About Yan Zhenqing, it has always been a hot topic in the field of calligraphy and painting. Looking at the handwriting and historical materials about Yan Zhenqing, people can't help but wonder, how was Yan Zhenqing, who is well known to the public, refined?
Yan Zhenqing's "Sacrifice Nephew Manuscript"
1
He was a first-class loyalist before his death
Although he wrote the Primer Model of the National Letters at the age of forty-four, Yan Zhenqing did not write a book at that time. According to statistics, half of the inscriptions written by Yan Zhenqing in history were written for his family and relatives, and 23 for others, while Xu Hao, who was in the same period, wrote 44 inscriptions at the request of others.
In the winter of the fourteenth year (756) of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's tianbao, An Lushan rebelled at Fanyang (Beijing) and marched south to Luoyang. The counties of Hebei were under the jurisdiction of An Lushan, and the counties they passed were disintegrating, and some local officials opened their doors to meet them, some abandoned the city and fled, and some were helpless. An Lushan quickly captured Luoyang, and the soldiers pointed directly at Tongguan. Tang Xuanzong lamented that none of the twenty-four counties of Hebei had served the country, and ushered in Li Ping, the messenger of Pingyuan Taishou Yan Zhenqing. Knowing that Pingyuan County was ready to act righteously, Tang Xuanzong sighed with emotion: "I don't know how Yan Zhenqing is in shape, so it is so!" ”
Pingyuan County took the lead in raising the throne, and the counties of Hebei responded one after another, killing the puppet officials appointed by An Lushan. The other counties promoted Yan Zhenqing as the leader of the alliance, obeyed his command, and combined more than 200,000 troops. Yan Zhenqing's cousin Yan Gaoqing, who was then the Taishou of Changshan, used a trick to retake the Tumenguan Fortress from the hands of An Lushan's generals, cutting off An Lushan's return route. Yan Zhenqing and Yan Gaoqing's actions and plans slowed down An Lu's western advance.
An Lushan sent Shi Siming back to attack Changshan. The city of Changshan was destroyed, and Yan Gaoqing was captured. There are more than thirty mouths in the Yan family, including Yan Jiming, the son of Yan Gaoqing, who "nest overturned eggs" and died heroically. Later, Yan Zhenqing wrote the "Manuscript of the Sacrifice nephew", a masterpiece passed down through the world.
During the Anshi Rebellion, the heroic deeds of Yan Zhenqing and his cousins made Yan Zhenqing leap from an ordinary official unknown to a loyal subject respected by the whole country. On the way to the aftermath of the Anshi Rebellion, Yan Zhenqing adhered to the characteristics of "following the officials", so he offended many people, and the prime minister Lu Qi gave him a fatal blow. In the third year of Emperor Dezong's reign (782), Huaixi Jiedu caused Li Xilie to rebel. The following year, Lu Asked the Emperor to send Yan Zhenqing to Xuzhou. This time there was more evil and less auspicious, but "the king's fate was also avoided", and the 75-year-old Yan Zhenqing took a stagecoach to Xuzhou. Eventually, Yan Zhenqing copied his cousin's fate and was hanged by rebels at Caizhou in 784. Yan Zhenqing explained what a loyal martyr is.
2
Yan's calligraphy became popular in the Song Dynasty
Five generations ago, Yan Zhenqing's image was that of a loyal martyr rather than a calligrapher. Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy became popular in the "circle of friends" of the Song Dynasty literati doctor. The first to learn Yan Zhenqing was the prime minister Han Qi, whose "Letter Su Ti" has the shadow of Yan Body. There is also Fan Zhongyan, who coined the term "Yan Jian Liu Bone" to describe the calligraphy style of his friends. The ones who really embraced and followed Yan style calligraphy from academic and artistic practice were Ouyang Xiu and his friend Cai Xiang.
