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Calligraphy and painting inscriptions are becoming more and more simple, is it due to insufficient education or poor aesthetic taste?

Calligraphy and painting inscriptions are becoming more and more simple, is it due to insufficient education or poor aesthetic taste?

Not long ago, a calligrapher who has served as a judge for large-scale exhibitions talked to me about the endless appearance of exhibitions in recent years, the number of submissions has increased sharply, and in the preliminary evaluation of the works on display, the judges are often able to screen out many submissions just by looking at the inscriptions and seals. When I asked why, the calligrapher replied, "Because you know the level of the author by looking at the inscriptions and seals." ”

In contemporary Chinese painting and calligraphy, works with good inscriptions are like a rare corner, there are not a few poor calligraphy and bad problems, and those who only fall poor and have no aftertaste are everywhere. However, in recent years, the "masters" and "masters" of Chinese painting and calligraphy have emerged one after another, and the "innovative" works have been stacked, and what cannot be ignored is that the inscriptions in their works are becoming less and less, and they are becoming more and more tasteless. Why are contemporary calligraphers and painters afraid of inscriptions? How much weight does the inscription still occupy in painting and calligraphy? What kind of problems do the inscriptions say less and less?

The inadequacy of the painting is to be issued

In the history of Chinese painting, the earliest paintings did not have inscriptions, and the paintings of the Northern Song Dynasty painter Fan Kuan did not even write their names, and later generations identified them as his works from other documents.

Examining the history of Chinese painting and calligraphy, most of the previous works of the Northern Song Dynasty were poor money, and the names were hidden in the places where trees and stones were not easy to see, and the complete inscription began with the literati calligraphers and painters of the Northern Song Dynasty, such as Su Shi, Wen Tong, and Mi Fu. Since then, calligraphers and painters have not only inscribed poems on their works, with "titles" in the front and "trekking" in the back. At that time, the works of royal calligraphers and painters in the Royal Academy of Calligraphy and Painting were mostly poor. Ancient calligraphers and painters inscribed poems on the picture, so that the beauty of poetry, books and paintings was skillfully combined, and they grew out of each other, and the picture was more formally beautiful, gradually forming the artistic characteristics of Chinese painting and calligraphy.

"High emotions and thoughts, insufficient painting, titled with hair." In the Qing Dynasty, Fang Kaoru emphasized in the "Treatise on The Painting of Mountain Tranquility" that the inscription can not only supplement the composition layout of the picture, but also write the extra-painting meaning of the calligrapher and painter. The inscription and the content of the picture must complement each other and complement each other perfectly.

According to the length of the word, the inscriptions of Chinese painting and calligraphy can be roughly divided into three categories: long, poor and tibetan. There is no shortage of masters who have dropped long money on the picture throughout the ages, and they are not only amazing in their literary style, but also their calligraphy is excellent. For example, Xu Wei in the Ming Dynasty painted a freehand ink grape drawing, in which the inscription poem vented his sorrow and indignation: "Half a life has become a man, sitting alone and idly fasting and whistling in the evening wind." The pearl at the bottom of the pen is not for sale, and it is idle in the wild vine. In modern times, Wu Changshuo, Qi Baishi, Huang Binhong, Zhang Daqian, etc. are also good at writing long paragraphs.

In the past, poor money and collection money were often intentionally done by calligraphers and painters, and for some works, because the picture composition and chapter layout were perfect, calligraphers and painters could not write more and delete the complicated and wrote poor money in simple titles. Other calligraphers and painters, because of their shallow calligraphy skills, directly inscribed poor money or hidden money. This practice is also called Tibetan clumsiness, the instructions painter has self-knowledge, between a "poor" and a "Tibetan", there is still a gentleman's style. Different from the past, some contemporary calligraphers and painters have poor calligraphy and do not know themselves, and even if they can't write oil poems well, they dare to write long paragraphs; some calligraphers and painters call themselves "literati calligraphers and painters", but they themselves are empty, chaotic, do not know what to do, and appear to be unremarkable.

"Just because a literati calligrapher's inscription is good does not mean that he can draw or write equally well." Bi Jianxun, a professor at the Department of Chinese Painting at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, has his own understanding of Chinese painting inscriptions. He believes that after the Yuan Dynasty, Chinese painting has derived a comprehensive painting, which is composed of four forms: poetry, book, painting and printing. The earliest "Chinese paintings" were slowly marginalized, or even obscured. But this does not mean that literati painting is authentic Chinese painting. In literati painting, compared with their modeling ability, the literati's poetry and calligraphy attainments are generally higher, and inscriptions and seals have become their way of showing their self-cultivation.

Calligraphy and painting inscriptions are becoming more and more simple, is it due to insufficient education or poor aesthetic taste?

Wang Yanling's "Manuscript of Sacrifice to the Nephew"

Whether there is an inscription varies from painting to painting

Some people divide the tradition of Chinese calligraphy and painting into literati calligraphy and painting, literati calligraphy and painting, as the name suggests, is the painting or calligraphy of literati painting, and the inscription is more abundant. The calligrapher and painter is first and foremost a literati, making several strokes in addition to writing for officials, such as Dong Qichang. Calligraphy and painting by calligraphers and painters are painted or written by people who make a living from calligraphy and painting, which may absorb the brush and ink, expression techniques or interests of literati calligraphy and painting, but it is not as good as the inscription of literati calligraphy and painting. The standards of painter calligraphy and painting are not the same as those of literati calligraphy and painting. For nearly half a century, the tradition inherited by the Chinese people is not literati painting and calligraphy, but painter calligraphy and painting. For example, in the Great Hall of the People, "So Many Delicate Rivers and Mountains" hangs on the screen, only the name of the author and the name of the work.

