Study On Calligraphic Style Of Zhang Ruitu

The late Ming dynasty is the most special period in the history of Chinese calligraphy,because there are a large number of calligraphers who pursue novelty and innovation and oppose the coquettish calligraphy style that stems from Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi.For example,Zhang Ruitu,Xu Wei,Huang Daozhou,Ni Yuanlu,Wang Duo and so forth.In particular,Zhang Ruitu is very important in the calligraphic community of the late Ming period.He is so famous that people treat him as Dong Qichang,who is also well-known for being a calligrapher.In addition,the calligraphy style of Zhang is so novel and innovative that many calligraphers are affected by him.Zhang is even regarded as an immortal who is in charge of fire suppression by the folks in Fujian area,so they deem that suspending the calligraphy work written by Zhang within doors can avoid fire.This is obvious that Zhang is influential.In addition,he even becomes widely known in Japan,and he wins the respect from many Japanese calligraphers because of his novelty in writing.After a comprehensive comparison between calligraphy works written by Zhang,it is concluded that his calligraphic style can be divided into early,middle and late stages.In the early stage,he does not master the writing skills and has to imitate the works of Zhu Yunming and Zhong yao,two famous calligraphers before him,and his calligraphy works are mainly in cursive script and lower case.In short,he practices the traditional skills again and again;therefore he shows no individual character in the early stage.In the middle term,his calligraphy skill gradually matures after learning stone carvings and Sun Guoting,a great calligrapher in Tang dynasty.His calligraphy works are mainly in cursive,and the features of his calligraphy style mainly lie in the movements of strokes and the structure of Chinese character as wellas the essay,showing intension and ebullience at the same time.In the late phase,he stays away from officialdom to keep indifferent mood and continuously to study Buddhism.For instance,his works are dominated by huge Chinese brush writing and regular script in small characters,and his calligraphy style changes from edgy performance to mild nature and quaint beauty.Zhang's life spans more than 70 years,and his calligraphy style and achievements are all formed in late Ming dynasty.In twilight years,he selects some written verses to compose an anthology named after Anthology of Bai Hao Cottage,in which contains his calligraphic thinking.The thinking mainly lies in the following three aspects: one is to advocate classical taste and pursue simplicity;the second is to chase the beauty of individuality;the third is to uphold quiet beauty.His calligraphic ideas follow his inner feelings.Hence,his calligraphy manifests singular and unrestrained style.In brief,Zhang's stubborn calligraphy style has a profound influence on the calligraphers who after him and even the modern calligraphic community.Therefore,Zhang is very important in the history of Chinese calligraphy.