▲ Du Fu "Wangyue" (calligraphy) Zhou Huijun
"My life has been so simple, so simple that I have done only one thing, and that is calligraphy!"
Zhou Huijun was born for calligraphy. This thin and strange woman has made a heavy mark on the history of Chinese calligraphy. Her art has influenced a whole generation of scholars, and some netizens said: "I have been posted by Mr. Zhou for more than 20 years!" ”
In 1998, when she was the main ally of the Shanghai book world, the voice of doubt never stopped: how did a sick and taciturn book association chairman take on the heavy responsibility of revitalizing Shanghai calligraphy and support the shanghai book world?
No one expected that this seemingly weak woman had implemented her new policies one after another, she said: "All I have to do is to let every scholar 'scold', not only to 'scold' to have fun, 'scold' to be happy, but also to 'scold' out of the level, 'scold' constructive, 'scold' wonderful, so that even if I 'scold' to step down, I have no regrets." 」 ”
Conquer the darkness of life with calligraphy
Zhou Huijun in her teenage years, cheerful and easy-going, has a wide range of interests, and her father, Zhou Zhixing, is a Confucian businessman, creating a good cultural environment for her children. She is obsessed with reading, tasting paintings, studying calligraphy, appreciating music, and has a special love for art.
She is diligent and studious in the three girls of the city, and her beautiful brush characters are praised by her teachers, and the same learning words are often portrayed by her as a model. However, rheumatoid arthritis is beginning to emerge, and physical education classes have been forced to be taken away. Illness prevented her from participating in club activities, and when her classmates watched movies and bookstores together, she always showed up at the hospital on time for treatment. During this time, she read a large number of classical poems and translated novels, especially the French writer Romain Roland's "Johann Christophe", which gave her a hard-fought answer: what a passionate and idealistic young man could do to spend the darkness of youth.
Like Christophe, her life is a journey of constantly overcoming herself in the midst of hope and despair. After graduating from high school, Zhou Huijun applied for the Department of Pharmacy of the University of Science and Technology. In 1959, zhou Huijun, a child of the bourgeoisie, was forced to withdraw from school, "the future is uncertain, the disease is full of suffering", she picked up the pen, ink and paper again. Zhou Huijun learned Zhao Mengfu at an early age, and in her father's eyes, Zhao Zi represented the orthodoxy of calligraphy, but this did not arouse her special interest. One day, Zhou Huijun inadvertently found the Song Dynasty scholar Mi Fu's "Shu Su Ti" in a cupboard, as if the power rushing out from within instantly hit Zhou Huijun, and she seemed to find the sensing point between the rice character and her temperament. From then on, the heart chases after it and immerses itself in it.
After a year of recuperation, Zhou Huijun took the college entrance examination again and successfully entered the physics department of East China Textile Institute of Technology (now Donghua University). After resuming her career, she practiced rice characters for several years in college, taking up almost all of her spare time.
Write a strong personality spirit
In the autumn of 1962, the Shanghai Chinese Calligraphy and Seal Engraving Research Association (the predecessor of the Shanghai Calligraphers Association) held a municipal calligraphy exhibition, and Zhou Huijun was selected for the "Shu Su Ti" of Jie Linmi fu and published in the Xinmin Evening News. After that, she entered the calligraphy study class of Shanghai Youth Palace, and was kissed by Shen Yinmo, Bai Banana, Gong Delin, Weng Minyun and other famous artists in the Haipai calligraphy camp, and she had a further understanding of the use of pens, and her calligraphy skills improved.
Unexpectedly, the "Cultural Revolution" suddenly broke out, and the study of the Youth Palace was forced to be interrupted with the dissolution of the "Book Carving Society", and his father also became the object of dictatorship. Zhou Huijun's rheumatoid arthritis for many years had another attack and had to take a long sick leave to recuperate at home. At this time, calligraphy became her only spiritual sustenance, "Cangxi Poetry Scroll", "Hongxian Poetry Scroll", "Duojing Lou Ti", she hung her sick arm and wrist and the ancients across the time and space dialogue, like writing the music of life, she wrote a passion that did not accept defeat.
By the early 1970s, things had improved. The Shanghai Oriental Red Calligraphy and Painting Society (Duo Yunxuan) began to invite some young authors to participate in calligraphy activities, and Zhou Huijun was also a member. Since then, her works have often been displayed in duoyunxuan's window and frequently appeared in municipal and district-level exhibitions. In 1972, the Japanese edition of the magazine "People's China" published her work, and the style of writing was strong and strong. At that time, the Shanghai Calligraphy and Seal Engraving Research Association wanted to organize a batch of calligraphy works to exchange in Japan, but because the old group of calligraphers were still unable to get rid of the "movement", Zhou Huijun and other young people were in danger. In 1974, because of the writing of "Lu Xun's Poetry Selection Book And Posters", the 35-year-old Zhou Huijun became famous in one fell swoop, and in just a few years, her name was spread throughout the country with record sales of more than 10 consecutive editions and more than 1 million copies.
