Calligraphy is a treasure of Chinese culture, the art that best embodies the aesthetic consciousness of the Chinese nation, one of the four arts of ancient literati, and also one of the "six arts of gentlemen" advocated by Confucianism, which has become an important means for ancient literati to cultivate themselves, cultivate their hearts, and send their aspirations to allegorize. At the same time, it is also an important criterion for the ancient literati to enter the world, educate people to write literature, and establish a career.
With the help of the writing of Chinese characters, the use of rich pen and ink variations and a variety of line combinations, calligraphy expresses and pins on the creator's inner artistic understanding and ideological feelings, and completes the spiritual creation and emotional catharsis of people in the ever-changing black and white, dots and lines, and the spiritual connotation it expresses is closely related to and inherits the Chinese cultural tradition.
In traditional Confucian culture, great attention is paid to the moral cultivation and promotion of people, and in the Zhou Li, one of the "Three Rites", Yun "raises the son of the country to the Tao, which is the six arts of teaching: one is five rites, two is six music, three is five shots, four is five, five is six books, and six is nine numbers." As one of the "six arts", the art of calligraphy has always emphasized "books carry the Tao". In the Confucian view, the form and content of calligraphy are unified, the former is a book, the latter is the Tao, and the book carries the Tao, but cannot deviate from the Tao. Therefore, Confucianism has given calligraphy the heavy responsibility of indoctrination, thus forming a long and profound tradition of calligraphy, especially in the evaluation criteria of calligraphy art, emphasizing the "book as its person", emphasizing the unity of calligraphy and character, that is, the combination and unity of "art" and "morality", "beauty" and "goodness".
The art of calligraphy must put character in the first place, take personality cultivation as the foundation of art, and only by establishing a bright and upright personality can we shoulder the heavy responsibility of promoting the Tao with art. The art of calligraphy is very expressive, and its main purpose is to express people's spiritual thoughts, ambitions, talents and sustenance. Gentleman's style is the ideal personality of the calligrapher, calligraphy takes benevolence and morality as the core value concept, and takes the unity of literary quality and goodness as the highest goal, so it has formed a long tradition of "books as its people", under the influence of this concept, the appreciation of calligraphy often becomes the ethical screening and moral judgment of the calligrapher's own character and cultivation.
"Moving Forward", "Facing the Future", "Looking Forward to the World"
In The Western Han Dynasty Yangxiong's "Fa Yan And Ask god", Yun said: "Words, the voice of the heart, books, and heart paintings also." Sound and picture shape, gentleman and villain see. Sound painters, gentlemen and villains so emotional! This phrase shows that calligraphy is the throbbing of the scholar's heart and the externalization of his intellectual cultivation. The profundity of the art of books, the elegance of the books, and the high and wonderful quality of the art all come from the cultivation of the scholar's character, the most obvious of which is the atmosphere of the literati overflowing with books, that is, the so-called book qi.
The book volume qi in calligraphy is the thick accumulation of knowledge in the belly of the book, which is deeply volatile in Han Mo, the so-called "chest tibetan ink is like a bone, and the belly has a poetry and bookish atmosphere", a person is full of poetry and books, learning five cars, naturally it is extraordinary to talk, the body will bring a breath of books, and the words and demeanor will naturally reveal the unique temperament of the reader, or gentle or vulgar, or not humble, or elegant and generous. So how can the bookkeeper achieve "chest collection of ink, belly of the poetry book"?
I think that if a calligrapher wants to achieve "tibetan ink in his chest and poetry in his belly", he must be knowledgeable, learn from the past, and integrate it. The poetry, Chinese painting, literature, philosophy, music, etc. that are related to calligraphy are all cultivated in the law and absorbed in the heart, and the perfect combination and unification of these many arts is to achieve this realm, and the only way to achieve this realm is to read a lot of books - that is, to read and learn continuously. Because learning is endless, only by constantly reading and learning can we make our learning continue to be rich and accumulated, and can we support our calligraphy cultivation to climb to a higher peak with profound learning.
