The Northern Song calligrapher famous for his distinctive “Mi Fu style” was Mi Fu.
Mi Fu was a leading Northern Song scholar, painter, collector, and calligrapher whose work became known for energetic movement, unusual structure, and highly personal brush control. He was born in 1051 and served in several government posts, but his reputation rests especially on his connoisseurship and art criticism as well as his own calligraphy.
Mi Fu’s writing drew deeply on earlier masters, particularly Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi, yet he transformed those influences into a recognizable manner of his own. His running script is often praised for lively rhythm, strong variation in the brushwork, and an appearance that can seem spontaneous without being careless. Later artists studied and imitated this approach, creating what is commonly described as the Mi style.
Mi Fu is one of the “Four Great Calligraphers” of the Northern Song, alongside Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, and Cai Xiang. The phrase “Mi Fu style” identifies an influential artistic model, not a separate basic script category such as regular, clerical, or cursive script.