What comes to mind when you think of Chinese greatest invention? Compass, gunpowder, or paper printing?
They are all and are not, because their emergence only promoted civilization, but did not create civilization. Only Chinese characters, which have not faded through thousands of years and have been renewed through thousands of generations, are the true founders of Chinese civilization.
Calligraphy, as its carrier, as its communication medium, has also evolved and improved with its migration and evolution, and has today's grand scene of "a hundred flowers blooming and a hundred schools of thought contending".
And in the midst of this magnificent scene, there is a person who is high and arrogant, he is the mainland calligraphy master, Mr. Zhang Ruiling, who is known as the "first chinese kai".
01 Scholars: The Father's Teachings and the Inspiration of Xiucai's Grandfather
In 1936, Zhang Ruiling was born in a small town in Tangshan City, Hebei Province, and his father was the manager of a famous local dye shop, which was quite wealthy, so Zhang Ruiling had lived a young master-like life since he was born.
However, unlike the general businessman who only knows how to enjoy greedy money, Zhang Ruiling's father has great wisdom and a big pattern. He knows that "knowledge changes destiny", and only by continuous learning and continuous improvement can we spell out a better future.
Whenever he had free time, he would read and study the scriptures, and not only did he not have the "copper smell" of a businessman, but on the contrary, he also carried a breath of books.
It is said that "parents are the best teachers for children", and under the influence of his father, Zhang Ruiling also has a great interest in books and posters.
It is said that when Zhang Ruiling was 6 years old, he began to study at the beginning of his life, and it is a daily necessity to write red characters.
Once, he went to play in his friend's house, and happened to see his friend's grandfather writing, so out of curiosity, he ran over and looked. It didn't matter at this look, Zhang Ruiling was immediately attracted by the beautiful and vigorous handwriting.
After inquiring with his friends, he knew that the old man in his 80s was a talent, and the font he wrote was the most commonly used letter for readers.
Since then, Zhang Ruiling has put all the focus of Xi Zi on the letter, determined to be like that Xiucai grandfather, writing a timeless and upright, and proud letter.
Seeing that his son was so obsessed with calligraphy, often practicing for an afternoon, Zhang Ruiling's father was also very pleased, not only in words to encourage and support, but also often asked friends to go to the old to find out celebrity works, everyone posted, just to make his son's vision more broad.
In this way, under the careful cultivation of his father and the inspiration and guidance of Xiucai's grandfather, little Zhang Ruiling embarked on the road of learning calligraphy, and this walk is more than 70 years.
02 Love and perseverance: from a small tax worker to a generation of calligraphers
In 1951, the Tangshan Municipal Taxation Bureau recruited workers, and Zhang Ruiling, who was only 15 years old, also signed up.
For this teenager with childish eyebrows and no height, neither competitors nor recruiters have paid attention to them, they only think that a child can have any ability, probably gambling with his parents to sneak out.
However, no one thought that it was such an inconspicuous child, but he had a very neat and beautiful brush writing, and anyone who read it couldn't help but praise a few words.
Maybe in the modern era when computer printers are everywhere, this is nothing, but in that era of material poverty, even the tax bureau invoices have to be handwritten with a brush, Zhang Ruiling is definitely a sought-after existence.
So there was no suspense, he was hired by the tax office, and the invoices he wrote by hand after work became the collectibles in the homes of tax collectors.
Even though Zhang Ruiling was already famous at that time, he still only regarded calligraphy and calligraphy as a hobby, because in his opinion, he still had a long way to go from a professional.
Time is like a white colt passing through the gap, in the blink of an eye five years have passed, and the once green and young teenager has grown up and become a real man. And his calligraphy has gradually changed from timeless and beautiful to three-dimensional and more powerful
As the saying goes, "gold will always shine", his progress and his changes, the leaders have been looking in the eyes, feel that such a calligraphy seedling in the tax bureau is really condescending, only by staying in the Propaganda Department can he exert his greatest talent.
So when Zhang Ruiling was 20 years old, he was transferred from the tax bureau to the Propaganda Department, and the focus of his work also shifted to calligraphy.
It is reasonable to say that at such a youthful and restless age, every day in the pen and ink paper, against the endless propaganda poster will always feel bored and bored, resulting in a sense of escape.
But Zhang Ruiling seems to be the opposite, every time he sees a brush and a table full of rice paper, he only feels at ease, feels clean and enjoyable.
Just in response to the saying, "This place of peace is my hometown", the square inch of the ink has become his second home.
Of course, the road to success cannot be smooth, and Zhang Ruiling's calligraphy world has not always been clean and undisturbed.
There was a time when his work changed, he had no food and clothing, and every day he had to carry bags in the cement machinery factory, do heavy work, and almost be crushed by life.
But Rao is so, he still did not give up his beloved calligraphy, without a brush rice paper to replace with a clear water finger, can not observe under the lamp and silently read the movement of the pen in the bed.
In short, as long as he wants, there is nothing that cannot be done.
It is precisely with this perseverance and persistence that in those most difficult days, his calligraphy level has not regressed, but has become more refined, and there is also a little more introverted precipitation between the strokes of the pen.
