Zhang Zhi

Zhang Zhi (?-192 AD), also known by his courtesy name Boying, was a native of Yuanquan, Dunhuang, and a renowned calligrapher during the Eastern Han Dynasty. He is highly regarded in Chinese calligraphy as the "Sage of Running Script" for his exceptional skills in this form.

During the Eastern Han period, calligraphy was popular throughout the Dunhuang region. At Zhang's young age, his father, in order to facilitate calligraphic practice for Zhang Zhi and his brother, commissioned the construction of stone tables and benches by a pond. The brothers used silk as paper and practiced calligraphy by the water, writing, rinsing, and reusing the silk day after day, year after year, until the water turned black with ink. This location later became known as Zhang Zhi's Ink Pool.

According to the Dunhuang manuscript P.2005, Patterned Guidelines of Shazhou, Zhang Zhi's Ink Pool is located about 500 meters northeast of Dunhuang County. Additionally, the manuscript P.2748, Twenty Poems About Dunhuang, contains a poem titled Ode to the Ink Pool, expressing admiration for Zhang Zhi's character and calligraphy.

Zhang Zhi learned from the strengths of earlier calligraphers while innovating, ultimately breaking from old traditions to create a unique style of his own. His calligraphy displays a fluid form, where each stroke is a continuous motion, even if occasionally not connected perfectly; nonetheless, the essence remains uninterrupted. His characters feature a seamless flow with energy and rhythm connected across lines. Ancient scholars referred to this as "one-stroke flying white", and it is also celebrated as "one-stroke writing". Five pieces of his calligraphy are held in Calligraphic Inscriptions in the Secret Chamber of the Chunhua Period.

張芝

張芝（?—192），字伯英，敦煌淵泉人，東漢著名的書法家，因其草書造詣極高，在中國書法史上被尊稱為“草圣”。東漢時期，敦煌地區學習書法的風氣濃厚。其父張奐為方便張芝、張昶兄弟練習書法，派人鍛造石桌、石凳于水池邊。從此，張芝兄弟以帛為紙，臨池學書，先練寫而后漂洗再用。日復一日，年復一年，水為之黑，后世稱之為張芝墨池。

敦煌文獻P.2005《沙州都督府圖經》記載，張芝墨池位于敦煌縣東北一里處。敦煌文獻P.2748《敦煌廿詠》還寫有一首《墨池詠》，表現出對張芝品行和書法的贊賞。

張芝學習前人書法的長處并加以創新，終于擺脫舊俗獨創一體，其字之體勢，一筆所成，偶有不連，而血脈不斷，字跡氣脈貫通，隔行不斷。古人謂之“一筆飛白”，也被譽為“一筆書”，其書跡在《淳化閣帖》存有五帖。