About two years ago, I received a WeChat message from Mr. Zhou Weiqiang, quoting a letter from Mr. Zhang Zongxiang to his nephew Jin Shenlu in Hong Kong in 1960:
"Yin Mo is a great friend. I am the same as the other, he works hard, I am highly talented, and each has its own strengths. He sells for 50 yuan per frame, and I must not be too high, at most 20% high. The painting can be determined at will, but it cannot be passed by the old friend Huang Binhong, according to Huang Binhong's example, or minus 20% can also be. ”
Then he asked two questions that were quite peculiar: "Is the price mentioned by Mr. Zhang Zongxiang hong kong dollars or renminbi?" Did the sale of paintings and calligraphy take place in Hong Kong or the Mainland? "This material is very informative, I suddenly came to be interested, in the occasion of private correspondence, Mr. Zhang Zongxiang's evaluation of Shen Yinmo and Huang Binhong, the positioning of the self is intriguing.
More than 60 years later, Zhang Zongxiang, Shen Yinmo, and Huang Binhong have all entered the historical sequence of classicization, and this comment is still worth scrutinizing from the current point of view. Follow mr. Zhou Weiqiang's two questions: Zhang Zongxiang still had the practice of ordering Runge in 1960, and what was the living situation of those artists who relied on the art market to sell works for a living during the Republic of China period after the founding of New China? I also went to read the book "Modern And Contemporary Golden Stone Calligraphers and Painters Run" edited by Mr. Wang Zhongxiu, and although I did not find an answer that could directly answer the question about "currency", I also began to pay attention to the historical materials related to Runge.
Later, I learned that Mr. Zhou Weiqiang was writing a "small article" related to Shen Yinmo. During that time, I often "saw" the landscape photos he took while walking in the Xixi Wetland in the circle of friends, and I felt a contemplative mood and atmosphere, which was a familiar state for people in writing. He also seems to like to photograph all kinds of clouds, not only numbered, but also marked with shooting time, which is very interesting. It wasn't until June this year that I received his new book "Pen under the Clouds: Mr. Shen Yinmo's Inscription on the Past" (Zhejiang People's Fine Arts Publishing House, 2021 edition), and I suddenly realized that the "small article" in his mouth was actually a book!
"Cloud Smoke under the Pen: Mr. Shen Yinmo's Inscription on the Past", by Zhou Weiqiang, published by Zhejiang People's Fine Arts Publishing House
After the founding of New China, Shen Yinmo did a lot of calligraphy popularization work, and the inscription of books was also one of the contents of these popularization work.
He said in his article "Calligraphy today and Tomorrow":
"Calligraphy is not only used on strip screens, couplets, albums, and fans, but also in advertising trademarks, street signs, signs, signs, inscriptions, etc., and also needs to have beautiful calligraphy, causing a certain publicity effect." Over the years, I have inscribed a lot of words for the book and picture publishing house, daily commodity stores, export material companies, etc., and the year before yesterday, the Tianjin China Pharmaceutical Factory asked me to write more than twenty kinds of wrapping paper for them with the names of cream pills, which is said to be used to wrap medicines, which is also related to sales, which is also a perfect example of the need for calligraphy in society. ”
For the voices that appeared in society at that time to worry about the fate of calligraphy, on the one hand, he wrote articles to clarify the zeitgeist of calligraphy, and on the other hand, he put it into practice, so that his calligraphy could serve the needs of public life and aesthetics.
Shen Yinmo's era positioning of calligraphy not only considers the historical law of the change of calligraphy, but also has an important background of the times. In the 1950s, in order to eliminate more than 80% of the country's illiteracy, the Chinese Character Reform Association, led by Wu Yuzhang, began to formulate a character reform plan and promote simplified characters. From the beginning of the reform to the present, the debate between traditional and simplified characters has not stopped. As an important figure in the book world at that time, Shen Yinmo's views and attitudes were crucial.
At the end of 1963, Shen Yinmo published The Spirit of the Times in the Art of Calligraphy. The article believes that the most important of the laws of the development of calligraphy is to combine practicality, so calligraphy artists have no reason to oppose simplified characters, but to clap their hands to welcome it, which not only meets the needs of the times, but also a good time for the calligraphy art world to make a "breakthrough". In the treatment of calligraphic forms, we should pursue "dignified, generous, vivid and healthy beauty, rather than pursuing weirdness." "This actually sets out an aesthetic standard for how calligraphy of this period serves the masses, and also provides a sample of how individual writing interacts with the new era." It is precisely because he positioned the inscription as the work of popularizing calligraphy, and writing the inscription to meet the needs of various industries has become a very serious job for him. The number of inscriptions during this period was very large, and we can see this in the inscription materials listed in Mr. Zhou Weiqiang's book. At the time of the inscription, his writing state is full of emotional preparation, positive, and mental preparation is also very sufficient. Therefore, I am afraid that these inscriptions cannot be simply classified as works of the times, or positioned as writings that are only carried out for service publicity and beautification, but should be regarded as important calligraphy works for Shen Yinmo's writing concepts and calligraphy exploration in his later years.