I studied calligraphy and followed the ancient path, teaching the "Second King", Zhao Mengfu, Sun Guoting, Deng Qichang, Huang Tingjian and others, practicing the post Linchi, writing non-stop, all for decades. In the decades of Hanmo's career, through continuous research and exploration and summarizing understanding, I believe that the first step in studying the method of calligraphy to achieve the best way is to choose famous posts and be able to "go in and out". Because the ancient people's penmanship, gestures, pen strength, pen and ink and other technical laws are all cultural inheritances deposited from thousands of years of history, it is a very valuable experience of studying books, if we practice the Tao of enlightenment according to the methods of the ancients, we will certainly be able to do more with less. However, due to the aesthetics of the times, the social environment, personal feelings, the erosion of the years, the restriction of materials and cultural accomplishment, it is difficult for us to copy the ancient thesis to the point of returning to the basics, even if the copy is good, the imitation is like it, it is dead, there is no vitality, no charm, it will not attract people, let alone become a classic and be passed on to future generations. Even some writers can only stay in the book post, can only rely on the book post for creation, out of the book post on the two eyes and a black, do not know how to write, how to create, there is nothing in the heart, this is not OK.
We only learn to grasp the cultural aesthetic viewpoints of the ancients and the experience of using pen techniques, to avoid detours on the way to climbing the peak of calligraphy, rather than rigidly copying the classics of the ancients and imitating and copying them, which has no meaning. In terms of habituation, I think it is necessary to avoid death, but also to avoid a thousand people, and at the same time to learn to choose. I think it is very important to choose the style of books and the posters, the choice of the body is to choose the right personality, their favorite style of books, calligraphy everyone Shen Peng once said: "Learning calligraphy should 'see different thoughts', but also 'turn to many teachers', the former can become a great instrument, the latter is the correct attitude." Mr. Shen Peng's words show the fundamental point of studying calligraphy, that is, choosing a book style does not necessarily have to adhere to a book style, but to know how to change and adapt, because at the beginning, it may not be the most suitable for you, so you must know how to give up, do not go further and further on the wrong road. The choice of book posts must also be not the same as the clouds, go with the flow, must be clear about their preferences, ideas, pursuits, and then choose, but also to fix a book body as the main body, that is, a book body as the core of the research, the rest of the body as a supplement, for example, I myself chose Wang Xizhi as the main study, mainly to learn his pen shape, gesture and inner charm, as for my favorite Zhao Mengfu, Sun Guoting, Huang Tingjian and others, I will according to their different styles, Choose the parts you need to copy and learn to enrich your cognition. Therefore, we must deeply understand the penmanship method contained in the ancient post, feel the meaning and emotion of the ancient people when writing the classic ancient post, and reflect this feeling into their own pen and stroke, slowly integrate their own emotions, spiritual pursuits, life perceptions, etc. in the creation, and continuously adjust according to the aesthetics of the times, so as to gradually form their own unique calligraphy art style, highlighting the personalized pen and ink taste and self-book.
"Not Afraid of Challenges", "Focus on the Present", "National Responsibility"
At the same time, I think that "posting" is only the first step to reach the peak of zhenshu art, and if you want to become a great calligrapher, you must be knowledgeable and have poetry books. Mr. Pan Tianshou once made such an incisive exposition: "It is better to have one absolute than to have four perfections, but none of them is by no means nourished by the four perfections." "In all the categories of art, calligraphy belongs to spatial art if it is divided according to the unfolding form; calligraphy belongs to the plastic art if it is divided according to the means of creation; if it is divided according to the form of expression, calligraphy belongs to static art; if it is divided according to the way it acts on the viewer, calligraphy belongs to the visual art; if it is divided according to the way the work reflects reality, calligraphy belongs to abstract art; and so on. It can be seen that calligraphy is of the same kind as almost all art disciplines. Since it is the same kind of art, there are naturally many similarities, and it should not be regarded as "interlaced like a mountain". If today's calligraphers want to bring their own artistic creations to a new level in terms of the complementarity of form and connotation, in addition to the intensive study of the calligraphy itself, the nourishment of other related arts will receive the miracle effect of "the stone of his mountain can attack jade" at the critical time.
Wu Kuan, a calligrapher of the Ming Dynasty, said: "Nowadays, the calligraphers can write and write, but they cannot know the customs of their strokes. If the scholars of the world have not been able to write poetry, I have not seen their books. "The study of calligraphy should go hand in hand with learning, and calligraphy should not be regarded as a simple skill. Poetry is regarded as the soul of the art of calligraphy, because poetry affects people's temperament. Qi has a clear and thick thickness, a high and low elegance, calligraphy is related to the temperament, and naturally there is a distinction between clear and elegant customs.
Su Dongpo also has a poem: "Retreating from the pen is like a mountain that is not enough to treasure, and reading ten thousand volumes begins to understand the gods." "Whether a person's knowledge is profound or not is intuitively reflected in the calligraphy works he creates. Tracing back to the history of Chinese calligraphy, Song Dynasty calligraphers began to realize the influence of the literati on the artistic realm and artistic value of calligraphy works, so the overall aesthetic orientation of calligraphy from the Song Dynasty was based on "Shangyi", and the Song people "Shangyi" advocated the bookish atmosphere of calligraphy, bringing the aesthetic pursuit of calligraphy art into a kind of literati deep elegance, which is a noble civilization that is standardized and correct (Ya has the right meaning).
