中文 
en 
The mid to early Qing period marked the beginning of a transformative shift in scholarly practice. Although Zhao Mengfu and Dong Qichang remained popular, their influence was waning. Under the influence of the growing enthusiasm for epigraphy, the calligraphic style of the Bei (stele) school gradually emerged. During this period, calligraphers exhibited two distinctly different aesthetic orientations in their creative practices: regular script and cursive script continued to follow traditional models, while seal script showed a clear preference for the Bei style. Calligraphy grounded in the spirit of the Tie (iron) school and epigraphic calligraphy, though belonging to two separate systems in terms of aesthetic categories and technical approaches, did not represent an insurmountable divide.
Today, with diverse forms and aesthetic orientations in calligraphic creation, these two layers of aesthetic orientation have converged and are worthy of study and emulation. From the mid-Qing period through the Republican era to contemporary calligraphy circles, the Bei-school style has gradually become customary, with the Tie-school tradition further interpenetrating and merging with the Bei-school style. From Yu Youren, the cursive calligrapher rooted in stele traditions, to Wang Quchang, another cursive master inspired by steles, all strove to achieve integration between stele and brushwork. From technical execution to theoretical research, the gap between Bei and Tie calligraphy has diminished; increasingly more calligraphers are learning to complement each other’s strengths—bridging the fluency, elegance, and conciseness of Bei and Tie styles. Of course, such learning and integration is not mere mechanical replication; it demands understanding and internalization at the essential level of calligraphy itself. Merely pursuing integration for its own sake is undesirable; pure imitation of ink-script or pure imitation of stone-carved styles can both attain profound artistic heights.