As everyone knows, Li Yu, the empress of the Southern Tang Dynasty, was a political failure, but he enjoyed a great reputation in the field of literature and art. What is less known is that Li Yu is also proficient in calligraphy, although the title of the book is hidden by the name of the word, but Li Yu's calligraphy cannot be ignored, has a unique calligraphy thought, and even has a certain influence on the calligraphy of the Song Dynasty.
Now we can see very little information about Li Yu's calligraphy, but in many documents we can see Li Yu's evaluation of Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy, such as Wei Tai of the Song Dynasty in the volume of the "Records of Dongxuan":
After Jiangnan, the Lord of the Good Book, tasted the language book of the close ministers, and said that Yan Lugong was strong and lawful, and the Later Lord despised: "The book of Zhenqing has a law but no good place, just like a hand and foot Tian She Han'er." ”
It can be seen from this that Li Yu extremely despised Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy. So, why doesn't Li Yu like Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy? This requires the analysis of Li Yu's writings.
Li Yu, as the sixth son of Li Jing, Emperor Yuanzong of Southern Tang, lived in the prosperous and rich Jiangnan region since he was a child, and the surrounding environment attached great importance to literature and art, and his status as a prince gave Li Yu the opportunity to contact the famous Mobao. Moreover, he was taught by famous teachers and gifted, so he gradually reached the realm of what later generations said: "Good words, calligraphy and painting, all wonderful".
Li Yu's calligraphy was very popular at that time, and although many genuine works were scattered after the baptism of time, Li Yu's ideas on calligraphy were passed down to future generations. In the book "Book Description", Li Yu recorded in detail the "praseodymium method" mentioned by his predecessors:
In the past, there was a seven-character method, called stirrup, and the self-defense lady Zhong, Wang, and Chu taught with Ou, Yan, Chu, and Lu, which flow today. However, the world rarely knows his way. Lonely luck will be taught by Mr. Yu, the so-called lawyer, pouting, holding, hooking, exposing, resisting, rejecting, guiding, and sending yes.
On the basis of his predecessors, Li Yu developed the "stirrup method" and summed up the three characters "rejection," "guide," and "send," which were summed up in eight characters. In addition, the Xuanhe Book Catalogue mentions:
Jiangnan pseudo-empress Li Yuzi heavy light, early wisdom and sensitivity, sound review, good at calligraphy and painting. He can write in large characters, do not write a pen, and write in a book, and he can be satisfied. Fuxi made a trembling momentum, and people saw it as a golden knife. You Xi wrote a book, the pen was thin and hard, and the wind god overflowed. However, they are not very charming, such as poor valley Taoists, sour and cold scholars, quail-clothed and iris-on-the-shoulders, and slightly lacking in wealth. If at the beginning of my ancestors' fortunes, Jieyun Hankui Bizhao returned to the top, and those who stole Fang County would all be dying and no longer heroic, so they would be seen in calligraphy and painting. When Fang Yu returned to this dynasty, my ancestor tasted: "Although Yu has literature, only a Hanlin bachelor has a good ear." "It is the king who knows the power of the pen or the magnificence of the square, and the geometry of the mastery!
Golden wrong knife
Although the book tries to belittle Li Yu, it reveals the characteristics of Li Yu's calligraphy style: the pen is thin and hard, and the wind is overflowing. Especially the calligraphy characteristics of the "golden wrong knife". The golden wrong knife is a currency issued after Wang Mang usurped the Han dynasty, with a "square hole circle" on the top and a "knife" shaped tail below. So, how is the golden wrong knife expressed in calligraphy?
"Lee can write and paint. The book is like a trembling pen, and the Tao is as strong as a cold pine and frost bamboo, which is called the golden wrong knife. ”
Although the explanation is still very abstract, from here we can still glimpse some characteristics of the golden wrong knife: emphasizing the center of the pen, the pen power is as thin as a cold pine. This is in sharp contrast to Yan Zhenqing's broad and majestic writing style. From the perspective of calligraphy ontology, Li Yu likes the "gentle" style in calligraphy aesthetics, while Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy is "extravagant" all the way, so it is reasonable that Li Yu does not like Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy.
Yuan dynasty Ni Zan Partial part of the cold pine diagram of the ghost stream
As Li Yu said in the Book Review:
Those who are good at writing the law each gain one of the right army: if Yu Shinan gains his beautiful charm, but loses his handsomeness: Ouyang Xun gains his strength, but loses his gentle beauty; Chu Suiliang was satisfied with it, but lost its changes; Xue Ji was cleansed, but he was embarrassed; Yan Zhenqing gained his muscles and lost his rudeness; Liu Gongquan gained his bones and lost his life; Xu Hao gained his flesh and lost his vulgarity; Li Yong gained his anger and lost his physique; Zhang Xu got his way, but lost his madness; Giving everything is rewarded, but losing the panic, there is no attitude.
From this well-known book theory, we can see that Li Yu highly admires Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, and Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy is unique in addition to Wang Xizhi, which is too rude compared to Wang Xizhi's beautiful and vigorous calligraphy, and naturally became one of Li Yu's criticisms.
In addition, during Li Yu's period, the calligraphy style was the transitional period from Tang Zhixiongqiang to Song Zhiwan. And this transition actually began between the Tang Dynasty and the late Tang Dynasty, such as the heroic style of the Tang Dynasty, and the flourishing of the late Tang poetry. The Southern Tang Dynasty also lived in Jiangnan, and many literati were in power, weaker than martial arts, and advocated the rule of culture.
Therefore, it had an important impact on the formation of social customs and aesthetic trends at that time, and the values of the literati played an important role in the Southern Tang Dynasty. However, most of the literati's activities were concentrated in calligraphy and painting, which led to the literati characteristics of Southern Tang society in pursuing delicacy, expressing oneself, or flaunting one's individuality, reflecting a tendency of literati.
Face calligraphy
As a failed emperor, Li Yu was a versatile artist, and this literati tendency was vividly reflected in Li Yu. Judging from Li Yu's more than 30 surviving poems, almost every poem contains the words "wind," "flower," "snow," "moon," "sadness," "dream," "tears," and "hate," which shows Li Yu's sentimental spiritual temperament. The extensive use of these characters, which are obviously emotionally colored and gloomy, is a special case among men with eyebrows and rare among ancient Chinese literati. As Wang Guowei said in "Human Words":
Those who are lyricists do not lose their hearts. Therefore, being born in the deep palace and growing up in the hands of women is the weakness of the later lord as a prince, that is, the strength of the lyricist.
Yan Zhenqing's "General Pei's Poem"
This environment in which he grew up had an important impact on Li Yu, and thus on his artistic aesthetics and artistic creation. In calligraphy, Li Yu pursues a gentle and delicate style of calligraphy, while Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy always reveals a righteous and awe-inspiring masculine temperament. In addition, Yan Zhenqing was born in the Shi clan, but the Middle Way has declined and has lost the pursuit of "Ya"; After that, he wore armor and galloped across the battlefield. And all this is extremely despised by a failed emperor and a weak literati. As far as Li Yu is concerned, Yan Zhenqing is like a martial artist, rude and unrestrained, and has long lost the appearance of a literati.
Just as Li Yu commented that Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy is "hand-in-hand, in my opinion, this is not only a simple evaluation of Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy, but also a view of Yan Zhenqing and his person. Perhaps, Li Yu looked down on so many martial artists like Yan Zhenqing, so he would despise this person's calligraphy. Perhaps, this is also the sadness of a failed politician.
Source: Mysterious Warrior Calligraphy (ID: smxk98)