Under the guidance of the aesthetic pursuit of calligraphy "Shangyi", calligraphy has slowly gained a sense of purity and sacredness in the form of writing qi and holding on to the embrace. The purity of calligraphy stems from temperament, is based on character, is formed in brushwork, and is revealed between the lines. Qing is not just a little painting, but a holistic atmosphere and aesthetic realm.
The concept of "Qing", mainly derived from Taoist thought, embodies a spiritual transcendence of the world. Taoists talk about nature, advocating the transcendent realm of pure inaction and Taoist nature. The core of its aesthetic thought is "nature": the Taoist law of nature. The survival and development of everything between heaven and earth follow certain laws and laws, that is, the "Tao", and the essence of the Tao is "nature", which is the state of existence and operation without any traces of man-made. Lao Zhuang's aesthetic ideas of "big sound", "heart fasting" and "sitting and forgetting" require people to achieve a state of spiritual freedom of emptiness and selflessness when aesthetically illuminating, transcending the barriers of time and space of objects and images, unfolding the wings of thought soaring, and understanding the great beauty charm contained in Jane (nature). Taoist aesthetic thought has formed a confluence in many aspects such as simplicity, nature, blandness, simplicity, and practicality, and has strengthened the status of simple beauty in the Chinese aesthetic tradition.
Calligraphy works should have a clean and natural atmosphere, which is related to the pen used in calligraphy. The painting with the pen must be clean, sharp and hidden, containing a bag of texture, the ink color is warm, delicate and natural. With the pen to start clearly, dot painting week to week, sudden frustration without gall tumors, curved lines without jagged teeth, must be cut off from all the drawbacks, the dregs are swept away, then the breath comes from scratch.
Associated with "Qing" is "thin". It is generally believed that the clean people are thinner, and the turbid ones are fatter, but the thin and round can be called clean, and the fat and energetic are said to be plump. Simplicity is not sloppy, but complex but not messy, cluttered but not chaotic, changing and rhythmic. The works of bookish qi are based on "thesis study", prefer a kind of "literary style" performance, rarely have the habit of vertical and horizontal, and their strength lies in small characters, and the font is mostly cursive. In the pursuit of elegance and elegance in style, the pursuit of subtle and delicate changes in brushwork, and the pursuit of a kind of loose and free elegance when creating, this is the typical aesthetic characteristic of "book volume gas".
In addition to reading poetry and books, the formation of the book qi in calligraphy works must also travel in many ways, increase their own insights and understanding, and constantly communicate with famous teachers and listen to others' views and interpretations of the way of calligraphy, so that they can open their own ideas, expand their hearts, integrate all things, heaven and earth, and their own thoughts, thoughts, and understandings, and enrich their own artistic garden, so as to achieve the artistic effect of a hundred flowers blooming and a hundred schools of thought.
The old saying goes, "Read thousands of books and travel thousands of miles." Even a great calligrapher like Huai Su had to "take on the tin of the cane, travel west to the kingdom, and meet the contemporary Ming Gong." In the process of traveling, Range Rover visited the famous mountains and rivers, visited the cultural landscape, asked the noble people, and sprinkled on the old friends and new friends. What you see, hear, think, and feel is often full of wits and desires. The ancient writers and writers not only pay attention to "reading thousands of books", but also pay attention to "walking thousands of miles", with the hills and valleys of the Lingfu in their chests, and the next pen "seems to have the help of the country".
"Truth Is Eternal", "Full of Faith", "Song in the Year of the Tiger"
Moreover, in the process of traveling, you can also visit famous teachers, get acquainted with the same way, and take the strengths of others to make up for your own shortcomings, why not enjoy it? As a calligrapher, you can't go out of the door in your life, the second door is not open, you are lonely and unheard of, and it is bound to be impossible to build a car behind closed doors. The so-called "Sichuan people do not come out of Shu, it is difficult to become a great instrument", that is, this is also true. If Qi Baishi had lived in his hometown of Xiangtan for a long time, it is estimated that he would not have the great reputation he has today. All these things, and so on, the deep meaning of this, can be pondered.
