Chiang Kai-shek 蒋介石

Most of China's contemporary leaders are/were good at calligraphy, and Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi, 1887 – 1975) was one of them.

Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. At the age of 18 he went to military training college in Japan. He returned to China in 1911, took part in the uprising that overthrew the Qing Dynasty and became a member of the Chinese Nationalist Party (known as the Kuomintang or KMT).

He became the Commandant of Kuomintang's Whampoa Military Academy in 1924 and took Sun Yat-sen's place in the party when the latter died in 1925. In 1928, Chiang led the Northern Expedition to unify the country, becoming China's overall leader. He served as chairman of the National Military Council of the Nationalist Government of the Republic China (ROC) from 1928 to 1948. After the Japanese surrender in 1945, the Chinese Communist Party defeated the Nationalists in 1949, forcing the Nationalist government to retreat to Taiwan. Chiang ruled the island with an iron fist as the President of the Republic of China and Director-General of the Kuomintang until his death in 1975.

There is an old Chinese saying that calligraphy is a mirror to a person's character. It is therefore said that the calligraphy of leaders reflects the different characters that ruled the nation, and even their leadership abilities.

Chiang’s style of calligraphy is characterized by strong bones and precise constructions, as neat and orderly as that of Emperor Huizong (1082-1135) of the Song Dynasty (960-1279). On the other hand, differences are apparent. Huizong's ‘slender gold’ style featured thin and sturdy strokes, a poised and graceful style that attracted numerous followers. Chiang's was neat in formation and prudent, but not so creative. His handwriting was always even and orderly, irrespective of whether he was in a high or low mood. This shows he was careful about obeying regulations, but restricted by convention.

Mao Zedong defeated Chiang in military matters and also outperformed him in calligraphy. When writing, Mao let his feelings carry his brush freely, creating a new calligraphic vista. Reading his cursive style handwriting, people immerse themselves in the flow of strokes, slow or fast, dense or not dense. Readers are attracted by the aura his works create, as well as by his presence as the top leader.

中国当代领袖中，不少写得一手好书法。蒋介石（1887-1975）就是其中的一个。

蒋介石是中国二十世纪的一个政治与军事领袖。十八岁前往日本就读军事学校。1911年回国加入推翻清政府的革命，成为中国国民党党员。

1924年担任黄埔军校校长，1925年孙中山逝世，他就取代了孙中山在国民党的地位。1928年发动北伐战争，成为中国最高领袖。1928年至1948年，他担任中华民国国民政府的军事委员会主席。1945年日本投降后，中国共产党于1949年击败国民党，迫使国民政府退守台湾。从此，蒋介石以其铁腕统治台湾，担任中华民国总统与国民党主席，直到1975年逝世为止。

中国一句话说，书法反映一个人的个性。因此领袖的书法亦反映国家统治者的不同个性与他们的领导能力。

蒋的书法特性是笔画刚强，结构精确，与宋朝（960-1279）徽宗（1082-1135）的字一样整齐有序。他们之间也有不同。徽宗的‘瘦金体’的笔画细又有力，平衡而优雅的风格吸引不少追随者。蒋的书法排列整齐与谨慎，但是缺少创造力。不论他的心情如何，他的字写来都均匀与整齐。这显示他谨慎守法，拘谨于常规。

在军事上，毛泽东打败了蒋介石，在书法上亦是如此。毛让他的感情随意的控制毛笔，创造了书法新景象。观读他的草书，人们会融入他那快与慢、疏与密的线条节奏之中。读者会为其作品的气势所吸引，并感受到他作为最高领袖的存在。

Ouyang Xun: Commemorative Stone Tablet for the Sweet Spring near the Jiucheng Palace 欧阳询：《九成宫醴泉铭碑》

Ouyang Xun left a number of masterpieces engraved on commemorative stone tablets and those works have remained to be excellent models for practice and emulation over 1,000 years. Their influences on later calligraphers are indisputable. Even the great calligrapher Yan Zhenqing had studied Ouyang's styles diligently before he invented his style which later impacted greatly on Liu Gongquan. Since then, most calligraphy students of regular script (kaishu) would choose either styles of Ouyang, Yan, or Liu.

Commemorative Stone Tablet for the Sweet Spring at the Jiucheng Palace (Jiucheng Gong) is his signature work in regular script. Chen Jiru, a scholar of Ming dynasty once commented, this calligraphic piece is ‘like a mountain recluse who has achieved the ultimate wisdom, gaunt and lean in muscle but robust in spirit.’ Another scholar Zhao Han praised that it is the best calligraphic work in regular script.

The Jiucheng Palace was originally built in the Sui dynasty and Emperor Tang Taizong visited the palace in 632. Taizong is said to have discovered a sweet spring on its ground, which was interpreted as a propitious sign. Consequently, a commemorative stele was erected at the spot. The text was written by senior court officer Wei Zheng and calligraphy by Ouyang Xun.

