Jinting Temple, Jinting Town, Shengzhou City, Shaoxing, Zhejiang, wang Xizhi lived in seclusion in his later years
Speaking of calligraphy, probably everyone will invariably think of Wang Xizhi, the "sage of books" in Chinese history, and at the same time think of Wang Xizhi's relaxed Wei and Jin demeanor, think of Tang Taizong's obsession with Wang Xizhi's calligraphy fanaticism, think of the legendary "First Line of Books under Heaven" "Orchid Pavilion Preface", and even think of the elegant collection of Huiji Shanyin. This kind of desirable legendary story and cultural aura are concentrated on the book Saint Wang Xizhi, who has been a person throughout the ages, and has become the common spiritual wealth of every Chinese who is familiar with traditional Chinese culture.
It is true that Wang Xizhi's calligraphy is an insurmountable peak in the history of Chinese calligraphy, and the closer people get to it, the more they find it mysterious and unattainable. We can't help but ask, why is Wang Xizhi called "The Sage of Books"? What exactly does the calligraphy of The Book Saint Wang Xizhi look like? What aesthetic qualities does it have that make it the pinnacle of calligraphy that has been passed down through the ages?
1
Take the Fa Gao Gu and learn from the strengths of all
Born in the Wei and Jin dynasties, Wang Xizhi received a good calligraphy education from an early age. Specifically, Wang Xizhi's calligraphy was taken from two teachers: Lady Wei, an apprentice of the Three Kingdoms calligrapher Zhong Xuan, and Wang Xizhi's uncle Wang Xizhi. Taking the high antiquity of the law laid a deep foundation for Wang Xizhi's calligraphy.
Lady Wei's calligraphy was known for her charm, and the Tang Dynasty people commented that her calligraphy was "like a flower arrangement dancer, low and beautiful." Another example is the beauty on stage, xian'e shadow, red lotus reflection water, and green swamp floating xia", which has the characteristics of thousands of postures and charm and flashiness. Wang's calligraphy is exquisite and ancient, inheriting the natural, pale and simple characteristics of Zhong Xuan's calligraphy, and enjoying a high reputation in the Western Jin Dynasty. It was under the influence of Lady Wei and Wang Xizhi that Wang Xizhi's calligraphy connected the bloodline of Wei and Jin calligraphy, and it had both beautiful and ancient appearances.
In addition to learning from Lady Wei and Wang Xizhi, Wang Xizhi had a persistent love for calligraphy, and he studied the relics of famous artists and turned to many teachers. These deeds are recorded in the "Aftermath of Lady Wei's Pen Array": "(Xi Zhi) and crossing the river, traveling north to the famous mountains, seeing books such as Li Si and Cao Xi; and then, seeing the books of Zhong Xuan and Liang Hu; and Luo Xia, see cai Yong's "Stone Classic" three-body book; and at Congjie Qia's place, see Zhang Chang's "Huayue Monument". "The eclecticism laid a solid foundation for Wang Xizhi's calligraphy achievements.
In Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, there are such free and flowing writings as "Funeral Posts" and "Peace Posts", handsome and elegant cursive books such as "Yuan Eunuch Thesis" and "Seventeen Posts", simple and majestic Xiaokai such as "Huang Ting Jing" and "Oriental Shuo Painting Praise", and zhangcao with strong attachments such as "Han Che Ti" and "Leopard Nu Ti". Wang Xizhi's calligraphy style is diverse and meteorological.
Zhang Huaihuan of the Tang Dynasty commented on Wang Xizhi's calligraphy: "(Xizhi) Youshan Shucao, Li, Bafen, Feibai, Zhang, Xing, Prepare All Bodies, Become a Law of Its Own, Ever-Changing, Obtain Divine Skills, And Create Spirits From Non-Creation, How Can You Reach the Pinnacle of Perfection." "Wang Xizhi is not only good at various book styles, but also forms his own unified style in different book styles, creating his ever-changing and unique book style. In Zhang Huaihuan's view, this style of writing is simply untouchable by human beings, and it is derived from the divine power of nature.
In Wang Xizhi's ever-changing calligraphy style, it can be said that Wang Xizhi's calligraphy is unique in character. Xiao Yan, emperor of the Southern Dynasty LiangWu, commented that "the writings of Wang Xi are majestic, such as a dragon jumping at the Gate of Heaven and a tiger lying on a phoenix". Coincidentally, wang Xizhi's personality is recorded in the "New Language of the World" as "floating like a wandering cloud, like a frightening dragon". They all use imposing images such as dragons, tigers, and clouds to highlight the majesty, wonder and elegance of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. It is precisely because of the high and ancient methods and the eclectic strengths that Wang Xizhi has formed his calligraphy style of charming, ancient, strong, strange and flowing.
Golden Garden Gate
02
Rigidity and softness are harmonious and harmonious with ancient and modern
There is a controversial topic about Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. Is Wang Xizhi's calligraphy feminine or strong? In this regard, Zhang Huaihuan of the Tang Dynasty once said: "Yi Shaocao has a girl's material, no husband's temperament", saying that his calligraphy is mostly charming. Liu Xizai of the Qing Dynasty gave Wang Xizhi the opposite evaluation of calligraphy: "Li Qu Wanfu, Rhyme High and Ancient", emphasizing the strong side of his calligraphy.
These contradictory evaluations have their own merits. In fact, Wang Xizhi's calligraphy can be said to have both yanmei and jinjian faces, and it is the best representative of reconciling these two faces. For example, in Wang Xizhi's book, the comprehensive use of square pens and round pens, and the adjustment of priorities in the writing rhythm, all show a kind of rigidity and softness, and even the charm of softness in rigidity, softness and rigidity. Compared with the calligraphy of other calligraphers of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Wang Xizhi's calligraphy is also more rigid and gentle, and it does not belong to the style of writing with a flamboyant personality.
