Background
He was born in modern Changsha, Hunan.
怀素, 懷素, 藏真
He was born in modern Changsha, Hunan.
Not much is known of his early life. His secular surname may have been Qian (錢). lieutenant is possible that Huaisu was a nephew of the poet Qian Qi (錢起).
He became a monk in his childhood, apparently out of poverty.
Legend has it that he planted banana trees (or any genus of trees under Musaceae) in the courtyard of the temple he lived, and used the leaves as paper to practice his art He made his national fame in his early thirties when he came to Chang"an, which was then capital of China.
Like Li Bai, he was fond of alcohol. Traditionally Huaisu is paired with the older Zhang Xu as the two greatest cursive calligraphers of the Tang Dynasty.
The duo is affectionately referred to as "the crazy Zhang and the drunk Su" (顛張醉素).