The calligraphy of Ouyang Xun, a follower of the calligraphic style of Wang Xizhi, has a ‘steeper’ look than that of Wang Xizhi. His regular script style employs brushstrokes that are thicker at the two ends and thinner in the middle, falling in the contractive category. The indrawn strokes in turn produce an indrawn character structure, with outer lines drawn inward, forming arcs, and strokes concentrated as much as possible in the interior, creating a character structure that is compact in the centre and less dense in the periphery. At the same time, some strokes are made longer than normal, transgressing the character grid, in order to avoid giving an overcautious look.

However, some critics commented that the steeper strokes and structures of his calligraphy make it very difficult for most beginners to emulate his style because a slight error or deviation will result in wide divergences in strokes, structures, and the overall look.

.

.

欧阳询留下不少刻在碑石的书法杰作，千多年来它们是法书范本，被无数人临摹。它们对后代书法家的影响是无可置疑的。就算是大书法家颜真卿在未形成自己的书体之前，也是十分认真地学习欧体。而颜体也深深地影响了柳公权。自此之后，书法学习者在学习楷书时，所选的不是欧体，就是颜体，或者柳体。

《九成宫醴泉铭碑》是他的楷书代表作。明陈继儒曾评论说：‘此帖如深山至人，瘦硬清寒，而神气充腴。’明赵涵称此碑为‘正书第一’。

九成宫原来建于隋朝。公元632年唐太宗来巡视该宫。据说太宗在那里发现了醴（甜）泉，认为那是个吉兆。后来，就在那里立了块碑石。碑文由魏征写，书法则由欧阳询来写。

欧阳询学的是王羲之的字体，而他的字形比王羲之险峻。他的楷书笔画两端粗而中间细，属于内擫笔法。笔画向内而产生向内靠的字形，外围笔画向内行走，形成弧形，因此结字中宫紧而外围松驰；有些笔画则故意拉长，超越界线，为的是避免呈现一种太过拘禁的形态。

但是，不少评论家认为他的书法中的险峻笔画与结字，令初学者难以模仿他的字体，因为稍有差错或偏差，就会造成笔画、结字与整体上的大偏离。

Anecdotes about Ouyang Xun 欧阳询轶事

Ouyang was born in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. He was intelligent since young and was very serious in his study, with a special interest in calligraphy.

He was totally engrossed in the learning of calligraphy. One day, during an outing with his friends, Ouyang came across a stele inscribed by Suo Jing, a famous calligrapher of the Western Jin Dynasty. In order to understand the unique feature of Suo Jing’s techniques of using brush, he stood there and studied carefully the inscriptions. The more he studied the inscriptions, the more subtle it became. Shortly, the sky became dark, but Ouyang’s interest in the inscriptions remained strong. He decided to sleep near the stele for the night so that he could continue to study the stele the next day. At the end, he went on to explore the stele for another three days before leaving it reluctantly.

He was often considered the best kaishu (regular script) calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty. His fame reached overseas so the ancient Korea sent a special envoy to the Tang court to acquire his calligraphy. According to historical records, Ouyang Xun was an ugly person, but his calligraphy was well known throughout the country. People were eager to obtain authentic copies of letters written by him and they treated calligraphy in their possession as a treasure. They would use his calligraphy as model works for practice. During the reign of Tang Gaozu Li Yuan (618-624), Korea sent a special envoy to capital Chang-an to acquire Ouyang’s calligraphy. Tang Gaozu said emotionally, ‘I have never expected his fame has reached thus far, even the barbarians in faraway places know him. When they see the brush work of Ouyang, perhaps they may think that he is a strong and big man.’

It seems that the Japanese also admire the calligraphy of Ouyang Xun. The Asahi Shimbun is one of the largest newspapers in Japan; it publishes both morning and evening daily editions. The four Chinese characters of its name that appear in the newspaper’s masthead are words selected from Ouyang’s calligraphy. When the newspaper was founded, it was decided that words written by Ouyang would be used. The three words ‘chao’(朝), ‘ri’(日) and ‘wen’(闻) were chosen from ouyang’s famous calligraphic work of clerical script ‘A Panegyric of the Imperial Temple’ stele. The word ‘xin’(新) could not be found, so radicals of ‘qin’(亲) and ‘xi’(析) were extracted to form the word. As a result, the energetic structure and bony and vigorous style of Ouyang’s calligraphy becomes part of the masthead of the newspaper.

.

.

