As Zhou Ziju and Yu Sihai's creation came to an end, He Wanyi asked in a low voice, "Zitao, what do you think are the characteristics of their calligraphy?"

"Generally speaking, cursive to have a high sentiment rhyme, scribbled vulgar for the bottom, Song Dynasty Mi Fu said, cursive does not enter the Jin personality, often into the next product. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info Specifically, cursive is a typical line art, regardless of the center, side, square pen, round pen, must contain emotion inside, and have a shape outside. ”

Meng Zitao nodded, and commented in a low voice: "Let's talk about Zhou Ziju first, his cursive handwriting, between the words, is staggered, and the words are dense and distinct, in addition, he uses both square and round brushes, and uses both dry and wet ink, which looks very rendering artistic effect." This kind of artistic characteristic should be learned from the calligrapher Wang Duo in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and he already has at least eighty percent of Wang Duo's skills. ”

Next, let's talk about Yu Sihai, his handwriting strokes are like lightning, born out of thin air, eclectic in the rules, and integrated. An epic poem by Hu Zeng in the Tang Dynasty "Song of the Yellow River", whose words are like the water of the Yellow River rushing straight down, unstoppable, not only shows the indomitable standing of the mainstay of the Yellow River, but also reveals the passion in his heart. ”

After listening to Meng Zitao's comments, He Wanyi asked: "According to you, is Zhou Ziju's handwriting worse than Yu Sihai's?"

Meng Zitao said: "The benevolent see the benevolent, the wise see the wise, some people may like Zhou Ziju's cursive, but in comparison, I still prefer the cursive of the four seas." ”

In fact, Meng Zitao felt that Zhou Ziju was indeed a little worse than Yu Sihai's cursive, and he said this mainly because there were more guests around, as the old saying goes, the wall has ears, and he didn't want to be heard by others to cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

However, Niu Laosan was standing not far from Meng Zitao, although he didn't hear what Meng Zitao said, but he could talk a little lip, even guessing, understanding the meaning of Meng Zitao's words, and his heart suddenly burst into excitement.

"Boy, I caught the handle, I actually dare to say that I am not as good as Yu Sihai, see if I don't let you show your appearance!"

Niu Laosan had a ghost in his heart, and whispered a few words to the young man beside him.

This young man is Zhou Duo, Zhou Ziju's grandson, and he listened to Niu Laosan's words, and frowned slightly: "Niu Laosan, you won't lie to me, will he?"

Niu Laosan swore and said: "Do you think I can lie to you in this kind of thing? This is a matter of Zhou Lao's reputation, if there is no matter, will I talk nonsense? This kid just said that Zhou Lao is not as good as Yu Sihai, what is this called, Yu Sihai is not worthy of Zhou Lao's shoes, why do you say that Zhou Lao is not as good as him, isn't this nothing to do?"

"However, don't worry, wait for Zhou Lao to finish his creation in a while, and see what everyone says, and then I will see how he still says such unconscionable words. ”

Zhou Duo nodded expressionlessly, and did not say anything else, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

However, Niu Laosan, who was familiar with Zhou Duo's character, was happy in his heart, because he knew that this was a manifestation of Zhou Duo's dissatisfaction.

Niu Laosan gloated and looked at Meng Zitao: "Boy, let you pay some price first!"

Meng Zitao sensed Niu Laosan's malice towards him, glanced back at Niu Laosan, and returned a contemptuous smile, which made Niu Laosan's originally somewhat improved mood immediately become extremely bad.

After a while, the two put down the brush in their hands and looked at the freshly baked calligraphy works, and the guests around them cheered loudly.

Zhou Ziju looked at Yu Sihai's works and said, "Yu Sihai, the grass is about to be written as wild grass by you, it's really getting more and more powerful." ”

Yu Sihai said lightly: "After so many years, you are still the same, you don't take advantage of it, and your heart is very unhappy, I think it is more appropriate for you to change careers to make speeches." As for whether my handwriting is good or not, I have Lao Wang to evaluate it. ”

said Cao Cao, Cao Cao arrived, and saw two old men with pale hair and a scholarly temperament.

Seeing the two elders coming, everyone greeted them one after another, and Meng Zitao also learned that one of the two elders was surnamed Wang and the other was surnamed Qin, both of whom were famous calligraphers in Lu Province. And for the name of the second elder, Meng Zitao had also heard a little before.

