of the running script of the Jin and Tang Dynasties.

Now, we have reproduced this work in ultra-high-definition 12 colors, so that you can see it as if you were seeing the original. We have also launched an exclusive folding version with a commentary, which is very convenient for you to copy and appreciate. If you are interested, please click the link below to take a look!