歐陽詢生於南北朝時，從小就聰明過人，對於讀書寫字非常認真。

歐陽詢對書法學習十分投入，有一次在旅遊途中，見到了西晉書法家索靖寫的石碑，他為了瞭解索靖用筆的奇特之處，於是仔細的研究，果然越看越覺得奧妙。 不久，天色漸漸暗沈，可是歐陽詢的興致依然濃厚，便乾脆拿了鋪蓋睡在石碑旁邊，等到天亮繼續琢磨。就這樣一字一畫的考究了三天，才依依不捨的離開。（原文出自《书林纪事》：‘欧阳询尝行，见古碑，晋索靖所书。驻马观之，良久而去。数百步复反，下马伫立，及疲，乃布裘坐观，因宿其旁，三日方去。’）

他被认为是唐朝最杰出的楷书书法家。据史书记载，欧阳询的形貌很丑陋，但他的书法却誉满天下，人们都争着想得到他亲笔书写的尺犊文字，一旦得到就视作圭宝，作为自己习字的范本。唐李渊武德（618－624）年间，高丽（今朝鲜）特地派使者来长安求取欧阳询的书法。唐高祖李渊感叹地说：‘没想到欧阳询的名声竟大到连远方的夷狄都知道。他们看到欧阳询的笔迹，一以为他是位形貌魁梧的人物吧。’

日本人看来也很仰慕欧阳询的书法。《朝日新闻》是日本现今最大的一家报纸之一，有早报和晚报。它的报头题字，为初唐书法家-欧阳询所书。《朝日新闻》近代在东京创办时，决定用欧书作为报头题字，于是找来欧阳询的得意之作，隶书《宗圣观记》，从中挑选完整无损的“朝”、“日”、“闻”三字，再把帖中缺少现成的“新”字，巧妙地用“亲”字和“析”字分别剔去“见”旁和“木”旁合并而成。这样，《朝日新闻》四字，就以饱满的形体，瘦劲的姿态出现在该报的首端了。

Ouyang Xun 欧阳询

Ouyang Xun (557-641), also named Ouyang Xinben, was a Confucian scholar and calligrapher of the early Tang Dynasty. He used to be an official in the Sui dynasty and was a close friend of Li Yuan, founder of the Tang dynasty. Ouyang Xun was intelligent since young and performed well academically. He served under the Tang Dynasty as scholar at the Hongwen Academy where he also taught calligraphy. He was one of the principal contributors to the Categorised Collections of Literature and Articles.

During the Tang period, the predominant script was the regular or standard script, with a stylistic emphasis on brush methods or structure. The regular script was believed to have reached its maturity during the early Tang, representing a culmination of previous developments.

As early as in the Sui Dynasty, Ouyang's calligraphy was widely known, and by the time of Tang Dynasty, as the man got older and his calligraphy got better, both the person and calligraphy had attained a high degree of perfection. His calligraphy was first influenced by the style of stele inscriptions in the Northern Dynasties and the Sui dynasty. Later he followed Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi’s style and was the representative of their style in the Tang dynasty. He had also learned from Suo Jing’s calligraphy.

Ouyang Xun's calligraphy, largely kaishu (regular script), was known for its rigorous and grand strokes as well as its unique order and structure, and was called ‘Ou Style’ by later generations. His famous works of regular script include ‘Commemorative Stone Tablet for the Sweet Spring at the Jiucheng Palace’ (Jiucheng Gong) which is said to be the Best Regular Script in history and has become one of the best model calligraphy for learners of kaishu calligraphy. His well known works on walking or running script (xingshu) are Mengdian Tie and Zhanghan Tie. Besides being an expert in kaishu and xingshu, Ouyang also wrote excellent lishu (official script).

In Chinese calligraphy history, Ouyang Xun is one of the Four Masters of Early Tang Dynasty. His is also as one of the four best calligraphers of regular script in history. The other three are Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan and Zhao Mengfu.

.

.

欧阳询（557-641），亦名欧阳信本，是初唐儒士与书法家。他曾在隋朝庭中当官，又是唐朝开国君主李渊。欧阳询自小聪敏，读书颇有成就。为唐朝弘文馆学士，并在那里教书法。他也是《艺文类聚》的主要编纂者。

在唐代，楷书是主要的书写字体，其所强调的是笔法与结字。一般相信，楷书到了初唐已经成熟，代表楷书发展达到的一个高峰。

早在隋朝，欧阳询的书法就已经声名远播；到了唐代，则已进入了人书俱老的完美境界。他的书法最初受到北朝与隋朝碑文的影响，后来跟随二王书体，他的楷书在唐代代表二王的书体。他也学习索靖的书法。

欧阳询的书法，主要是楷书，以刚健雄伟著名，尤其是其独特的结字与章法，被后代称为‘欧体’。他有名的楷书有《九成宫醴泉铭碑》（简称《九成宫》）。《九成宫》被誉为楷书中的绝品，成为书法学习者学习楷书的最好法书之一。他的有名的行书有《仲尼梦奠帖》、《季鹰帖》。他除了精于楷书与行书，隶书也写得很好。

在书法史上，欧阳询是初唐四大家之一。他也是历史上楷书四大家之一。其他三位楷书大家是颜真卿、柳公权与赵孟頫。