Everyone exchanged a few words, and Wang Lao looked at Zhou Ziju and Yu Sihai and said, "You two, can't you calm down a little bit, you must compete for the best?"

"Alright. Qin Lao waved his hand, his temper was a little hot: "After so many years, if they are willing to listen to you, how can they fight until now? You just let them go, as the old saying goes, competition can make people progress, right?"

When Qin Lao said this, Zhou Ziju and Yu Sihai were somewhat embarrassed, but the two of them have been grudging for many years, and they may not agree with each other, they just don't look at each other correctly, and it is estimated that there is no possibility of reconciliation between them until death.

Now after all, it is a public place, and the second elder doesn't want to say too much, so Wang Lao took over and said: "Okay, let's not talk nonsense, I'll see what progress you have made during this time." ”

Next, Wang Lao and Qin Lao commented on the two calligraphy works respectively, and the specific ones are similar to what Meng Zitao said, but there are slight differences.

In the end, the two elders both said that although the cursive writing of the two people is different, they have their own characteristics, and if you win or lose, it can be said that they are comparable.

After listening to the wonderful comments of the second elder, everyone applauded warmly and applauded.

Yu Sihai was not very satisfied with this result, because he felt that his level should be higher than Zhou Ziju, and with Zhou Ziju's works, he could see one or two problems with the treatment.

But in this situation, Wang Lao and Qin Lao must still have the idea of harmony, although there are also bad points, but neither party can be offended, so they are on par with each other as before.

However, Yu Sihai has a little problem with his body now, and after a while, his body function will definitely decline, he can't compare to Zhou Ziju now, will he compare it in the future?

Therefore, according to Yu Sihai's original intention, he still wants to compete again, but unfortunately such an opportunity should not be available for the time being.

At this time, Zhou Duo walked up to Meng Zitao and said, "This brother, I heard that you think my grandfather is not as good as Yu Lao, can you tell us your opinion, so that we can increase our knowledge?"

Zhou Duo's voice was a little loud, and his words made the surroundings suddenly quiet, and everyone's eyes were focused on Meng Zitao.

Seeing this situation, Niu Laosan's heart tightened, and he scolded secretly: "What a fool!"

To say, he really hoped that Meng Zitao would be unlucky, but he didn't want to use such a straightforward way, because even if Meng Zitao was unlucky, he would be blamed by Zhou Ziju for instigating Zhou Duo, which was not the result he wanted to see.

Meng Zitao was a little strange, he was so quiet just now, and although he had that meaning, he didn't say it explicitly, where did Zhou Duo hear it?

Thinking of this, Meng Zitao looked at the most suspicious Niu Laosan, and looked at his nervous expression, and knew who was making trouble.

However, is this Zhou Duo stupid, even if he said so, what does he mean by coming over and asking like this? Is it showing that he is narrow-minded?

Zhou Duo is indeed not big-minded, and his personality is a little reckless, but the reason why he found Meng Zitao is mainly because he is now comparing calligraphy with Zhou Ziju is Yu Sihai, he can hear the affairs of Zhou Ziju and Yu Sihai in three days, and he is quite disgusted with Sihai, and now Meng Zitao "talks nonsense with his eyes open", how can he accept it? So he must make Meng Zitao lose face.

"Who is this young man, he is so rude, when Zhou Lao practiced calligraphy, he didn't know where he was, he actually said that Zhou Lao was not calligraphy, he had long eyes on the top of his head, right?"

"It's just that the young people of today are open-mouthed and lack education. ”

"I think it's someone who lacks education, did the young man blatantly say it just now? Since he didn't, what's the problem with him expressing his opinion in private?"

"Of course it's okay to say privately, but this is a public place, and he shouldn't say that out of politeness, right?"

"Hehe, politeness? Now naming and believing in the letter is politeness? This is clearly trying to embarrass him through Wang Lao and Qin Lao, he is like this at a young age, and he doesn't know how his parents educated him. ”

"Yo, who am I, it turned out to be Mr. Qian, let me ask you a question, are you polite to say this to a junior?"

"In your words, he didn't make a rude move, and he wouldn't have all this now......"

