Yan Zhenqing took part in the Imperial Examination at the age of 26 and was admitted to the Jinshi. Two years later, he became the school bookkeeper of the imperial court (the official responsible for writing inscriptions and eulogies). Later, the court asked him to go to Liquan County (now Shaanxi Province) to be a county magistrate in charge of local public security.

There is a lot of business in the county government, but Yan Zhenqing still does not forget to practice calligraphy. Although everyone praised him for his great handwriting skills, he thought that as the saying goes, "There are mountains outside the mountains, and there are days behind them", and his kung fu skills were not at home, so he had to worship a brilliant teacher. Soon, he resigned from his official position, and with some words he wrote, he rushed to Luoyang to learn from the great calligrapher Zhang Xu.

Zhang Xu listened to Yan Zhenqing, carefully read Yan Zhenqing's words and said to him:

"Your calligraphy is already very good. Now, the country is the time to employ people. You are the pillar of the country's future. How can you spend so much energy on writing? As long as you practice hard, your handwriting will definitely improve, and you don't have to worship me as a teacher. "

Hearing Zhang Xu's remarks, Yan Zhenqing felt reasonable. Seeing that Zhang Xu was determined not to accept himself as a disciple, he set off for Chang 'an.

Yan Zhenqing went home to be an official, but he was always uneasy about learning calligraphy from Zhang. Soon after, he resigned again and went to Luoyang to find Zhang Xu.

When Zhang Xu saw Yan Zhenqing quit his job for the second time to study calligraphy, he was moved by his sincerity, so he gladly accepted the apprentice.