Li Sen

Qi Lu Bird-Worm Seal Script and Horse-Eagle Seal Script Calligraphy Master Li Sen's Legend
By Wang Kuijie
         The most common calligraphy styles people see are clerical script and Song style, and perhaps you also know about seal script and bronze inscriptions. These scripts have been passed down for more than 5000 years, but you might not be aware that there is a unique calligraphy called bird-worm seal script that has been passed down for over 9000 years. Each character in this script has a bird-head shape on top and looks like a wriggling worm at the bottom, making it look both like characters and paintings, very beautiful and elegant. However, writing it is more complicated than clerical script or Song style.
Don't underestimate bird-worm seal script. In the Qin Dynasty, Emperor Qin Shi Huang designated it as the exclusive script for the royal family. Royal documents and seals used this bird-worm seal script, and civilians were forbidden from using it arbitrarily. There are historical records of this. Therefore, the inheritance of bird-worm seal script became a forgotten corner, with no one to pass it on, and many people have never seen this style of script. You can still find traces of bird-worm seal script on ancient furniture, so many people don't know what bird-worm seal script is all about? This shows how difficult it is to appreciate bird-worm seal script! If you want to see bird-worm seal script, I can recommend you a master of bird-worm seal script, his name is Li Sen, he is from our city Jinan and is already 70 years old.
       Li Sen is a well-known figure in our city of Jinan. He holds several positions including honorary professor of a university, vice chairman of Confucius Academy, and inheritor of Qi Lu bird-worm seal script and horse-eagle seal script. He began practicing bird-worm seal script at the age of six. When he writes bird-worm seal script, he does so effortlessly, singing while writing, his brushwork flowing like clouds and water. Looking at his works feels like entering nature, as if hearing the phoenix receiving the homage of a hundred birds and ten thousand horses galloping.
  According to Master Li, after Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified the country, he also unified the script. Since bird-worm seal script was highly regarded in modern times, it was honored as one of the eight official scripts of the Qin dynasty and became the exclusive royal font. The characters of the jade seal (Made by Heaven, Everlasting Peace) carved by Prime Minister Li Si were written in bird-worm seal script. It was forbidden for civilians to use it arbitrarily.
  A thousand years later, during the Qing Dynasty, the imperial family no longer monopolized the art of bird-worm seal script. Li's ancestors began to excavate and inherit bird-worm seal script and innovate horse-eagle seal script. Li Changyou, the sixth generation ancestor who was born in 1835, had a close connection with bird-worm seal script and also innovated horse-eagle seal script to commemorate the historical achievements of Genghis Khan. Li Heren, the fifth generation ancestor, further developed the system of writing, reaching a peak. Li Huichong, the fourth generation ancestor, became more proficient and passed it down to Grandpa Li Fengxiang. Grandpa had two sons, Li Runtao, the eldest son, and Li Runsheng, the second son, both practiced bird-worm seal script and horse-eagle seal script. Uncle Runsheng had high talent and later entered the Central Academy of Fine Arts to study comics, becoming a contemporary cartoonist with the pen name Xiao Li. He is good friends with cartoon masters such as Hua Junwu and Fang Cheng. Uncle shouldered the responsibility of continuing the family tradition, laying a solid foundation through systematic and strict training for young Li Sen. After over 60 years of hard practice and careful research, he has created masterpieces that have been widely collected and spread. Many media outlets争相 reported, such as: Chinese Traditional Culture Network, People's News, Qilu Dot, Tencent, iQIYI, Youku, Baidu, and the Provincial Library collection. On the official website of China Artists Association, six bird-worm seal script works were selected, including Confucius' (It is a joy to have friends coming from afar), Tsinghua University motto (Virtue carries all things, self-improvement never stops), auspicious phrases (Harmony brings prosperity), (Purple aura comes from the east), etc. They were collected by the China Cultural Heritage Protection Research Institute and the Huaxia Literature and Art Academy established in 2018 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up, and displayed bird-worm seal script masterpieces at the founding ceremony, featuring Chairman Xi Jinping's words (Stay true to our original aspiration and keep our mission firmly in mind). To celebrate the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up, the Honesty Shandong magazine published Li Sen's carefully written bird-worm seal script of Chairman Xi Jinping's words (Stay true to our original aspiration and keep our mission firmly in mind) on page 48. Later, it was permanently collected and broadcasted by Jiangsu TV's "One Station, One Destination" program.
  With the aim of spreading and promoting Chinese culture and ancient scripts through television media. On August 17, 2019, at the (Zhonghe Zhandao International Auction House), the bird-worm seal script work of Chairman Xi Jinping's words (Stay true to our original aspiration and keep our mission firmly in mind) was auctioned for 180,000 yuan. On November 9, 2019, the click count on the official website of the China Artists Association exceeded 2.51 million, ranking first in popularity index. Bird-worm seal script and horse-eagle seal script were gifted to African friends. A talented student from Lesotho sent to China for study, Lucy, has a special interest in Chinese culture and the ancient scripts of bird-worm seal script and horse-eagle seal script. She has already become Li Sen's disciple to learn these calligraphic arts.