However, the inscription is indeed a more special form of calligraphy in terms of form. Inscriptions evolved from labels that played a role in classification and marking. With the collection of books, calligraphy and painting into a book, the label gradually evolved into an organic part of the decoration of books, calligraphy and painting, adding artistic considerations in addition to practical functions, and the text inscribed on the note was gradually refined. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, the form of the inscription was extremely rich, and its cultural and artistic function was also displayed to the extreme in this small square inch. The inscription can be appreciated not only as an independent art form, but also as a witness to the circulation process of calligraphy and painting and the exchange of literati. In a special historical period, it can also witness the changes in social and cultural aesthetic habits and convey some special political meanings. Of course, only certain inscriptions will witness a specific historical moment. Therefore, the act of inscription itself is not just a simple act of writing, and the inscription cannot be understood only from the level of calligraphy. A small inscription on one side can not only witness the calligrapher's artistic creation ability, but also witness history. If you don't return to the historical scene, how can you release those special historical moments?
Mr. Zhou Weiqiang cut into the "past" behind the inscription, which cannot but be said to have a unique vision in the selection of topics. The 25 essays in the whole book, with the inscription as the hair point, outline Mr. Shen Yinmo's life experience, personality, poetry, book style, social travel, etc., seemingly written in letters, but the front and back are closely reflected, showing the author's ingenuity in cutting historical materials, and a complete silhouette of Shen Yinmo is presented.
As far as I know, this book should be the first book in China to collect and discuss Shen Yinmo's inscription. The materials used in it contain not only inscriptions that have been published publicly, but also some inscriptions that have not been "selected" by the publishing house and thus fail to enter the public eye. Whether it is for calligraphy enthusiasts or professional calligraphy researchers, or even general readers who pay attention to Shen Yinmo, these inscriptions are undoubtedly new materials with research and appreciation value.
The author is very sensitive to historical materials and often has unique views. For example, shen Yinmo's materials for the writing of the publishing house's inscription are quite wonderful, and readers can read according to the rules. The use of one of the materials can especially see the characteristics of the author's interpretation of historical materials, and there are many Shen Fa in places where ordinary people do not pay attention to it, that is, they pay attention to the details of the manuscript paper used by Shen Yinmo's letter, so that not only can we observe his close interaction with Ma Lian, but also observe his solemn attitude towards the inscription.
There is also idle writing in the book, which is difficult to prove in the literature, and the heart proves it. For example, the author mentions:
"Mr. Shen Yinmo did rarely write classical literature papers later. So, while he inscribed the title of the classical literary works to be published by the People's Literature Publishing House, would he also use this to relive the meaning of these works in his heart? When he wrote the title of the book, he also immersed himself in these classical essences? ”
If you know a little about Mr. Shen Yinmo's academic and life experience, I am afraid that you will have a sense of understanding when you read this. Shen Yinmo taught literature and history courses at Peking University in his early years, and was also a famous poet of the old, and as a poet, Shen Yinmo, when he inscribed the poetry collections of Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi, and Su Shi, he was afraid that his thoughts and feelings could not be calm. In particular, he also suffered from the loss of his eyesight, and could not read more books and newspapers, even more in his later years. The author's questions leave room for us to experience and understand the state of Writing when Shen Yinmo's inscription is signed. Although Shen Yinmo's reputation in calligraphy far surpasses his poetic name, how can Shen Yinmo, as a calligrapher, and Shen Yinmo, as a literary artist, be separated? Of course, it cannot be viewed separately. There are many similar idle writings in the book, with implicit implications, which in my opinion are the parts that the author has not cited, and they are also the parts that feel unfinished.
Shen Yinmo once described his lifelong belief in Mi Fu's "pity without Suojing's true deeds, looking at his lower pen", especially the "next pen" is extremely critical, which is the place where the scholar "golden needle degree" is. The same is true of academic essays and academic writing, which are extremely impressive at the beginning of the next pen, and the high intentions have also been punished since then. Although this book has an appreciation for inscription calligraphy, it focuses more on the historical reasoning behind the inscription. The whole book is based on materials but quite "plain", there is no general writing of the palm of the hunting hand, nor does it sell the so-called "secret", the writing method is written in the essay, although there are branches that are obliquely out of the side, but the judgment is cautious and careful to verify. For example, on the runge issue, the analysis of Gao Luopei's "Bajiang Lubie Poems and Calligraphy And Paintings" and Zhou Ruchang's "Dream of the Red Chamber New Certificate" and other inscriptions puts the academic issues that still have room for discussion in front of the reader, which is probably a problem that is difficult to bypass for further study of Shen Yinmo's inscription calligraphy.
With research, questions, and sentiments, coupled with the author's careful selection of historical materials, the writing of this book has the characteristics of both academic and essay writing. The author holds a tile in his hand and throws it out, hitting countless splashes. Shen Yinmo's cultural and personal image became vivid in these splashes of water.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Mr. Shen Yinmo's death, and I happen to have in hand a copy of "Small Title "Big Work": Appreciation of Calligraphy signed by Yu Youren six years ago (2015), which was also made to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Mr. Yu Youren's death. "South Shen And North Yu", two peaks, two calligraphy paths, re-"meet" on the road of historicization, and the two inscriptions are signed to each other, as if the illusion of witnessing the reunion of two old friends is born.
The author of this article is a doctor of literature and an associate researcher of Hangzhou Normal University
Author: Tang Weiping
Editor: Xue Weiping