Ancestors of man lian Weiqi,
Honggong Creation;
Gem Qi's legacy,
One stone and one Kunlun.
Tianwu Shi Lishui,
Lei Shi with an axe,
Steep edge frame bucket handle,
First pivot rock formation;
Cliff carving overlooking the rabbit trail,
Rugged leopard body;
逶迤現虬曲,
Hidden ursiphon in the mound.
Tozaki Void,
Hanging ping stretching out the clouds;
Sendai smells the flute,
Pure Yang Crane was coming.
Majestic,
Primitive Humble Zheng Zheng,
Shame and Cruelty Spiral Palace,
Myofu Lutai Soul,
Zhou Mu enshrined as a treasure,
The Queen Mother,
The dog becomes true,
Wei Wei saw the stars.
—— Cao Hanxing's "Strange Stones"
Composer and lyricist Cao Hanxing has been curious about stones since childhood, and this hobby does not fade with the passage of time, but intensifies. The reason for his love of stone is probably that when his music is created, he is accompanied by strange stones, which can not only express his chest depression and temper his heart, but also make people still able to calm down and adapt to themselves when they are lonely and depressed, and achieve a free and transcendent state of not being happy with things and not being sad with themselves.
Cao Hanxing hidden stone
In the process of appreciating the stones, Han Xing Brother felt the artistic conception of the ancients to appreciate the stones: the humble stone of Panasonic, the ancient stone of Meibian, and the thin stone next to the bamboo. Or embellish under the Qiao Songqihui, or line the wall, adhere to the wall, the pool, or when the window, the household, the courtyard is also better. These strange stones are wonderful between the resemblance and the dissimilarity, and the appearance is complete, prompting the poetic association of the stone appreciator, so that it can be seen not only by the eye, but also by the heart. Therefore, his sentiments were composed of "Strange Stones", and now he borrows the stone appreciation of Han Xing brother to also look at the cultural and artistic connotations of the ancients.
First, the cultural value of stone
The function of stone and its immutable characteristics make it have various cultural symbols or symbolic meanings. All the peoples of the world have produced stone worship, and there are also prehistoric cultural symbols such as primitive megalithic buildings, such as stone sheds, stone gods, and sacred stones. There are also a large number of symbols used to represent the gods of the earth, the gods of the society, the ancestor gods and the worship of fertility, such as the stone daring used in classical Chinese gardens to ward off evil spirits, and the yin and yang stones for seeking heirs. Ancient Chinese health practitioners regarded stone appreciation as an excellent way to transcend worldly suffering.
The ancients appreciated stones, mostly accompanied by calligraphy and paintings, piano and chess, and antiques, just as Zhao Xihu of the Song Dynasty said in the "Dongtian Qinglu Collection": In the world of life, like a white colt passing through the gap, and the wind and rain are sad, living in two-thirds of the way, during which the idle ones have only one ear... Pleasing to the eye is not in color at first, and ying's ear is not in sound at first. The sound and color in "pleasing to the eye at the beginning, not in the sound at the beginning of the ear" refers specifically to the sensual stimulation of female color, sound trick and so on that evoke people's carnal desires. Since none of these can be counted as pleasing to the eye, of course, it is the calligraphy and paintings, pianos, chess, antiques, and strange stones that can bring real happiness to people.
In my leisure time, in the quiet room with a few clean windows, I enjoy and taste it with three or two close friends. Taste the wonders of heavenly craftsmanship, the wonders of miraculous craftsmanship or human craftsmanship, but it is natural and ingenious... In this way, it expands the territory in the ordinary, secular and tedious daily life, and opens up an aesthetic space for pure emotional and spiritual enjoyment.
It can be said that the objects of the ancients' leisurely appreciation cover ancient and modern times and are all-encompassing. For example, the famous scholar Feng Mengzhen listed the "thirteen things" in detail: random scattering, burning incense, tea tasting springs, singing the piano, waving Xi Jing, copying law books, looking at pictures, making pens and inks, watching fish plays in the pool, listening to birds, watching huimu, reading strange characters, and playing with aragonites.
In this "Thirteen Things", looking at the play of the stone, the process of appreciation is not diametrically opposed to external objects and objects, but highlights and strengthens the participation of people themselves, and plays with the strange stone. This kind of interest is to regard all natural things in heaven and earth as an object of aesthetic appreciation, and it is also to throw oneself into the embrace of natural things in heaven and earth, and to experience the realm of true "unity of heaven and man" in the seamless blending of people and things, inside and outside.
The "stone is ancient" mentioned in Wen Zhenheng's "Chronicle of Long Things" is the aesthetic program of Chinese literati to appreciate stones. Ancient, the ancients thought that it was one of the signs of noble character, and the strange stone with the cultural character of "ancient" became a symbol reflecting the ideals of the literati and inkers. Therefore, the use of stone as a name has also become a hobby of ancient and modern Chinese cultural people, such as Ishida (Shen Zhou), Youshi (Mi Wanzhong), Shi Tao (Yuan Ji), Shi Huo (Jia Remnant), Shi Daoren (Fu Shan), Shi Shi Daoren (Wang Yuanqi), Shi Yi (Yu Guan Yuan), Qi Baishi, Fu Baoshi and so on. It can be said that this is the naturalization of people's living space, and it is also the anthropomorphism of natural space, which is the realm of "the unity of heaven and man".
