As an active advocate and promoter of calligraphy innovation, Shen Peng has brought calligraphy to a different path of development than tradition. Contemporary calligraphy one-sidedly pursues formal changes, moving closer and closer to Western art, and replacing nature and vividness with fabrication and exaggeration, and even has a tendency to abandon Chinese characters. Despite this, innovative bookmakers continue to undermine tradition and apply ugly books to the traditional art form of Chunlian. Shen Peng also recently wrote a huge spring couplet, hanging on the landmark building in his hometown, but the effect was not satisfactory.
On the afternoon of January 19, 2022, Jiangyin City, Jiangsu Province, held the "New Year Opening Red, Together to the Future" Spring Festival Hanging Activity, which was selected at the local cultural landmark Chaozongmen. Mr. Shen Peng, a 91-year-old master of innovative calligraphy and honorary chairman of the China Book Association, wrote and wrote a 5-meter-high giant Spring League, which hung on both sides of the gate of Chaozongmen, with the following contents: "Chaozong Naji, Guyi Hui Xiangyun Wanjia Lights; Heaven and Earth Welcome Spring, Jiangcheng Rongrui Qi Yanxia." ”
Shen Peng's Spring League
The content of this Spring League text is still somewhat imposing, and the size is large enough, but the momentum of the words themselves is obviously insufficient. In traditional calligraphy, it is not that the words are large and the length is enough to be imposing. If you want to really have a righteous atmosphere, you still need to rely on the support of moral cultivation and skill, and simply pursue innovative calligraphy with changes in form, which is difficult to be competent for such writing content. Mr. Shen Peng's couplet is obviously not in harmony with the ancient city gate and the atmosphere of the Spring Festival.
Shen Pengchunlian hanging on the Chaozong Gate
From the perspective of traditional calligraphy, although this couplet is not exaggerated and deformed like other innovative calligraphy, it has the common disease of innovative calligraphy - unnatural fabrication. It can be said that Mr. Shen Peng's words are only one step away from the ugly book. This is not the main problem, the most serious is that such a thin, thin font is not suitable for writing Spring League, let alone hanging on the building.
Shen Peng's works
The Spring League requires festive and auspicious, and to achieve such a visual effect, the knot should be stable and the dot painting should be stout. And Shen Peng's characters, dot painting is weak, like dry branches, and the knot is not stable. The knots in traditional calligraphy are vivid, not out of balance, just like a person who is in motion, although he is moving, but his body is balanced, and Shen Peng's characters are like people who have fallen to the ground. Such words are incompatible with the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival.
Speaking of the coordination with the environment, since ancient times Chinese like to inscription on the building, which not only enhances the momentum of the building, but also increases the cultural connotation, the appropriate inscription is like the eye of the building, is the aura of the entire building gathered, played the role of icing on the cake, and the majestic, stable building complements each other. Words that can achieve such an effect are not uncommon in ancient architecture. For example, several plaques hanging on the Zixiao Palace on Wudang Mountain are thick and generous, especially the four words "Qingdu outside the clouds", which not only point out the attributes of the building - the Qingshu Dojo, but also trigger the endless imagination of visitors, as if through layers of white clouds to the front of the main hall. The ancients skillfully used the two techniques of virtual and real to create a school of immortality, and the whole character and the hall were integrated.
Plaque of The Purple Xiao Palace on Wudang Mountain
The characters on the building belong to the list book, and have their own special requirements, and the Qing Dynasty calligrapher Kang Youwei said in the "Book Mirror": "The list book must be written and ink gracefully, with quiet and simple as the top, and the majestic and elegant jian is secondary." If you intend to be imposing, you are the father. Whoever cannot write books, and who has not written a book without being imposing, cannot conceal his shortcomings. That is to say, the highest level of the list book is solemn and quiet, and once again it is majestic and generous, and it cannot be deliberate and artificial like innovative calligraphy, and those who have not started calligraphy cover up their shortcomings by deliberately creating momentum.
Plaque outside the clouds
And Shen Peng's huge Spring League, neither a quiet atmosphere, nor a majestic look, is completely deliberately creating momentum, according to the traditional calligraphy point of view, this is no entry. If the momentum of the word is too weak, lack of positive atmosphere, small-scale works hanging at home, naturally there is no big problem, once hung on the building, it is difficult to coordinate with tall buildings. In fact, not only Shen Peng's character has this problem, all innovative calligraphers, due to the one-sided pursuit of form, the inherent charm is insufficient, that is to say, the lack of Zhengda qi, are not suitable for writing Spring League, inscription plaque, barely do can only add laughter, still maintain the traditional aesthetics of the people will not appreciate this kind of work.
Shen Peng's Spring League belongs to this kind of unpopular work, and the local organizers may only consider the celebrity effect, but not the artistic effect. Professionally, this cannot but be a pity. Especially in a famous historical and cultural city like Jiangyin, there must be many people who can write such a spring festival, and in order to be vain, they invite an unsuitable innovative bookmaker to write, but they destroy the local cultural image.
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Clarify the root of ugly books, attack the chaos of calligraphy and painting / Promote traditional culture, for the sake of saintly learning / Different angles, different views / If it is reasonable, please pay attention to, appreciate, and forward