Zhong Xingwang is obsessed with the happy life of calligraphy

Chinese calligraphy is a unique art, it has the beauty of the line, the beauty of the force and the beauty of expressing the individuality. The artistic beauty pursued by Zhong Xingwang, who has been immersed in calligraphy for more than 10 years, is "elegant", which can make people feel comfortable visually, have aesthetic pleasure in their hearts, and produce rich associations, such as melodious piano sounds, if the trickle of water flows slowly, like the spring breeze, like high clouds floating... He did not really learn art from his teacher, all the way to self-study, he felt that engaging in art must require talent, talent will have understanding, in order to explore the difficult journey of art, there is the joy of immersion, there is the motivation to obsess in the art world.

Zhong Xingwang works

● Talent can have understanding to really love

Zhong Xuan and Zhong Shaojing are shining figures in the history of Chinese calligraphy, they are the ancestors of Zhong Xingwang, and they are also the two monuments he looks up to. He hoped that the genes of his ancestors could be passed on to him a little bit. Zhong Xingwang first discovered that he had a talent for writing, still in the first grade of elementary school. The school held a red drawing contest, and when he wrote his name with a brush, he inadvertently wrote a cursive stroke. The teacher who rewrote the paper thought that this should be the name of the adult ghostwriter. The two teachers in the office also bet on this. Recalling this funny incident from his childhood, Zhong Xingwang believed that he should have a talent for writing in his bones, "because at that time, I didn't know what cursive was." At that time, his good writing was also recognized in the school, and the classmates would let him write the title of the book with the wrapped new textbook cover.

But he really got into contact with calligraphy in the late 1980s when he was studying teacher training. At that time, the education bureau's standard for cultivating outstanding teacher training students was "speaking, writing, playing, singing, painting, and practicing", and writing well was one of the six basic skills. It was then that he learned what calligraphy was and fell in love with calligraphy that would accompany him for the rest of his life. "Talented people will naturally like what they are good at."

"After graduating from the teacher training, I bought a large number of ancient inscriptions, and when I saw what the posts were good, I blindly wrote them, although I had certain basic skills, but there was no direction. The real turning point was around 2010. "After years of hard work and copying, Zhong Xingwang at that time came into contact with more friends in the calligraphy circle and participated in several lectures held by the Jiangxi Provincial Federation of Literature and Literature invited by famous calligraphers across the country." Many of the top masters of domestic calligraphy have come to Nanchang, which has inspired me a lot. Their philosophy is to be sure to choose their favorite sticker and eat it thoroughly. ”

Soon, Zhong Xingwang found the favorite "Gu Lang Monument", which was "love at first sight" that had an electric shock at first sight. Subsequently, he made rapid progress, and in less than a year, the pen works of "Gu Lang Monument" were exhibited for the first time in the national "Zhao Mengfu Award" calligraphy and seal engraving exhibition, and the next year they entered two national exhibitions. He said that artistic creation is a difficult road, in addition to diligent study and hard practice, but also the right method, the right way, but also need to have artistic understanding.

● Writing is a pleasure and a very happy thing

"Writing well is a pleasure, it's a lot of fun." Zhong Xingwang was obsessed with calligraphy, immersed in the thinking of artistic creation all day, and even meditated in his dreams. Every night after eating, sitting in the study, turning on the background music, and reveling in the world of calligraphy, it was the happiest time of the day.

He used to have a lot of interests, like photography, photography has won awards in provincial and municipal competitions; he likes music, and is the kind of player who can sing and compose music. Now he has long since given up on these hobbies and is only focusing on calligraphy. Of course, his former hobby also helped his calligraphy creation. Music, for example, has aesthetic similarities with calligraphy. "The rhythm of calligraphy and the speed of line movement are related to music, as if the melody is ups and downs."

After 2015, Zhong Xingwang set himself a goal, hoping that his future calligraphy would be able to form a distinctive personal style. He based on the "Gu Lang Monument" at that time, taking this as the basic font, integrating the Western Zhou Jinwen and Han Li penmanship, and the line pen was mainly centered on the center and supplemented by the flank, making the characters appear ancient and quiet, trying to form their own unique subordinate writing. Chinese calligraphy is the most traditional art, and the brushwork of the ancients is the essence of the tradition that is "not easy in the ancient times" and cannot be surpassed by today's people. Therefore, Zhong Xingwang believes that the main direction of calligraphy innovation should be to explore the changes of glyphs. He wanted to open up all kinds of book styles, and in one kind of book body, he had to constantly absorb the nutrition of other book bodies to integrate. "Take the various symbolic elements that I like in the ancient inscriptions to graft and combine them, so as to form a unique calligraphic symbol of your own..."

●Do not follow the trend of the times, do not copy the ancients, but pursue elegant art

Liang Qichao once said: "One of the elements of fine arts is to exert personality, and to exert personality, the most authentic is writing." If it is said that being able to express individuality is the highest art, then all kinds of art are the highest in writing. "Over the years, Zhong Xingwang has maintained a thin figure, always speaking softly and full of bookishness. His calligraphy is very similar to his quiet and introverted personality, gentle and elegant, not agitated, not like to be ostentatious. No matter how innovative he is in the future, elegance, gentleness and introversion will be his unchanging artistic style.

While practicing innovation, Zhong Xingwang is also writing a book, hoping to use theory to interpret his innovative ideas in calligraphy. He said that the level of a person's calligraphy, the important criterion for judging is "elegant" and "customary", and only elegant calligraphy is high. The elegant calligraphy should be rigorous but not rigid, the style is clear but not crazy kitsch, the skill is exquisite but natural and harmonious, showing beautiful and distinctive characteristics.

Three years ago, he published an article entitled "Calligraphy Convergence is Customary", expressing his understanding of calligraphy innovation. He advocated that calligraphy "is not the same as today's people", that is, do not follow the trend of the times, can not follow the tide, "and the trend of the times most of them will be eliminated"; "not with the ancients", that is, to write about the ancients and can not eat the ancients, to find a new direction, good at the essence of the ancients into their own use, so as to form a different face from the predecessors - this is a breakthrough for the predecessors, that is, to find the "other direction" of the ancients.

Zhong Xingwang has always believed that only calligraphy with a strong personal outlook can go further and have the possibility to leave a place in the history of calligraphy. The calligraphic face of the individual, which contains the aesthetic temperament of the writer and the inner spiritual world. On the road of exploring art, no one dares to say that he will succeed, but the current Zhong Xingwang will be surprised and more confident whenever he sees the changes and progress he has gained under his continuous attempts. For calligraphy, he has too many ideas, and he needs to have enough time to practice, to experiment, to perfect.

About the Author

Zhong Xingwang, Zi Shunzhi, No. Shanbao, a native of Ganzhou, is a member of the Press, Publication and Media Committee of the Chinese Calligraphers Association and a standing director of the Jiangxi Provincial Book Association.

Text/Photo Duan Ping, all-media reporter of Jiangnan Metropolis Daily