Compared with Wang Xizhi, the calligraphy of his son Wang Xianzhi is insufficient and feminine, and lacks the characteristics of rigidity and softness. Yu Gong's "On the Book Table" says, "The book of the father of the dedication ... It is like turning to be charming, but wanting to pass it", Yang Xin's "Cai Gu Lai Neng Shu Ren Name" said that Wang Xianzhi was "not as good as his father and was too flattering". Interestingly, Wang Xianzhi's calligraphy was developed from his father Wang Xizhi, especially carrying forward the feminine part, and becoming the representative of the "present body" at that time, which was more flowing and charming, and lacked the simple "ancient" meaning.
Just as the so-called "now does not catch the ancient, the ancient quality and the present Yan", the calligraphy of Wang Xi, who is also rigid and soft, can also be said to be ancient and modern. The "present" meaning of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy style lies in the fact that its charming and smooth cursive trend breaks the slowness of the Lishu system; the ancient meaning in Wang Xizhi's calligraphy is reflected in the fact that it was still not far from the Bones of the Han and Wei Dynasties at that time, and many characters were written in a way that retained a strong interest in Lishu, especially Wang Xizhi's "Aunt Post" and "First Moon Post", which used the pen's slowness and thickness, and the writing method of the lishu horizontal painting without taking the vertical posture, the glyphs were flat and not ostentatious, showing the simple and thick seal relics. It should be said that during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wang Xizhi's calligraphy was a typical example of carrying on the upper and lower levels and having both ancient and modern interests.
Rigid and soft, ancient and modern, these two seemingly contradictory aesthetic qualities are opposites and unified and cannot be biased in Wang Xizhi's calligraphy. It is precisely because of the combination of rigidity and softness that wang xizhi's calligraphy can stand out among many calligraphers, lead the trend of calligraphy, and become a milestone in the history of calligraphy, which can be described as "natural nature, abundant god Gaidai"!
Wang Xizhi's Orchid Pavilion Preface (Partial)
03
The gentleman's wind and the middle way
In the history of calligraphy, the Jin people still rhyme, the Tang people still law, the Song people still mean, and Wang Xizhi's calligraphy is just an excellent representative of the rhyme of the Jin people, his calligraphy chong and Ren Birthday and everywhere in line with the law, in the excitement at the same time there is no lack of depression, endless charm. Sun Guoting of the Tang Dynasty strongly admired Wang Xizhi's calligraphy in the "Book Genealogy", he said: "The Book of the Right Army, in the last years, is more wonderful, when the fate is thoughtful, the spirit is peaceful, not exciting, and the wind rules are far away", which means that Wang Xizhi's calligraphy is more wonderful in his later years, because Wang Xizhi's heart is peaceful at this time, so his calligraphy is not fierce and ostentatious, but it can make the viewer feel a lasting and intriguing charm.
This kind of "not agitated" impulse and charm is exactly the reflection of the Confucian gentleman's character that Confucians respect for being gentle as jade and making people feel like a spring breeze in calligraphy. In the Analects, it is said that "quality wins over literature and wilderness, literature wins quality is history, literary quality is polite, and then gentleman", which means that gentlemen can have and reconcile the two elements of "literature" and "quality" at the same time, of which "wen" refers to wenya, "quality" refers to simplicity, simplicity without elegance and simplicity without simplicity are lost in bias, and only the reconciliation of the two is in line with the way of moderation.
Confucians emphasize the unity of knowledge and action, look at their words and observe their deeds, and the style of a gentleman who conforms to the way of moderation is of course "polite and polite", which is "not exciting, but the rules are far away". Calligraphy is often a reflection of a person's interest and ideological realm in art, if there is no gentleman's style in the world, do not understand the essence of the way of moderation, Wang Xizhi will be difficult to practice such a principle in calligraphy.
The aesthetic standards of Confucian personality represent the highest standards of traditional Chinese culture, and Wang Xizhi's calligraphy has such a moderate and elegant Confucian gentleman's style. Wang Xizhi's calligraphy can not only reconcile charm and vitality, reconcile ancient and modern meanings, reconcile elegance and simplicity, but also create a neutral, peaceful and unemotional demeanor in this balance, becoming the highest character in the aesthetics of Chinese calligraphy and becoming a model of literati art in previous generations. This is precisely the spiritual connotation and artistic charm of the Confucian style of gentleman and the way of moderation, and it is no wonder that Tang Taizong would give him the evaluation of "scrutinizing the ancient and modern, studying the essence of the seal, and perfecting the perfection, but Wang Yi is rare".
The ancients said that "words are like their people", pointing out that attention to calligraphy should be paid special attention to the moral character of calligraphers. When we understand today what the calligraphy of the shusheng Wang Xizhi really looks like, we should put aside the mysterious aura and legendary stories on Wang Xizhi's body, and we should also see the excellent qualities in Wang Xizhi: taking the high and ancient and the ancient and the eclectic, the combination of rigidity and softness and reconciling the ancient and the modern, and the gentleman's style and the middle way embodied in it, which are not only valuable experiences in calligraphy study and artistic pursuit, but also the moral requirements of Confucian gentlemen in dealing with people in the world. The reason why Shusheng can be called "Shusheng" is not only because of Wang Xizhi's achievements in calligraphy, but also because of the personal qualities behind his calligraphy. Wang Xizhi's image of the book saint has a great exemplary and leading role for future generations of literati and doctors. To this day, the light of the book saint has not faded. We can still learn calligraphy through calligraphy, learn calligraphy, and inherit Chinese culture.
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