In Zhou Huijun's artistic career, The Youth Palace was employed and entered the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy to become a professional calligrapher, which were two important catalytic periods. In 1975, Zhou Huijun entered the Chinese Academy of Painting in Shanghai and began to explore calligraphy in the true sense. True, grass, seal, li, big character list book, fly head small Kai, all involved, a large number of study stele, Northern Wei stele version, Jian Mu Shu book, up to the Jin and Tang Dynasties, down and Ming and Qing, before and after dabbling in the past of the stele up to seventy or eighty kinds, accumulated internal strength, with its own strong book style that is very different from others and unique personality spirit, formed a "post-shaped stele quality", and with a thick and strange, dangerous and ups and downs style, so that calligraphy in the visual impact to achieve a historic turn and breakthrough.
She has published dozens of posters, each of which has been reprinted in one edition, and is loved by calligraphy enthusiasts. Over the years, Zhou Huijun's calligraphy style has nourished groups of calligraphy enthusiasts.
Always keep a child's heart
Looking back at history, in the ancient Shanghai book world, there were Lu Ji, Zhang Han, Dong Qichang, shen Zengzhi, Wu Changshuo, Kang Youwei in modern times, and Yu Youren, Shen Yinmo, Bai Shuo, etc. in modern times.
In 1998, the Shanghai Book Association held a new election, Zhou Huijun was the main alliance of the Shanghai book world, in the face of all kinds of doubts and gossip, she said: "As long as it is conducive to the development of the Shanghai book circle, I will insist!" Under the leadership of Zhou Huijun and Secretary-General Wo Xinghua, the Shanghai Book Association has attacked in all directions such as practical creation, exhibitions, seminars, propaganda meetings, and book publishing, and has achieved fruitful results and attracted the attention of the national calligraphy community.
In 2003, Zhou Huijun was re-elected as the chairman of the Book Association, and Dai Xiaojing was appointed as the secretary general. They have completed a lot of pioneering work, published the "Collection of Works of Representative Calligraphers of Haipai", and held the "Haipai Calligraphy Jinjing Exhibition" at the National Art Museum of China in January 2007, which is of great significance to the promotion of Haipai calligraphy.
In December 2008, Zhou Huijun participated in the International Symposium on Haipai Calligraphy, and edited and published a collection of research essays, publishing "Hai na Bai Chuan You Rong Nai Da - Written on the Occasion of the International Symposium on Haipai Calligraphy" as a preface, which further promoted the development of Haipai calligraphy art and was of epoch-making historical significance.
In the 12 years that Zhou Huijun served as the chairman of the Shanghai Book Association, the Shanghai Book Association "went out" and "invited in", accepted many colleagues from brother provinces and cities with the heart of a hundred rivers and rivers, attracted foreign young calligraphers to Shanghai for employment, and enriched the team of calligraphy talents. It has always attached great importance to the development and cultivation of calligraphy for young and middle-aged people, and has held various calligraphy exhibitions such as "Shanghai Calligraphy seal engraving exhibition" and "Shanghai calligraphy newcomer new works exhibition". In 2005, the Shanghai Book Association began to take the calligraphy examination, and the youth reserve force training mechanism was rolled out.
Zhou Huijun has always had a rational attitude towards her own condition, she said: "My body has not been in a good state of mind. In 1987, she had an artificial replacement of her right hip, and in 2003 she performed an artificial joint replacement of her right knee again. In 2004, he underwent surgery to replace all hip and knee joints. She said that she took a lot of "not her own" things, even the joints are not native, others gave her a lot, society gave her a lot, life has gone through most of the half, should think more about how to reciprocate.
Zhou Huijun has always been enthusiastic about the development of Shanghai's calligraphy art cause, in 2018, she personally invested 25 million yuan to establish the "Shanghai Zhou Huijun Calligraphy Art Foundation", which is mainly used to reward outstanding calligraphers who have won awards in various calligraphy activities in the country and Shanghai.
Today, Mr. Li is traveling west, and her death is a major loss to the Shanghai Book Association and even the Chinese calligraphy community. Her dedication to the art of calligraphy has always inspired us calligraphers. Although she is gone, her spirit and her works will live forever in our hearts.
Minus Mulan was shocked to hear of the death of Zhou Huijun's eldest sister
Lin Xie
Pengzhou blew, mourning Yang Guan could not stay.
The stars burned, and the Nine Wild Books cried Hui Jun.
Painstaking work, clear bones and green trees called Yaxiu.
The heart is real, and the handwriting is left behind to inspire future generations.
Note: "Pengzhou Blowing" uses Song Li Qingzhao's "Fisherman's Pride" to "Ask Me Where I Belong... Pengzhou blows to take the three mountains to go" dictionary. "Xunzi" has "good deeds are difficult to investigate". And the "History of Song" has "the wind god Yaxiu, Tian Yu Rongli", and the tranquilizer is indifferent.
Night of December 27, 2021
January 16, 2022 China Culture Daily
The 3rd edition featured a special report
"I have only done calligraphy in my life."
——Zhou Huijun, a strange woman in the maritime book world
Editor-in-charge: Chen Xiaoyue