For the calligraphers of ancient China, there are many common points in them, and these commonalities are also not available to contemporary calligraphers, which is one reason why contemporary calligraphers are inferior to the ancients. These commonalities include the calligraphy environment, the cultivation of calligraphy, and the taoism of calligraphy!
Prince Cheng's letter
Calligraphy is an art rooted in traditional culture, which grows in the land of traditional culture, and the more fertile the "land", the better it grows. The biggest gap between the ancients and the present is this cultural gap, which is also one of the reasons why the calligraphy written by people today does not have a "bookish atmosphere"!
Prince Cheng's book "A Treatise on books"
This culture has created fault lines in the last century and has been alive since the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. In the Qing Dynasty, there was an all-round calligrapher, and the inherent temperament of his calligraphy made contemporary people ashamed.
He is Prince Cheng.
As the eleventh son of the Qianlong Emperor, Prince Cheng was once a candidate for the "crown prince", but in his lifetime, he was well versed in the way of "self-defilement" and devoted all his body and mind to the calligraphy of the path that was not recognized by Confucianism, and because of this, there was one more calligrapher in the history of calligraphy, and there was one less emperor who was difficult to turn the tide and fallen!
Prince Cheng's book "A Treatise on books"
The overthrow of the Qing Dynasty began in the Qianlong period, various reasons are complex, which is naturally not the human capacity of the time, as an inertia of the times, Prince Cheng can protect himself, indicating that he can deeply understand the art of self-preservation, devote all his body and mind to calligraphy and achieve the name of calligraphy, but also unintentionally insert willows into the shade of the move!
The general characteristics of calligraphers in the Qing Dynasty have two points, the first is influenced by the atmosphere of "pavilion body", from the end of the Yuan Dynasty, starting this "pavilion body" style, it has risen, and the deterioration of this wind has reached its full glory during the Qing Dynasty, which is the temperament of an era, basically all calligraphers are affected by this temperament.
Prince Cheng's book "A Treatise on books"
Another aspect is that "what is good on the top, what is good at the bottom will be very good", starting from the Kangxi Emperor's admiration of Dong Qichang and the Qianlong Emperor's admiration of Zhao Songxue, from top to bottom, a wave of "learning from Zhao Dong" has blown up, which naturally has an impact on the calligraphy of an era!
Prince Cheng is no exception, but he can get out of it, and he can be very different from the times and become a leader of the times, which is also inseparable from his talent and the conditions for learning calligraphy.
Prince Cheng's book "A Treatise on books"
There is a father who loves to collect, Prince Cheng Yongxuan inherited his father's mantle, but also loves to collect, especially in the field of calligraphy and painting, the identity of the prince plus his love for calligraphy and painting, is that he became a prominent collector of calligraphy and painting, and at the same time he can enjoy the collection of the famous masters of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is a great opportunity for a calligrapher.
Deng Shiru opened the door to the qing dynasty's epigraphy by looking at the historical tablets collected by Mei Miao's family since the Qin and Han dynasties, and Prince Cheng opened up the five bodies with extraordinary talent, integrating the calligraphy of Ouyang Qing, Liu Gongquan and Zhao Ziang, forming his own charming and elegant style of writing without losing his strength!
Prince Cheng's book "A Treatise on books"
There are not many calligraphy works handed down by Prince Cheng, but one of them best represents the realm he has reached, and this painting is the famous "Treatise on Books".
This work is now only passed down to the world, but the topography is extremely sophisticated, and even the places as thin as hair are clearly visible.
Many people see this work and think that it is written by Zhao Songxue, but looking closely at its spiritual temperament, there is a little less feminine atmosphere, and there is more of a healthy posture, which is the skill of Prince Cheng, one of the "Four Houses of the Qing Dynasty".
Prince Cheng's book "A Treatise on books"
Today, we use the ultra-high-definition micro-spray instrument imported from Germany to perfectly restore this work, restoring the work exactly like the original work, which is extremely delicate and clear.