Immediately, there was a lot of discussion now, and many people were talking about what Mencius was not. However, there are also a considerable number of people who are not used to seeing Zhou Ziju on weekdays, so they refuted and argued, and the scene was quite lively for a while.

Seeing that someone on the scene had changed from an argument to a quarrel, as the organizer of the salon, Ma Huayu had quite a headache, and at this point, no matter what Meng Zitao was, he had to say one, two, or three, whether it was right or bad.

Of course, with Ma Huayu's idea, it must be best for Meng Zitao to be correct, and he is also confident, because Meng Zitao is a disciple of Zheng Lao, so Meng Zitao is estimated to be more choking than calligraphy, but in terms of eyesight, there is still no big problem.

"Everyone, stop. ”

Qin Lao raised his hand, and the surrounding voices disappeared immediately, he was very satisfied with this, and then said to Zhou Duo: "I said Xiao Zhou, who did you say from whose mouth, this young man's opinion?"

Seeing Zhou Duo looking at him, Niu Laosan could only stand up stubbornly: "I said it." ”

Meng Zitao smiled: "You can hear me so far away from your position just now, and my hearing is really good." Besides, can I think that you want to get revenge on me because of yesterday's incident?"

Hearing Meng Zitao say this, everyone's perception of Niu Laosan suddenly dropped a few levels, it doesn't matter if you Niu Laosan and Meng Zitao have a grudge, but if you want to be angry, then use your own strength, now borrow someone else's hand, what's the matter?

The key is that Meng Zitao's calm and relaxed appearance now also shows that he is very confident, isn't this deliberately making enemies for Zhou Ziju and them?

Niu Laosan felt the disdain in everyone's eyes, and the pressure in his heart was very great, "You just say, is there such a thing?"

Meng Zitao smiled: "I'm just saying, I appreciate the teacher's calligraphy, what's the problem? Oh, it seems that you still have a problem with your hearing." I wonder how this friend listened to him?"

Zhou Duo also understood at this time that he was used as a gun by Niu Laosan, which made him somewhat annoyed, angry Niu Laosan, a villain, and at the same time disgusted with Meng Zitao, not to mention anything else, at least Meng Zitao said that he preferred Yu Sihai's calligraphy, which made him quite dissatisfied.

Niu Laosan knew that at this time, he had to be tough to the end, otherwise it would make him even more disgusting, so he said: "You are lying, obviously you didn't say that just now!"

"And what did I say?"

"Hmph! It's a pity that I couldn't record just now, otherwise I would have exposed you now!"

"What did I say?"

"Okay, I'll talk about that later, young man, I think you know calligraphy too, can you comment on our calligraphy?"

Zhou Ziju waved his hand and relieved Niu Laosan, Niu Laosan is a bastard again, he is also a young son of his, and his face must be maintained for the time being, as for the future, hum!

Meng Zitao said: "Elder Wang and Elder Qin have already said very clearly just now, and I have nothing to add. ”

"In that case, then why do you still say that my grandfather is not as good as Yu Lao?" Zhou Duo asked.

Meng Zitao said lightly: "It's very simple, I like Yu Lao's calligraphy style, what's the problem?"

In this case, it must be unwise to deliberately lead a war, and of course he said it well.

Meng Zitao's attitude made Zhou Duo a little unhappy, not to mention that Meng Zitao was accompanied by beautiful women, which made him even more uncomfortable, so he seemed a little irrational, and he blurted out what he had been thinking about in his heart: "Style, why is my grandfather's style not as good as Yu Lao?"

Zhou Duo's unrelenting reluctance angered Zhong Jinxian, and he reprimanded: "Is there something wrong with you, what do you want to do crookedly all the time? My brother said that he likes Yu Lao's calligraphy, his calligraphy is much stronger than your grandfather, and he is qualified to say so!"

The reason why Zhong Jinxian has the confidence to say this is because last night, Meng Zitao practiced calligraphy for several hours, in order to integrate Zhang Zhi's experience as soon as possible.

After that, Meng Zitao selected a few works that he was more satisfied with and kept them, so they were discovered by everyone this morning.

At that time, everyone was quite shocked to see that Meng Zitao's calligraphy level was so high, and finally Meng Zitao was covered up by Meng Zitao's long practice time and his talent in this area, the most important thing is that He Wanyi had never seen Meng Zitao's calligraphy of the Eight Classics, otherwise, there would definitely be doubts if there was such a big change.