Ouyang Xiu was a literary leader and a collector. He spoke highly of Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy in the Collected Ancient Records: "Yu said that Yan Gongshu is like a loyal martyr and a moral gentleman, whose dignity is strict and respectful, and people are afraid of it at first sight, but the longer it goes on, the more lovely it becomes." Si ren zhongyi is out of nature, so his calligraphy and paintings are strong and independent, do not attack the previous traces, and are quite amazing, as if they were human. Ouyang Xiu pioneered the evaluation method of personality theory calligraphy, and strengthened a kind of "Yan body" calligraphy that matched the personality of Yan Zhenqing's "loyal martyr" and "moral gentleman".
Cai Xiang, one of the Four Houses of the Song Dynasty, may have been influenced by Ouyang Xiu to make a creative transformation of Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy in artistic practice. He blended Yan Zhenqing's style with Wang Xizhi's, transforming his demure and simple Mao into lightness and elegance. As a result, "Cai Xiang was able to work with Ouyang Xiu to set the study of Yan Ti as part of the standard curriculum of the later generations of literati."
The best performers in the course of studying Yan Ti were Su Shi and Huang Tingjian. Su Shi was a student of Ouyang Xiu, and he inherited and developed his teacher's point of view: "As for Du Zimei in poetry, as for Han Huizhi in literature, as for Yan Lugong in books, and as for Wu Daozi in painting, and the changes in ancient and modern times, the power of the world is complete." Su Shi is an all-round player in poetry, calligraphy and painting, and his setting of Yan Zhenqing's tone cannot be said to be high. Huang Tingjian was a student of Su Shi, and the two masters and apprentices often exchanged experiences in studying Yan Body: "Compared to writing, it is always like Lu Gong's gesture, but in the end it is not like Zi Zhan secretly in line with Sun Wu'er." Through the study and application of the Song Sijia, Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy has become the second peak comparable to Wang Xizhi's influence.
3
The face body as a model
Although loyal martyrs can be immortal, in the eyes of the world, Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy can surpass Wang Xizhi, but it is an opportunity in many aspects.
First of all, from the perspective of calligraphy ontology, Yan Zhenqing is indeed in the pivotal position of inheriting the past and the future in the history of calligraphy, which has both historical reasons and its own reasons. Yan Zhenqing's Tang Dynasty was a hub for summing up and turning points in the history of calligraphy. From the perspective of font evolution, the various fonts before the Tang Dynasty will have a new font to carry the creativity and imagination of the calligraphers, and after the Tang Dynasty, there will be no new changes in the book body, and people can only seek breakthroughs in the classic works of their predecessors. From the perspective of the development of brushwork, the high tables and high chairs that appeared in the Tang Dynasty changed people's living habits, and the lifting replaced the twisting and became the main brushwork, and Yan Zhenqing was the pioneer of the style of mentioning the book. Later scholars, hoping to break through the strict calligraphy system since the Second King, turned to Yan Zhenqing for help.
Secondly, Yan Zhenqing's life perfectly embodies the judgment that "calligraphy is the expression of personality". The ancients pursued the humanistic ideal of "aspiration to the Tao, according to virtue, according to benevolence, and traveling in art", and art is the expression and expression of personality. Calligraphy is to Yan Zhenqing, just as poetry is to Du Fu, and the whole of their personality, in some moments, naturally flows out of the work.
In the "Sacrifice of nephew manuscripts", we can restore the process of the author's feelings from restraint to bursting from the brushstrokes on the paper, the traces of alteration, and the rhythm of writing, and experience the deep pain and resentment in his heart at this time. You will imagine the tragedy of Yan's "nest overturning" when Changshan City was broken, and the scene of Yan Zhenqing's martyrdom of Caizhou many years later, which was stacked like a movie lens and hit the atrium of the viewer's heart. This kind of observation and emotion has been repeated for more than a thousand years. In this way, the ancients achieved artistic immortality. Chinese culture, it is in the realization and resonance of time and again, that it has achieved endless life.
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