Second, the level and realm of stone appreciation
Stone appreciation and stone tasting are a kind of fun, stone is naturally formed, playing with stone and tasting stone is the fusion of human mind and natural objects, and it is a mental activity. However, relying solely on the appearance of play, may be able to fill the emptiness and loneliness of the soul, and dispel idleness and idleness, but it may not be able to ensure that people are liberated from real desires and obtain the freedom of life without obstacles and shackles.
In fact, our ancients constantly reflected and pondered in the process of daily life and appreciation, and explored methods and wisdom that transcended the desires of reality, that is, to maintain a certain distance from reality, to restrain the desires and impulses of the heart to actually possess them, and to appreciate their formal beauty with a purely aesthetic and transcendent utilitarian vision.
The ancients obtained pleasure and relaxation on the perceptual level such as sight, smell and touch through appreciation, which was the beginning of the beauty of appreciating stones. The Song Dynasty poet Su Shunqin (Zimei) said: "There is self-sufficiency in life, and there is something suitable outside, and it is also happy!" Why should we be in a high position, serve others to serve themselves, and then take pleasure in it? ”。“ "Self-satisfaction" refers to the inner comfort and satisfaction, and "suitability" is the external conditions and environment that can provide this satisfaction and comfort. This kind of happiness of "self-sufficiency within and adaptation to external" is first reflected in sensual pleasure and satisfaction.
Then there is the embodiment of the natural taste, which is the sublimation of the wonder of creation. "The unity of heaven and man" is the core of the spirit of traditional Chinese culture, and the Chinese nation has discovered natural beauty very early in maintaining affinity, induction and mutual integration with nature, and has a unique appreciation for natural beauty. For example, the stone nature of Taihu Lake is firm and moist, embedded through the eyes, there is a dangerous trend, and its "image" is caused by the magic of nature. It is a thing that is "out of the sky", unadorned, ingenious that cannot be reached by human beings, both plain and naïve, but also out of the blue. This is lao zhuang's "Taoist nature" traditional Chinese philosophical aesthetic principle.
From stone to stone appreciation, and then to stone virtue, gradually from concrete, sensory happiness to the universal and free realm of life, this is a continuation from the "eye" to the "heart", but also the beauty of stone appreciation from concrete to universal, from emotion to spiritual leap.
Third, appreciate the beauty of the stone and the realm of life
After the Song Dynasty, a systematic theory of stone appreciation was formed, such as "thin wrinkles and leaks", "stubborn and ugly", etc., and "rice epilepsy worship stone" set a standard from aesthetics, using the image of stone to represent a certain ideal personality and sentiment. For example, Zhao Erfeng of the Qing Dynasty said: "The stone body is firm and chaste, and it is not pleasing to people with softness." Lonely Gao Jie, gentleman also, I will think of myself as a teacher. Stone calm, not with the waves, but the gentle and pure, the good man also, I am happy and friendly. ”
Stone has the power of tranquility and distance, and people and stones can sense each other and stimulate the fun of inviting. For example, Liang Jiutu of the Qing Dynasty said in the "Twelve Stones And The Chronicle": "When a guest comes, he sees me stroking the strange stone with his palm all day, and if he has any gains, it is very strange." Then I replied: My stone has peaks, ponds, streams, waterfalls, slabs, cliffs, rock forts, and pedals. I can save the effort of climbing and climbing, and the fun of inviting you is in it! ”
The Ming and Qing dynasty aesthetician Li Yu said a sentence, which can be said to be an excellent summary of the appreciation of stones: vision is related to the state of mind, people want to liven up their hearts, first of all, it is advisable to liven up their eyes! The purpose of "liveliness of the heart" is to pursue a kind of wisdom and perseverance to get rid of the burden of material desires and achieve a state of freedom in which the mind has no connection. The "freedom" mentioned here refers to the state of life that breaks through the shackles of desire and has no obstacles.
This is the ancient people's stone appreciation realm, but also the lofty realm that their attitude to life and life choices can achieve. Not only acknowledging the beauty of the sensual world, not missing every wonderful moment of life, life and the world, but also breaking free from the shackles of sensory desires and entering the free state of leisurely wandering and unrelated to the heart. This aesthetic attitude to life and life orientation is the most enlightening wisdom left by the Chinese aesthetic tradition of stone appreciation.
Cao Hanxing, composer and lyricist, is a member of the Guangdong Musicians Association
Art is a memory with a smell, in poetry, in dance, in painting, in music, in images, if there is no smell of life, how can it move people and feel themselves? This public account is dominated by traditional Chinese culture, which covers traditional Chinese art, intangible cultural heritage and other aspects. From a small object or an ancient painting to trace the footprints of the ancients, excavate the old things with ordinary words, and share with more people the Chinese life trajectory and spiritual traces carried by these old things. It is hoped that readers can taste their interest in it and find their friends here, just as the Mingren Chen Jiru's "Little Window Youji" said: "Strange stones are real friends, famous qins are friends, good books are beneficial friends, strange paintings are guanyou, Fa Ti is Fan You, Liang Yan is Li You, BaoJing is Ming You, Jing Ji is Fang You, Gu Ci is a virtual friend, the old furnace is a smoke friend, the paper account is a su friend, and the dust is a quiet friend." Looking forward to being friends with you!