Wu Zhenli, born in Chongqing in 1944, is a native of Guanyun, Jiangsu. He is currently a librarian of the Jiangsu Provincial Research Museum of Culture and History, a researcher of the Chinese Calligraphy Court of the Chinese Academy of Arts, a deacon of the Canglang Publishing House, a member of the Chinese Calligraphers Association, and a first-class artist. He has published "Wu Zhenli's Calligraphy Art", "Wu Zhenli's Selected Calligraphy Works" and so on.
One stroke at a time
It's all written about the reality of life
——Wu Zhenli's calligraphy
Text: Yu Mingquan
I once asked an oil painter what he thought of contemporary calligraphy, and he said that most of them should belong to "social calligraphy". This sentence made me ponder for a long time, and I think that his sentence points to the weakness of the current situation of calligraphy. Socialization has undoubtedly become an important and main content of modern life, and it is very appropriate to do calligraphy with calligraphy or calligraphy with a social mentality. Social calligraphy is a real popular calligraphy at the moment.
From this, I wondered what kind of calligraphy is different from social calligraphy at the moment, and what kind of calligraphers should be able to create calligraphers who are not "social calligraphy"? They should probably be like this, calligraphy traditions and calligraphy classics are never labels and gimmicks for him, but three meals a day on his own table, swallowing what he needs according to his own taste, and nothing else. No matter how you read and create, you are like a fish drinking water and knowing your own warmth, not looking at the eyes of others and not caring about the apologies of others, and even moving forward silently for decades just to be faithful to your own inner feelings, and even not extravagant to ask for the understanding and attention of others. The hearts and blood of the ancients grew into their own flesh and bones, and their hearts were strong, their brushwork was profound, and their personalities were distinct. He doesn't need to use his carving skills to prove how noble his dot lines are, nor does he show his professionalism and comprehensiveness as a calligrapher with his mastery of real grass and seals, nor does he use the clumsy means of speculation to win any title and fame to swagger through the market. Every day, he is moved, painful, joyful, and depressed in his daily life, and then writes one stroke at a time. His dot lines flow with the plainness and truth of his own heart, because of his introspective focus and deep affection, he doesn't even care about the feelings of others. Are there such calligraphers at the moment? Maybe there should be, but there must not be many of them, and such calligraphers are destined not to attract people's attention and become popular. When I think of this, I often think of Mr. Wu Zhenli in Nanjing.
He was born in Chongqing, moved to Hong Kong, and then lived in Nanjing. After graduating from middle school, he went to the countryside to join the queue in the countryside, returned to the city in the early 80s of the 20th century, and worked in a grassroots commercial sector. When he was a teenager, he showed his musical talent, but he made mistakes, and his ideals and reality gradually drifted apart. Cut into the countryside, sleepy and bored, a copy of Lu Gong's "Manuscript for the Sacrifice of Nephews" chased after the hand to pass the loneliness, and fell in love with calligraphy from then on. At the end of the 70s, he was praised by Lin San. In 1986, one of his rough-edged paper squares "Li Bai's Poems" was coquettish at the Second National Young and Middle-aged Calligraphy Exhibition, and became famous in the calligraphy world. Since then, four national exhibitions, three China Youth exhibitions and a number of major national exhibitions have participated in works and won awards, and their reputation has grown. How many years have many people changed their life destiny because of calligraphy achievements, and Mr. still knows my fate with peace of mind, the clouds and smoke on the seat can be offered, and the carriages and horses in front of the door are vertical and horizontal.
I remember that in the spring of 1993, my friend and I went to visit my husband in Chaoyue Tower in Xiaguan, Nanjing. The gentleman treats the younger generations equally and sincerely, which makes people feel the kindness at first sight. All night we listened to Mr. talk about calligraphy and life, time passed quickly, before I knew it was late at night, thinking that Mr. would have to go to work the next day, although he had to say goodbye. When the gentleman saw that we had come from afar, he was still interested in talking, so he made an appointment for us to come back the next night. The next day, we had a good evening, which was really like a spring breeze. When we returned to Texas, we began to correspond with each other, and it was not until later that the telephone became more convenient. Carefully calculated, there are nearly 100 letters. I still often read these letters, and the most repeated words in the letters are not about the skills and techniques of how to write, but about what kind of attitude to life should be upheld when writing and reading. Over the years, when I look at the style of his works in the light of these views at the time, I will be amazed at the almost perfect unity and consistency between the two. The ancients spoke of words as their people, and emphasized that this is a realm, faith.
In short, Mr.'s words reveal at least the following aspects of news: first, calm, calm, confident, and stubborn, which is his attitude towards life; second, graceful, subtle, noble, and luxurious, which is his artistic belief; third, freedom, splendor, generosity, and leisure, and at the same time, intentionally or unintentionally, he avoids fashion and the so-called mainstream, which is his current state of life and his own artistic outlook and values. Mr. said that his calligraphy was most influenced by Yan Zhenqing, Bada, Jin Nong and Lin Sanzhi, and it is not difficult to see that Mr. Yan's orientation towards the classic masters is very distinct. Yan Zhenqing is stubborn and fierce on the surface and generous on the inside, the eight major brushstrokes are cold and lonely and the heart is noble and noble, Jin Nong's line seems to be free and uninhibited, but in fact he is cold-eyed and affectionate, and Lin Sanzhi uses graceful and agile dot lines to comprehend the true realm of Buddhism. Their art is their life, and they are walking on the earth in a down-to-earth manner. Yan Zhenqing is not a bright bed, a few fine pen and ink, but singing and crying, born and dead, the Eight Great is not a fat horse and a light fur, staggered but incognito, chanting and lonely, Jin Nong is not a ruler on the price, the day into the gold, but "and onions and garlic sold on the street", Lin Sanzhi is not a front and back hug, the master is a master, but silently chanting the Buddha is nearly eighty years old. They had no choice but to turn back.
What Mr. learned from them is not only the penmanship, but also a belief in life and an attitude of pen and ink. These constitute the home of his spirit and soul. The gentleman often sighs, you see that they are always busy as if they were the real thing. Yes, the scholars and the princes, they have too many choices because they have too many self-imposed missions and responsibilities, so they must preach and preach, they must speak, they must cut the ribbon, they must socialize, and they must do those musts. In his seventies, he lives in a corner of the bustling city, and every day he rides a bicycle to take his grandson to and from school, or carries a vegetable basket to buy vegetables and cooks. About 10 years ago, I went to Nanjing to visit my husband, and at noon the next day, a few friends from the Nanjing book industry gathered at the Nanjing University Guest House, and he came on a bicycle. After the meal, there was a light rain outside, and the friends were scattered by car or taxi, at this time, the husband took out a raincoat from his pocket and put it on, stepped on the bicycle, and slowly disappeared into the drizzle. That kind of naturalness and calmness, as if his dotted lines, written one stroke at a time, are so simple and calm, calm and leisurely. Many years have passed, and the scene of that time is deeply embedded in my mind like a painting, and it comes back to me all the time.
In 1992, the first issue of "Chinese Calligraphy" magazine published a special feature of Mr., in which there was a banner written by Su Dongpo "Qinyuan Spring", and the second half of the sentence - "When you use the time, the line is hidden in me, why not look at it in a leisurely place". This poem was written by Su Dongpo to his disciples when he went to Mizhou from Zhenjiang to take office, probably the meaning is not too positive and motivated, and it is rarely mentioned when talking about Su Ci. But for some reason, more than 20 years have passed, and I have a deep impression of this poem since my husband wrote it, and I often remember it.