At this time, Meng Zitao had a headache, Zhong Jinxian said this for his good, but it was also equivalent to punishing him for causing trouble.

Sure enough, when Zhong Jinxian said this, the scene was quiet at first, and then there was an uproar, many people were saying that Zhong Jinxian was too arrogant, even if he was standing on Meng Zitao's side just now, they all felt that he was too unreliable to speak, Zhou Ziju didn't say anything else, at least the calligraphy level was still first-class, which could be compared with a young man in his twenties.

"Okay, let's not say a word. Meng Zitao asked Zhong Jinxian to stop talking.

Zhong Jinxian said: "I'm not wrong, your level is already higher than him, what are you afraid of!"

Zhou Duo sneered: "Haha, strange things happen every year, and there are a lot of them this year!

Zhong Jinxian sneered: "Just like you, I use it to brag to you?"

Zhou Duo said angrily: "What's wrong with me?"

Zhong Jinxian said: "Pee and look in the mirror, and you will know what is wrong with you." ”

"You ......"

Seeing that the atmosphere between the two was tense, everyone hurriedly stepped forward to persuade them.

After the two sides calmed down a bit, Zhou Ziju said to Zhong Jinxian: "My grandson is indeed a little reckless in today's matter, but young man, you say this, it's a bit excessive, right?"

"Do you think I shouldn't say that my brother's calligraphy is better than yours? ”

Zhong Jinxian snorted and said to Meng Zitao: "Zitao, you are too modest, just show your hand and let everyone see it, those who have the ability should attract everyone's attention." ”

Zhou Ziju was also annoyed in his heart, originally, he was not satisfied with the result of the competition with Yu Sihai just now, thinking that his level was higher than Yu Sihai, but since Wang Lao and Qin Lao gave the results, he didn't have much to say, but he was still a little dissatisfied in his heart.

Now a young man in his twenties wants to climb on his head, he feels that he can't bear it, and he doesn't need to endure it anymore, as before, crush everything with strength.

"Hehe, in that case, then I want to see the little brother's calligraphy. ”

"Since Zhou Lao said so, that kid will also be ugly. ”

Meng Zitao smiled a little bitterly in his heart, Zhong Jinxian said so, if he didn't show his calligraphy level, it would be a slap in the face of Zhong Jinxian.

"You also know that you are making a fool of yourself!" Zhou Duo said with a sarcastic expression.

"Shut up!" Zhou Ziju scolded, at this time, of course, speak with facts, if Meng Zitao's calligraphy is not good, then it proves that they are just clowns jumping off the beam, if he loses, then everything will be over, but he will definitely not feel that he will lose, he still has this confidence.

Therefore, at this time, Zhou Duo was still unrelenting, giving people a feeling of narrow-mindedness, which was completely unnecessary.

Zhou Ziju smiled and said to Meng Zitao: "Little brother, why don't we work together?"

"No problem. Meng Zitao said: "Old Zhou, you also spent a lot of physical strength just now, why don't we write a word first?"

"A word?"

The surrounding guests all started talking.

"How can it be that this person writes a word so well?"

"It's not surprising that some people have very poor calligraphy, but their own signatures are very good, and it's a matter of practice making perfect, like some. ”

"What do you think I'm doing, everyone knows that I only have a primary school education, what's the problem if I can't write well?"

"Gotta get it, you two don't quarrel now, let's see the excitement first. ”

"It seems that this young man is trying to be opportunistic, how can a word tell the complete level of calligraphy. ”

"However, it's useless for him to trick himself, Zhou Lao has been in calligraphy for so many years, which can he compare, I really think I am a genius!"

"What about a genius, even a genius depends on hard work, how old is he, how much time can he spend practicing calligraphy after removing the time he has to go to school?"

"Hmph! That's it, this person said it nicely, it's not that there are too many flowers......

In the midst of the discussion, Zhou Ziju asked, "Oh, which word do you want to write?"

Meng Zitao turned a deaf ear to the discussion and said, "Just write the word 'Yong'." ”

Qin Lao's eyes lit up: "Okay, the word 'Yong' is good!"

Wang Lao also agreed.

When the second elder said this, the original surrounding discussion disappeared immediately.

