Li Shutong's Early Calligraphy Research

Li Shutong,a famous educator,calligrapher,musician and drama activist,lived in the Late Qing and Republic of China.He has made great achievements in various fields of art.He was naturally free and not swayed by the world and eventually escaped the material or secular world.So far,the study of Li Shutong's calligraphy has remained the stage which he becoming a monk.It is well known to us all that the research on Li Shutong's early days is not enough.Therefore,the author is focused on the issue of Li Shutong's earlier calligraphy.This article is divided into four chapters: The first chapter,the author,combining with his life,explains the state of calligraphy activities before Li Shutong becoming the monk.The second chapter describes his early calligraphy practice from the aspects of Seal script,Official script,Regular script and Running letter and so on.The third chapter,It is an account of the scholarly thoughts of the previous period,which focused on implement knowledge and morality.The last chapter is about the influence of Li Shutong's early calligraphy on later calligraphy.Influenced by stone inscription rubbings thought of the late Qing Dynasty,Li Shutong's early calligraphy was involved in the Qin,Han and the Northern Dynasties.In order to inherite the tradition,he also studied the Zhong,Wang,Su and Huang.By reviewing,collecting,and sorting Li Shutong's works and calligraphy works,this artical clearly outlines the stages of his early calligraphy,explores the formation and development of his early calligraphy style,and details the characteristics of his early calligraphy.By studying his calligraphy,we can has a better understanding of the development of calligraphy in the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China,as well as the significance of contemporary calligraphy.