The late Qing Dynasty calligraphy critic Yang Shoujing said in the "Study of Books": "Those who learn books have three points: talent is the first, more see is second, and more writing is secondary... Two more points: one is to be of high quality, and the high quality is to write elegantly and not to fall into the world; the second is to learn to be rich, the chest is full of everything, and the atmosphere of the book is naturally overflowing between the lines. "Only by reading thousands of books can we walk thousands of miles, only by reading books can we understand reason, and only by walking thousands of miles can we see widely." It can be seen that the art of calligraphy is also unified in literature, history, philosophy, sociology, economics, natural sciences and other disciplines, and enhancing the work outside the word is the main way to push the art of personal calligraphy to the depth.
Increase experience and insight, open your mind, and all literature, history, painting, sculpture, opera, dance, music, sports, etc. must be involved, which is what the ancients often said "words and skills". This seems to have nothing to do with writing, but at any time it subtly enriches the inner beauty of the writer's pen. "Everyone of the ancients, mo bu beiye, there is no chest without ink, and those who can surpass the yilun are also." In a sense, the cultivation of knowledge determines the size of a person's calligraphy artistic achievements. Those who only know how to immerse themselves in hard practice and keep an eye on the "internal skills of the word" will not be able to go to a new realm after reaching a certain height, and at best they will be a "word craftsman". Calligraphy is a comprehensive science, and the reason why a work will impress the viewer, make people feel the joy of the author's galloping and vertical strokes, and receive the infinite feelings of the bookmaker, is because it is the crystallization of the calligrapher's painstaking efforts and the condensation of learning. The gap between the writer and the calligrapher is not the same, only by constantly obtaining true knowledge from society and nature, enriching their own experience and education, improving their ideological character, and opening up the universe in their chests, will they unexpectedly obtain great freedom in creation and write good works that are elegant and free from vulgarity. This is the supreme realm, and although it cannot be attained, it should be desired by the heart and continue to work in this direction.
As a calligrapher in the new era, in addition to cultivating himself and learning to cultivate his body and learning to be rich in five cars to cultivate literature, he must also continue to adhere to the mingde to lead the fashion, so that he can cultivate himself and cultivate himself with culture. At present, the development of calligraphy art has ushered in an unprecedented good opportunity, we calligraphy lovers in the new era must thoroughly implement the requirements of literary and art workers, accurately grasp the nature and positioning of calligraphy art, condense the positive energy of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with calligraphy art, keep in mind the mission, have the courage to take responsibility, inherit the unique calligraphy culture of the Chinese nation, and build our common spiritual home well.
Morality is an important social spiritual force that plays a huge role in promoting the all-round development of people and maintaining the stability of social order. In the new era, we should carry forward the traditional Chinese virtues, suck up the cultural nutrients accumulated in the course of the struggle of the Chinese nation, carry forward the new socialist atmosphere, work together to promote the construction of social morality, professional ethics, family virtues, and personal morality, and encourage the whole society to accumulate goodness and virtue. Artists in the new era need to aim high and adhere to noble professional ethics, so as to form a good trend of advocating morality and convincing people with virtue in the whole society, and become an exemplary force that unites the hearts and minds of the people in society. In recent years, in the field of culture and entertainment, some well-known people in the art world have crossed the boundaries of morality, lost themselves in Vanity Fair, and did not hesitate to touch the bottom line of the law, and failed to set their due example in the social and public spheres. Therefore, strengthening the priority of morality in the field of culture and ideology is related to the clean social atmosphere and the dissemination of mainstream values. Only by consciously improving one's moral cultivation and resisting vulgarity, vulgarity, and kitsch can we create a new height in literary and artistic creation and academic research.
I hope that through my works, I can inherit the excellent traditional culture of the nation, carry forward the spirit of the times, leave some things for future generations, strive to create more and better masterpieces, and use my own practical actions to make my due contribution to the prosperity and development of calligraphy art and the establishment of cultural self-confidence, and use calligraphy art to condense the positive energy of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
(Text/Cheng Songhua)
Artist Profile:
Cheng Songhua is currently a member of the China Yanglian Society, the deputy secretary-general, vice chairman, executive director, calligraphy and painting expert of the Calligraphy Art Research Association of the China Yuelian Society, a member of the Zhuzhou Calligraphers Association, a member of the Zhuzhou Old Cadres Calligraphy and Painting Association, a member of the Yanjing Culture and Art Exchange Association, a first-class poet of the China Yanjing Literature and Art Research Institute, a member of the China-Malaysia Literature and Art Research Institute, a director of the China Famous Calligraphy and Painting Market Network, an editorial board member of the magazine "The Essence of China", and a member of the editorial board of "New Literature and Art" magazine.