Master Hongyi left us a lot of legendary stories, before he left home, he was dressed in fresh clothes and was talented, after he became a monk, he strictly observed the precepts, compassion, read the Buddha but did not forget patriotism, he made remarkable achievements in art, calligraphy, seal carving, drama, music, Buddhism and many other aspects, can be called a wizard, but to say that the most attractive to the author, or his calligraphy, especially his calligraphy in his later years gives people a feeling of closeness, peace and ease, making people feel like a spring breeze and a relaxed heart. In the author's opinion, it is most appropriate to describe Master Hongyi as "Dao to Jane", and the author summarizes the beauty of his calligraphy as the three realms of simplicity, simplicity and simplicity.
Statue of Master Koichi
First, from the perspective of calligraphy appreciation, Master Hongyi's characters are simple and generous
Master Hongyi's life is the best interpretation of "Boguan Yue", he has a very wide influence in the fields of literature and art, religion, and education, Lu Xun, Guo Moruo and other cultural celebrities are supremely honored to be able to obtain the calligraphy works of the master, and Lü Fengzi, who was the president of the National Academy of Arts, highly respects his position in the field of painting, saying that "the initiators of the traditional Chinese painting reform movement should push Li Shutong as the first person." Zhu Guanglu once said in his recollection that "at that time, there was one of the ordinary friends who did not often appear and everyone felt his influence- Master Hongyi", and the influence of the master was evident from this. Obviously, his erudition is based on the integration of various artistic disciplines, and in the point of "Boguan", Master Hongyi is undoubtedly beyond the reach of ordinary people.
From the existing data, it can be seen that the stele that Master Hongyi copied before his ordination includes ShiGuwen, "Records of the Statue of Shiping Gong", "Portrait of Yang Dayan", "Monument of Zhang Ronglong", "Cuan Baozi Stele", "Songfeng Ge Ti" and other classic stele, and Master Hongyi's copying ability is extremely strong, and the stele copied in his "Lingu Law Book" can almost be distorted. But he did not indulge in the depiction of the ancients, but sought to find the deep law of calligraphy from the ancient inscriptions, he said in a letter to Ma Donghan: "When the decadent people write, they all try to arrange and harmonize the shape of the whole paper according to the principle of Western painting patterns. The zigzag paintings, brushwork, pen strength, structure, charm, and even a certain stele, a certain post, and a certain school that ordinary people pay attention to are all unanimously dismissed, and they are never carefully pondered. This passage fully demonstrates the key to the founding of the Sect by Master Hongyi—from the imitation of the style of the inscription to the refinement of the rules of writing.
Second, from the perspective of the artistic pattern, Master Hongyi's words are simple and transparent
This is the core idea of Chinese literature and art. Calligraphy art creation is the artist's ideological and emotional expression and the understanding and expression of Chinese culture, in other words, Chinese culture and philosophical thought are the foundation of calligraphy, and the atmosphere and style of calligraphy are the external presentation of calligraphy. A brilliant calligrapher should not only master the skills of writing, but also have a profound cultural heritage and extraordinary ideological height. From the perspective of the artistic pattern, Master Hongyi's words are simple and transparent, rich in connotation and broad in meteorology, which can also reflect the extraordinary cultural connotation and ideological height of the master from the side.
The shape of Master Hongyi's calligraphy looks simple, but it is often unexpected, creating an aesthetic distance that is immediately out of place. In ancient times, many first-class painters were often first-class calligraphers, such as Mi Fu, Dong Qichang, Bada Shanren, Huang Binhong, Qi Baishi, Xu Beihong, etc. They took the Fa stele, but they were not limited by the calligraphy stele, and through processing and transformation, they could do it at will, self-contained, and their calligraphy shapes were often imaginative and creative. With his solid painting skills and modeling ability, Master Hongyi naturally has a height of understanding that is difficult for ordinary people to reach in the process of calligraphy creation, and his calligraphy shape is born from the Wei Monument, integrating the gentleness and subtlety of the thesis, and finally forming a unique style of length, depression and even clumsiness.
Third, from the perspective of the soul level of art, Master Hongyi's words are simple and detached
Feng Zikai once said: "I think that human life can be divided into three layers: one is material life, the other is spiritual life, and the third is soul life. Material life is food and clothing. Spiritual life is academic literature. The life of the soul is religion. Life is such a three-story building, but our Master Hongyi walks up layer by layer. ”
Zong Baihua mentioned in "Aesthetic Walking" that "the beauty of natural and simple whiteness is the highest realm." "Ben itself is a kind of brilliant beauty of stripes, and white ben is the ultimate return to plainness, throughout history, it can be said that there are only a few people who can reach this realm." Just like in martial arts novels, many top masters continue to improve their cultivation behavior, but in addition to the Shaolin sweeping monks, how many people really do their hearts like stopping water and letting go of everything? Literary and artistic creation is the same truth, if you want to enter the highest state, you must go through the transformation and transcendence of "small me" to "big me", "me" to "no self", all thinking and speculation, emotional ups and downs, will be put down one by one, and all appearances and attachments will be returned to nothingness. If you want to reach this realm, I am afraid that only a very small number of geniuses have this possibility, their literary and artistic creations are often combined with philosophy and religion, pointing to a kind of ultimate concern about life and the world, the poetry of Tao Yuanming and Wang Wei, the landscape paintings of Ni Yunlin and Huang Gongwang, and the calligraphy of Master Hongyi should be classified into this category.
Pan Tianshou once said: "My master Hongyi Master Yun: 'Literature and art should be passed on by people, and not by literature and art.' 'Can be corroborated with the tang shu 'people can be hongdao, not Daohong people'. "If artists want to reach a certain height, they must improve their abilities, tastes, and cultivation in an all-round way, if they only focus on how to write and how to paint, and only care about the so-called techniques and means of change, they are easy to fall into the metaphysical shackles." Only when his mentality and character reach a state of maturity or detachment, then his work has a soul and depth.
Article Source: The Collector
202108 issue of "The Great Avenue to Jane: The Calligraphy Realm of Master Hongyi"
Author: Li Qunhui
Editor-in-Charge: Qin Jia