"What's the matter, what does the word 'Yong' mean?" the person who didn't understand hurriedly asked.

After all, it is an antique salon, and there are many people who have studied calligraphy, and someone immediately explained: "Haven't you heard of the 'Yongzi Eight Methods'?"

"I really haven't heard of it, I'm tired of explaining!"

Some asked, and some immediately began to sell their knowledge.

According to legend, Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, spent several years writing the word "Yong". He believes that this character has the eight methods of regular script, and if the character "Yong" is written well, all the characters can be written well. Later, Wang Xizhi's grandson Zhiyong passed the "Yongzi Eight Methods" to Yu Shinan, and later, it was passed down by many calligraphers.

Yongzi Bafa is actually the eight strokes of the word "Yong", representing the general body of strokes in Chinese calligraphy, which are "side, le, crossbow, Bao, strategy, sweeping, pecking, and 磔", which are explained in the book "A Brief Introduction to Chinese Calligraphy" written by Zhu Zongyuan.

"Therefore, comparing the word 'yong' is actually equivalent to comparing eight times, and the level of calligraphy is completely superior to this 'character'. ”

"In that case, why did you just say that the yin and yang are weird. ”

"Hehe, isn't this because I didn't expect it?"

"Indeed, I didn't expect this young man to dare to compare the word 'Yong', it seems that he is very angry!"

Hearing the chatter around him, Zhou Duo sneered: "Hmph, it's not even better, what are you blowing?"

No matter what Zhou Duo thinks, because of this episode, the interest of the guests at the scene has increased greatly, and everyone wants to know what level Meng Zitao will be at when he proposes this word. Of course, now I think that Meng Zitao will win, except for Meng Zitao's friends, there is basically no one else, even Ma Huayu is sweating for Meng Zitao.

"Together?"

"Together!"

Ma Huayu asked people to prepare pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and the old and the young began to write Yongzi.

Calligraphy lovers all know that there are techniques in calligraphy, such as hiding the front, patronizing, moving the pen, lifting, pressing, and frustration in calligraphy, and the use of arm strength, wrist strength, palm force, and finger force in terms of writing force.

There are several ways to hold the pen in calligraphy, and Mencius used the twisting method. The so-called twisting tube or turning the tube, making the turn, is a technique for writing brush words, in layman's terms, when writing brush words, according to the actual needs of the brush barrel according to the clockwise or counterclockwise direction of twisting or turning.

The first function of the twisting technique is to keep the pen stroke smooth and ensure the smoothness of writing; the second function is to adjust the pen tip at any time through the twist to run in the center of the stroke, which is what we often say about the center of the pen, only through the center of the pen, can finally achieve the artistic effect of force through the back of the paper.

To put it bluntly, only through the twisting tube can the regular script start steadily, so that the strokes of the line and cursive script are like flowing water and elegant clouds, so that the Kai and Wei calligraphy can achieve a vigorous and powerful artistic effect.

As the saying goes, the layman looks at the liveliness, the insider looks at the doorway, when Mencius Tao holds the pen, Wang Lao and others next to him have a very strong feeling that Mencius Tao's calligraphy is very powerful.

At this time, in Mencius's eyes, there was only his pen and the paper in front of him, which fell neatly.

"Point" is "side", the side is steep, paving the line, and the momentum is enough to close the front;

"Horizontal" is "strangle", the paper falls against the front, slowly goes back sharply, and cannot be flattened along the front;

"Straight pen (or vertical)" is "Nu", should not be too straight, too straight will be stiff and weak, and must be straight in the curve;

"Hook" is "趯" (ti), stationed in the front to lift the pen, so that the force is concentrated on the nib;

"Yang Heng (or mention)" is "policy", the pen is the same as the straight stroke, and the strength is at the end of the stroke;

"Long skimming" is "sweeping", starting with the straight stroke, the front is slightly fat, and the force should be delivered;

"Short" for "peck", the pen is left out, fast and sharp;

The pen of "pinching" is "磔", the reverse front falls lightly, the folding front is paved slowly, and the closing edge is implicit.

Speaking of which, although the Yongzi Eight Methods have been widely spread in the calligraphy world for a long time, however, few people can really show the essence of the Yongzi Eight Methods, and when Mencius fell the first stroke, Wang Lao's eyes suddenly opened the boss...... (To be continued.) )