Li Yong’s Inheritance And Innovation Of Wang Xizhi And Wang Xianzhi’s Calligraphic Style

Li Yong in the Tang Dynasty was known for his legendary life and outstanding literary and artistic talents.He was highly literate,with outstanding skill in writing eulogy for tablet inscription.In addition to his fame in literature,which made him peerless in the Tang Dynasty for forty years,his calligraphy was also widely praised.Li Yong was good at running script,in which he drew inspiration from,and brought forth the new style into Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy.Authored and written by himself,the calligraphy works of Li Yong were often turned into tablet inscription,which brought him great reputation at that time.Derived from Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi,the characters under his brushes mostly tilted up rightwards,with powerful and vigorous dots,and compact rising and falling strokes that were ended neatly.The distinct personality was immediately shown,presenting a strong contrast between dangerously steep cliffs and chipper expansive plains.Li Yong was exceptional in writing tablet inscription in running script,and originated the style of forceful and vigorous calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty.This paper intends to discuss the inheritance and innovation of Li Yong’s calligraphy from the perspectives of the study of calligraphy,fine arts and documents.Through relevant theories and viewpoints of calligraphy in past dynasties,the features of strokes,structures and compositions in Li Yong’s calligraphy will be analyzed from a practical stand.The characters and principles of Li Yong’s learning,creating,and aesthetics will be sought through the comparison of relevant images.The author hopes to contribute to the promotion of Li Yong’s unique artistic view through this study.This paper attempts to discuss the innovative calligraphic style of Li Yong from its background and origins,by comparing it with Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi’s calligraphy.Based on the point of “Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy resembles dragon and Li Yong’s resembles elephant”,the author attempts to analyze the inheritance and innovation of Li Yong’s calligraphy through the discussion of calligraphy theories,comparison of cases of works,and analysis of typical calligraphers.By comparing Li Yong’s work with the signature works of calligraphers typically influenced by him in the past dynasties from the aspects of calligraphic expressions and ideas,this paper intends to chase down the key factors for Li Yong’s origin of calligraphic ideas,aesthetic views,and his innovation and breakthrough,so as to inspire today’s calligraphers,and provide references for the learning and innovation in today’s calligraphic creation.