By chance, the superior leader saw Zhang Ruiling's brush writing, and was immediately amazed, thinking that it was too wasteful for him to work as a worker in the cement factory, and such a talent should get a better platform.
As a result, Zhang Ruiling once again stood out with his beautiful brush words and entered the trade union to engage in propaganda.
Going around and around, a few ups and downs, Zhang Ruiling at this moment has passed the age of confusion, for life, for calligraphy, there is also a different state of mind.
If in the past he pursued the superficial aesthetic power, now he pays more attention to inner emotions and expressions, because whether he is a person or a writer, only by following the original heart and conforming to the nature can he achieve a unified realm and make the works more spiritual.
With such a belief and pursuit, Zhang Ruiling's own school of "Zhang's" italics gradually took shape: the characters are as big as buckets, and they can also be beautiful and elegant; the characters are as small as flies, and they can also be strong and generous.
In particular, his calligraphic lines, which are known as "folding strands", are rigid and soft, with a rich sense of charm and endless wonder.
It is precisely because of this that Zhang Ruiling has become a well-known calligrapher, and his works have become the immortal ink treasures that everyone is eagerly pursuing.
03 Achievements: Millions of works and immortal monuments to the people's heroes
In 1984, the Chinese Calligraphers Association held the country's largest calligraphy exhibition after its establishment, when zhang Ruiling, who was famous at the time, was transferred from Tangshan, where he worked, to Beijing to write a preface and explanatory text for the exhibition.
This task, which seemed difficult and arduous to others, was completed in just two days by Zhang Ruiling and was unanimously appreciated by insiders and attendees.
If you go to the scene at that time, you will definitely see such a scene: Zhang Ruiling is standing in front of the camera, next to a long dragon of tens or even hundreds of people, everyone is lined up here for nothing else, just to take a picture with the great calligrapher Zhang Ruiling.
"If it is to follow the stars, I am also the earliest star." Zhang Ruiling, whose face was full of wrinkles, recalled the scene at that time and couldn't help but smile at the reporter.
In fact, Zhang Ruiling is not wrong, he is indeed the most popular star of that era, because his calligraphy has not only been cherished by individuals, but also engraved by the government on the Monument to the People's Heroes.
As we all know, the front, right and left sides of the Monument to the People's Heroes are engraved with the inscriptions of three national leaders.
On the back of the stele, in addition to the inscription in small letters drafted by Mao Zedong and inscribed by Zhou Enlai, there is also Zhang Ruiling's writing in 1997: "In all the revolutionary wars, the revolutionary martyrs who heroically sacrificed themselves for the struggle for national independence, people's democracy, and the defense of world peace, and the revolutionary martyrs who sacrificed in the cause of socialist construction are immortal!" ”
Therefore, in Zhang Ruiling's calligraphy career, there is also the beautiful talk of "three generations of leaders, one generation of calligraphers", which is also in line with what he once said: calligraphy is not only an art, but also to serve the country and the people.
A person who is so patriotic and has such a high level of calligraphy, his ink treasure is certainly of great value.
According to media reports, in an auction house in Shanghai, a diamond sutra written by Zhang Ruiling has been auctioned for a high price of 5.93 million, which can be said to be rare and rare in contemporary art works, especially the contemporary art works in which the author is alive.
Then some people may ask, since the economic value of Mr. Zhang Ruiling's works is so high, then he must be a rich man.
In fact, everyone's conjectures are wrong, although selling works can get high income, but Zhang Ruiling never does this. From the age of 6 to the age of 6, he embarked on the road of calligraphy, to the age of 86 by the world, his heart has never changed: calligraphy is his pursuit, is his passion, but never a tool for profit, if his work is linked to interests, then it is better not to write.
Why Zhang Ruiling is called "China's first Kai", not only because of his achievements and dedication in the kaishu, but also because he is in Vanity Fair, but he has never wavered in his heart to change.
Not only that, but even those who once sold high-priced incomes did not enter Zhang Ruiling's pockets, but all donated to charitable organizations and donated to people in need of warm care.
Zhang Ruiling's works are not only teaching us how to write the word "Founder", but also telling us how to do a good job of "Founder" people. And only those of us who have done a good job of "Fangzheng" can we write the word "Fangzheng".
This is "words as they are, and people as their words."
Perhaps for us, sometimes it is far more difficult to keep our hearts and keep our pure selves than to be famous and be in a high position. But for the sake of that fierce dream, for the promises that were once made, we must also be like Zhang Ruiling, always sober and always try to move forward!
Finally, I also hope that those friends who play games on their mobile phones and computers every day can take a few minutes to practice words and write calligraphy, and perhaps you will find that in fact, many life philosophies are contained in it.
Resources
ZHANG Ruiling. Beijing World Chinese Cultural Institute 2014-04-02
ZHANG Ruiling. The road of calligraphy life is getting more and more wonderful, And china children's newspaper and periodicals 2014-02-13 09:17
[3] Zhang Ruiling, known as the "First Book of China": 5.93 million words per word, once ranked with the chairman of the Deer Antler Library 2021-04-27