Remembering the Grace of the Mountains and Flowing Water - Remembering the Past of the famous calligrapher Mr. Shi Mu

Mountains and rivers remember the teacher

——Remembering the past of the famous calligrapher Mr. Shi Mu

Tao Weiqing

Although it has been more than 10 years since my mentor, Mr. Shi Mu, former chairman of the Changsha Calligraphers Association in Hunan Province, passed away in 2009 at the age of 87, his voice and smile have always lingered in my mind, and on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth in 2022, I am full of thoughts about the past.

In 1922, Mr. Shi Mu was born in Laodaohe Town, Changsha City, and was admitted to Hunan Traditional Chinese Studies College at the age of 14. He had a soft spot for calligraphy, studied inscriptions, and was unswerving, good and diligent, so that decades later, he achieved excellence and eventually became a master of books.

I joined the Changsha Calligraphers Association in 1987, when I was an unknown junior who entered the book world, and participated in various activities carried out by the association many times, and then I met Mr. Shi Mu, who was the chairman of the Changsha Calligraphers Association at the time. With the gradual close contact, he gave me great care and love, introduced me as a disciple in the house, and later became a friend of the year, which can be described as a teacher and friend, close to each other, heart-to-heart, and frank communication, which benefited me a lot and admired me from the bottom of my heart.

In the past, whenever I came to Mr. Shi Mu's house, whenever I met him in calligraphy creation, he would let me be his assistant, pulling paper, printing, and washing pens for him. I also witnessed the whole process of Mr. Shi Mu writing a calligraphy work, and got the true biography of his ink pen and chapter layout, and he was good at using thick ink to quickly move the pen, showing the smoothness, density and just right. He gave me unreservedly and poured his heart into me: "Calligraphy should not be pretentious, and the characters with few strokes in line and cursive works should be small, and the characters with many strokes should be larger, and the more natural the writing, the better it will be, and the more comfortable and comfortable it will be." "He asked me to copy more of the classics of the past and learn the essence from them; And writing must be open, not restrained, so that you can be open, in order to play the best level, write with spirit, and highlight the truth, goodness and beauty. I am extremely grateful for his kind teaching and genuine love for me.

Mr. Shi Mu is knowledgeable, experienced, has a profound cultural heritage and elegant aesthetic taste, and his calligraphy is vigorous, flexible, skillful, elegant and customary. In 1980, his calligraphy works participated in the first national calligraphy seal engraving exhibition, which was the first grand meeting of the calligraphy industry in New China, where masters gathered and heroes gathered, on the basis of which the second year, the China Federation of Literature and Literature officially established the Chinese Calligraphers Association; Since then, he has also participated in large-scale calligraphy exhibitions at home and abroad, and has been selected into large-scale special collections such as "Collection of Contemporary Chinese Calligraphy" and "Collection of Rare Calligraphy and Paintings in Chairman Mao Memorial Hall". In 1990, he published "Shi Muzishu Poems Volume", which contains a large number of his carefully created poetry calligraphy works, which were once popular and Luoyang paper was expensive; In 1996, he won the gold medal of the 2nd International Exhibition of Calligraphy, which is deservedly outstanding.

His calligraphy has long been well-known, and his works are widely cherished and collected by many calligraphy enthusiasts at home and abroad. Many local enterprises, institutions and businesses also come to him, asking him to inscribe the name of the unit, signboard plaques, etc., often in an endless stream. He believes that the way of calligraphy is expensive and natural, and it is necessary to write first, then write, one skill, the other style, the combination of the two, is a masterpiece. He also often said: "Calligraphy works are all literary works, no matter how many words or few words, they are inseparable from literary connotations." Without literary literacy, calligraphy has no vitality; Without theoretical guidance, book art cannot be improved. Words are like people, people are like words, and people with good character will write good words. He strongly advocated the inheritance and development of China's excellent traditional culture, and advocated keeping pace with the times and being positive, and hated and resolutely resisted those fake and ugly calligraphy, creating a good academic atmosphere for the Changsha Calligraphers Association.

Mr. Shi Mu was the 18th cadet of the Whampoa Military Academy, an early member of the Chinese Calligraphers Association, and served as the vice president of the Hunan Huangpu Military Academy Alumni Association, a librarian of culture and history in Hunan Province, an advisor to the Hunan Book Association, a member of the Standing Committee of the Changsha CPPCC, and a visiting professor of Central South University. In 1981, when he went to Beijing to attend the first national congress of the Chinese Calligraphers Association, he met the famous master of Chinese painting, Mr. Liu Haisu, who talked with him with great interest about his experience of interacting with Kang Youwei and others, and talked with each other very happily. Mr. Shi Mu's calligraphy creation is quick and has the reputation of "photocopier". In the 80s of the last century, he was invited to Japan three times to hold calligraphy exhibitions and give lectures and exchanges, and the leader of the Changsha Municipal Government specially advised Mr. Shi Mu: "When writing and communicating, you should slow down the pace and pay more attention to your body." "Calligraphy is one of the favorite arts of the Japanese, and during the three cultural exchange visits to Japan, Mr. Shi Mu was very busy writing and lecturing, and was warmly welcomed by Japanese friends, and they rushed to take photos with him. In 1998, he was invited to the United States to participate in the "First International Calligraphy Education Field Conference", and taught calligraphy and writing exchanges in American universities, which also received rave reviews.

Mr. Shi Mu has an approachable personality, never arrogant, treats people with sincerity, is kind to others, and is a kind elder with both virtue and art. After his retirement in 1982, he was hired for a long time as a youth calligraphy training instructor at Changsha Youth Palace. He is also keen to participate in various public welfare calligraphy pen activities organized by the Hunan Provincial Federation of Literature and Literature, Changsha Municipal Federation of Literature and Culture and various social organizations, and often enjoys it. I remember one of them, there were many people watching to get calligraphy works, there was a little boy who had been standing beside Mr. Shi Mu to watch, embarrassed to ask, but he did not want to leave for a long time, Mr. Shi Mu saw this scene, was moved by this child's persistent love for calligraphy, and finally wrote a calligraphy work for this little boy and gave it to him. Some seniors and friends in the local cultural circles have also asked me to ask Mr. Shi Mu's ink treasure, and he is unshirkable and willing to write to meet his wishes. It is a great pity that Mr. Shi Mu has been immortal for many years, and I have passed on all the calligraphy works he gave me in the past to others, and there is no hope of asking for the ink treasure of the mentor.

"The clouds and mountains are green, and the rivers are beautiful; The wind of the gentleman, the mountain is high and the water is long. "Now that time has passed, the Sri Lankan people are gone, but Mr. Shimu's sincere affinity and noble demeanor, as well as our unforgettable friendship between teachers and students, are still vivid and unforgettable to me. Although I have not retained his old man's ink treasure, I have harvested inexhaustible spiritual wealth, which will always inspire me to forge ahead.

November 28, 2022

About author:Tao Weiqing, male, born in 1957, member of Changsha Calligraphers Association of Hunan Province, member of Liuyang Writers Association.

Address: Liuyang City, Hunan Province, Liuyang City, Lihua Road Section 2, No. 246, Lihua Community Building 8

Phone/WeChat: 18273193869

Calligraphy by Mr. Shi Mu

Editor: Anon. Li Shunping