Calligrapher: the only female emperor in Chinese history

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Hello, everyone. I’m Teacher Lin Lan. In fact, there are many famous calligraphers in history, but the calligrapher I’m sharing today is quite special, the only female emperor in Chinese history. Let’s walk into today’s theme together.


The oldest emperor in Chinese history is also one of the emperors with the longest life span; besides, she also has the most mysterious identity-a calligrapher.

Wu Zetian's literary and artistic accomplishments can be described as quite profound. The book "Old Tang Book·The Empress of Zetian" says: "There are so many wits, but also involved in literature and history." He especially loves the art of calligraphy, and is good at flying script and cursive script.

There are not many calligraphy remains of Wu Zetian. The most famous ones are the title of "Shengxian Prince Stele", the title of "Jianfu Temple Tablet" and the title of "Chongfu Temple".

 
Luoyang Yanshi "The Monument of Prince Shengxian"

Among them, "The Monument to Prince Shengxian" is hailed as one of the "100 most beautiful calligraphy handed down in China".

In February 699, the 76-year-old empress Wu Zetian went from Luoyang to Songshan to confine the meditation. When she returned, she passed through the Shengxian Prince Temple on Mount Yanshi. She was touched by the scene and filled with emotions. After returning to Luoyang, she quickly wrote "Shengxian"  "Prince inscription", and personally wrote the Dan.

Since ancient times, emperors have often imagined that they could live forever, in order to enjoy the world forever.  Wu Zetian is no exception.

In his later years, Wu Zetian believed in Taoism and was full of curiosity and yearning for the world of immortals.

She wrote in the inscription of "The Monument to the Immortal Prince": "Since she is not talented and vulgar, with extraordinary spiritual bones, how can she visit the Jin Lu at the Xuanmen, and look for the Jade Emperor in the blue sky", and she wanted to pursue it at once.  Dao Shengxian's mentality is undoubtedly revealed.


On the surface, the inscription of "Prince Shengxian" is about the story of the prince's promotion to the immortal. In fact, on the one hand, Wu Zetian compares the prince's promotion to the immortal;

The content of the inscription in "The Monument to the Prince of Rising Immortals" is unobstructed and magnificent.  But compared with her calligraphy art, the inscription on the inscription is better than the writing.  The forehead of "Shengxian Prince Monument" is written in Feibai style.

"Feibai" is a special brushwork in calligraphy. The strokes are silky white, like those written with a dry pen.  According to legend, it was made by the Eastern Han calligrapher Cai Yong. He was inspired when he saw the craftsmen of Xiuhongdumen dipping white whitewashing characters with a broomstick.

The Feibai style written by Wu Zetian, in addition to the characteristics of Feibai style, and the beginning of each of her characters is like a fairy bird standing in the font, which not only contains the legendary story of the crown prince driving a crane and ascending to heaven as a fairy, at the same time  It implies the Taoist thoughts she believes in.

The brushwork used on the forehead of the monument of "Prince Shengxian" is mellow and flexible, tactfully and smoothly, and this is also the exquisite and wonderful feature of her calligraphy.


In the above picture, the six characters of "The Monument of Prince Shengxian" are both majestic and magnificent, and they are also chic.

It can be seen that Wu Zetian's calligraphy is tactfully and fluently, his pen strokes are sonorous, his style is unrestrained and unrestrained, and extremely unique!


Among the 14 characters in "The Imperial Book of the Emperor of the Golden Wheel of the Great Zhou Dynasty", we can see that among the dignified regular script, Wu Zetian used the small seal font from time to time (the word "sky" is).  

And the Chinese characters that I created (the word "Saint" is).  At the end of this line, she creatively used the style between regular script and running script, and wrote the word "shu".

In the performance of calligraphy, Wu Zetian used these various font changes flexibly, without any sense of disobedience, and completely unobtrusive. It shows that she is not only well versed in the laws of calligraphy, but also has extraordinary artistic courage and talent.


The stele of "Prince Shengxian" is inscribed with Wu Zetian's poem "Youxian Pian" and Xue Yao's original book, as well as the titles of Xue Ji and Zhong Shaojing. Xue Yao, Xue Ji, and Zhong Shao Jingjing were famous at that time.  Calligrapher, so the monument has also been praised as a treasure by calligraphy lovers of the past dynasties.

The evaluation of Wu Zetian's calligraphy in the "Xuanhe Shupu" in the Song Dynasty is: "The dignified and the English is broken, and the smell of lead and powder is removed, and his running calligraphy can make a husband win."


In Ming Dynasty Zhao Han's "Graphite Engraving", Wu Zetian's "Stele of the Prince Shengxian" praised:   "Six characters on the monument of the first rise of the fairy prince,  It is also good to fly a white book in the shape of a bird.  The Feibai Book has not been passed down to the world for a long time, so it is only left in the ears."


In feudal society, due to the control of the idea that men are superior to women, women have always "no talent is virtue", let alone practice calligraphy.

At the same time, in ancient times, inscriptions on steles were also regarded as a serious and solemn thing, and women's steles were even rarer.

Wu Zetian writes calligraphy

Wu Zetian broke the "ban" that feudal society does not use women's monuments. Although most of the reasons are due to her special status and supreme power, from a historical perspective, her unconventional and innovative spirit is indeed very rare. 

As the saying goes: "The heroine book stele starts from now on", Wu Zetian truly pioneered the Chinese women's book stele.

Wu Zetian Calligraphy-Yeyan Book

Wu Zetian can naturally become a leader among female calligraphers in history.

Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that Wu Zetian's calligraphy is "first-rate among female calligraphers".

Wu Zetian was not only the only female emperor in Chinese history, an outstanding female politician in the feudal era, but also a “wise and literary history” who had made outstanding contributions to the cultural development of the Tang Dynasty and was good at poetry and calligraphy.  Writer and calligrapher.

In feudal society, due to the control of the idea that men are superior to women, women have always "no talent is virtue", let alone practice calligraphy.  At the same time, in ancient times, inscriptions on steles were also regarded as a serious and solemn thing, and women's steles were even rarer.  

Wu Zetian broke the "ban" that feudal society does not use women's monuments. Although most of the reasons are due to her special status and supreme power, from a historical perspective, her unconventional and innovative spirit is indeed very rare.  .  As the saying goes: "The heroine book stele starts from now on", Wu Zetian truly pioneered the Chinese women's book stele.

 

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