The phenomenon of poverty in Chinese painting and calligraphy today should be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. For some works, if it does not belong to the works of literati calligraphy and painting, such as realistic and pure creation works, if you write poems on the screen, it will make people feel that painting snakes is enough. In some works, the picture itself is very complete, and the title can be written without title; if the calligrapher and painter are not good at poetry, there is no need to force the inscription of poetry on the work. "At present, there are fewer people in the poetry world who write ancient poetry, and even fewer people who do it well, and the ancient poetry of modern people cannot be compared with the works of the ancients. The inscription poems on the screen are titled the realm of life, and the calligraphers and painters must have the cultivation of ancient poetry and humanistic connotations. If you do not have such a realm, just sit in front of the computer every day to browse the news, lack of life experience and understanding, it is impossible to write a poem that can be recited and readable.

There are three reasons for the analysis of the current poverty of Chinese calligraphy and painting: First, many calligraphers and painters have less ink in their stomachs, cannot write poems, or the level of calligraphy is not good, and some even copy Tang poems and Song poems are wrong, which is better than no inscription. Second, there is a more fashionable way to do it at present, that is, the picture is too full and too dark, and then the title will be breathless. Some people have a strong question, which is a kind of destruction of the picture, and it is better not to ask the question. Third, it is difficult to measure it with the requirements of tradition, because its painting method and composition absorb foreign things, which are incompatible with the traditional inscriptions of the mainland, but cannot be inscribed. ”

Calligraphy and painting inscriptions are becoming more and more simple, is it due to insufficient education or poor aesthetic taste?

Wang Shuba's "Baojin Zhai Fa Ti"

Make-up lessons should start with ancient chinese, poetry, and calligraphy

When did the ability and level of Chinese calligraphers and painters become weaker and weaker? It can be traced back to the "May Fourth" New Culture Movement, after the decline of ancient poetry, the popularity of vernacular, Lu Xun once said such as "mi fu landscape painting is useless", and since then there has been a tendency of calligraphers and painters not to pay attention to poetic ability. Such as painting, the painter Mei Mosheng believes that the emerging Chinese painting inherits the ancient traditional Chinese painting techniques, and the influence of Western painting on the emerging Chinese painting cannot be underestimated. This change unites ancient and modern with East and West, allowing Chinese painting to regenerate, transform and rejuvenate in modern times, forming a new and very complex type of painting, the new literati painting. However, due to the short-sightedness and shallow cultivation of many painters, some of them, although their techniques are pure, they cannot reach the realm of literati paintings with straight expressions, and the patchwork of inscriptions makes the works more tacky.

"Literati" is a long concept that changes with history. However, in this impetuous era of eagerness and eagerness for fame and fortune, more people are using 'literati calligraphy and painting' to inflate their own value or some kind of calligraphy painting technology, and "literati calligraphy and painting" has become a superficial form.

30 years ago, a group of young people put forward the idea of 'new literati calligraphy and painting', and advocated that traditional literati calligraphy and painting must be innovative. And now, some people are drawing tigers according to cats, how the teacher draws him, how the teacher writes he writes, move a few stones here, light a few chrysanthemums there, and then find a few Tang poems from the book to copy up, Chen Chen Xiangyin, and even there is a tool book dedicated to teaching people to draw and match poems. Some uncultured people have become 'masters' one by one through the hype of 'literati calligraphy and painting', and they have also sold their works at a very high price. ”

In addition to the cultivation of calligraphers and painters, it may be that the times are different, which leads to uneven quality of inscriptions. This is an era of looking at pictures, not the era of poetry, the era of calligraphy. Society as a whole does not appreciate the atmosphere of poetry, and we do not teach classical literature and poetry. ”

I learned that in the teaching of colleges and universities now, teachers will focus on educating students to master techniques and pay attention to reality, and their works pay attention to the feelings of the soul, the expression of the realm, and the shaping of images. For this type of work, many teachers and students believe that the inscription is not important.

Calligraphy and painting inscriptions are becoming more and more simple, is it due to insufficient education or poor aesthetic taste?

Cheng Yaotian's book "Scramble for a Seat"

Although this popular view is not unreasonable, after all, Chinese calligraphy and painting are different from Western art, it is a comprehensive, rich, and ideographic art, and the quality of calligraphy or inscription calligraphy often reflects the cultural literacy of calligraphers and painters. Qi Baishi once inscribed 'He Calls Each Other Every Day' in a painting of two chickens fighting for an earthworm, which means that in the past, when there were no earthworms, they were like brothers and greeted each other, and today two chickens are fighting for this earthworm. This is obviously not a simple expression of the content of the chicken, but a super-image reflection of social sentiment. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Qi Baishi once inscribed "When is the Time to See Ru Running Rampant" in his works with crabs as the theme, and vented his anger through the combination of painting and poetry. Imagine just painting a few crabs without such an inscription, how can you express such an opinion?

Contemporary calligraphers and painters generally lack the cultivation of classical culture, which is the main reason for the lack of inscriptions and rot at present. In the past hundred years, Chinese society has undergone great changes, the national essence has rarely been inherited, and in the new period, many young people are proficient in foreign languages, but they do not know traditional characters, they cannot read ancient texts, and they do not have a clear understanding of the inner spirit of Chinese painting and calligraphy and the unique development of literati calligraphy and painting. Therefore, I suggest that young people who want to achieve something in the field of calligraphy and painting should consciously start from ancient chinese, poetry, and calligraphy to start with make-up lessons, strengthen cultural accomplishment, and make efforts in the inscription.

The article comes from the Internet and is issued for dissemination, and the views in the article do not represent the position of this number

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