The calligraphy in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty could not bypass two celebrities, one was Ouyang Xiu and the other was Cai Xiang. In this article, let's talk about Ouyang Xiu and his "Collection of Ancient Records".
Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072), known as Uncle Yong, was a drunkard, and a monk with the evening name of 61. A native of Luling, Jizhou (now Ji'an, Jiangxi), he was less lonely and poor, and his mother taught him to practice calligraphy with Di painting. In the eighth year of Tiansheng (1030) and Jinshidi, Jing Youjian was the pavilion proofreading, Fan Zhongyan opposed the prime minister Lu Yijian was demoted, and he wrote a book to reprimand Gao Ruone, because of the blame for Yiling.
(Ouyang Xiu Statue)
In the third year of Qingli (1043), the Zhiyuan Yuan, promoted the knowledge system, and walked with the "Qingli New Deal", the new deal failed, and he went out of Zhichu, Yangying and other states, and was in the opposition for 11 years. Recalled to serve as a bachelor of Hanlin. In the second year of Jiayou (1057), he knew the tribute, simply promoted the talents, and suppressed the strange and strange "Taixue style", and the style of the world changed greatly. He has served as a deputy privy envoy and a governor of political affairs. At the beginning of the Divine Sect, he knew several states. Because of his opposition to Wang Anshi's change of law, he insisted on asking for a letter. Editor-in-chief of "New Tang Dynasty Book" and self-authored "History of the New Five Dynasties". There is "Ouyang Wenzhong Collection".
Ouyang Xiu is a well-known writer and politician. He is one of the "Eight Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties", we have learned his "Drunkard Pavilion" in middle school textbooks, and we have seen his "61 Layman" seal when we study the history of seal carving. As shown in the figure:
(Ouyang Xiu's "61 Layman" seal)
Ouyang Xiu is not famous for calligraphy, but he became interested in calligraphy at an early age. The history of calligraphy records that he had a very famous calligraphy debate with Shi Jie (the details of the debate can be found in pages 47-50 of The History of Chinese Calligraphy: Song Liao Jin Juan).
Ouyang Xiu believes that calligraphy should not seek "strange" and "evil", but should follow certain laws, Shi Jie is a representative of the Northern Song Dynasty's famous Confucianism and clumsy calligraphy, we can take a look at his surviving calligraphy "Inner Confession Post", it is indeed "childish"! It is indeed not good at writing.
(Ishisuke《内谒帖》)
But Shi Jie was prone to dissenting opinions in his life, he resolutely refused to accept Ouyang Xiu's suggestion, and made sophistries with morality above calligraphy, saying that calligraphy can convey the way of sages, and there is no need to follow the ancient law, and asked Ouyang Xiu rhetorically, is it true that the state appoints scholars to teach people to write?
Ouyang Xiu believed that this was a matter of principle, argued with reason, and resolutely refused to tolerate Shi Jie's sophistry until the discussion reached Shi Jie's speechlessness.
Although calligraphy does not determine a person's moral level, it is obviously wrong to insist on forgiving oneself for the sake of morality, or even to pretend to be pretentious or pretend to be strange words for the sake of being unconventional.
There was very little discussion of calligraphy in the literary and humanities collections before Ouyang Xiu, and it was not until Ouyang Xiu appeared that we read more about calligraphy. Although most of them spontaneously developed from the feeling and did not yet have the academic taste of book theory, they were also the most important origin of book theory in the Song Dynasty.
In the process of compiling the "Collection of Ancient Records", Ouyang Xiu sighed countless times, such as:
For more than 100 years,...... The law of the one-word book is lonely, and it fails to compare with the Tang Dynasty, and the rest of the people hate it.
Every time I get the Tang Dynasty book, I don't sigh at the waste of today's people!
However, Yu tasted and Cai Junmo discussed books, saying that the prosperity of books was not in the Tang Dynasty, and the waste of books was even more than today.
During the Jiayou period (1056-1063), Ouyang Xiu reached the peak of his life, and as a leader in the literary world, he could do whatever he wanted with his power and prestige. He tried his best to promote Su Xun, who had failed many times, and admitted Su Xun's two sons, Su Shi and Su Zhe, as well as Zeng Gong and others. He also gave a poem to Wang Anshi, who was still a petty official at the time, to increase his reputation. Therefore, in the "Eight Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties", there are six Song families, except for Ouyang Xiu, and the fame of others has a lot to do with their importance.
In terms of calligraphy, he lost no time in praising Cai Xiang:
Since Su Zimei's death, he has felt that his brushwork has been extinct. In recent years, Jun Mo has been alone in the world, but he is humble and unwilling to lead the alliance, and in previous years, he tasted the joke of Jun Mo: "Learning books is like tracing the rapids, exhausting all your strength, and never leaving your hometown." Jun Mo laughed, thinking that he could take an example. Thinking about this now, it has been more than ten years, how can it be!
is unique in the world, and the evaluation is really high, but Ouyang Xiu's so-called study book "is like tracing the rapids, using all your strength, and never leaving the hometown" is really appropriate to express the depression and hesitation in the beginner stage. Let's take a look at Ouyang Xiu's early years, "Zhuo Ai Ti" was written in 1056, as shown in the picture:
(Ouyang Xiu's "Burning Ai Post")
Obviously, this post is softer and has the characteristics of more weeks. In this way, in his letter to Mei Yaochen, he once again mentioned the discussion with Cai Xiang:
A certain is also tired of books, because there are limits to thinking and learning books, and the endowment of the sky, there are people who cannot be strong. In previous years, I learned bows and arrows, but I couldn't do it for three or four years, so I stopped. Later, I saw that Jun Mo was the happiest in learning books, and he was determined to do it. Writing back and forth, it is not as good as the old days, like a boat sailing against the wind, doing its best, only in the old place, not less. The heart is tired and tired, and he is already old. An knows that self-suffering is like this? It is a good handwriting in ancient and modern times, which is really precious. In the future, you can only read other people's books, you can also have fun, and you can't live and bear it!
Ouyang Xiu described the "bottleneck period" of learning calligraphy very clearly, and at the same time, he also acknowledged the influence of "talent" and "hobby" on the study of calligraphy.
Huang Tingjian saw Ouyang Xiu's slightly powerful words, perhaps a little later, he said:
Ouyang Wenzhong Gong is quite vigorous in his pen, which is the law of the ancients, but he is not graceful.
Ouyang Wenzhong's official book is not extremely public, but he likes to talk about ancient and modern books, so he rarely entered in his later years. His articles discuss the sect of the first generation, and the book is not evil, and it is self-sufficient and passed on for hundreds of generations.
Huang said that Ouyang Correction relied on "liking ancient and modern books", and his calligraphy made progress in his later years, but it was not "less progress", but great progress. Ouyang Xiu himself made no secret of this:
Yu Chu did not know how to read, because of the collection of ancient books, read a lot, so a little acquaintance, but people can not be reluctant to learn also?
The rest of the collection of ancient texts, read a lot of books, so although can not be written but a little literacy.
The so-called "collection of ancient writings" and "collection of ancient texts" are the writing of the "collection of ancient records". The reward Ouyang Xiu received for writing this book was that he unexpectedly created a condition for himself to become an outstanding calligrapher. The more he felt that he couldn't bear to give up, the richer the collection of inscriptions became. He immersed himself in the sea of beautiful inscriptions, and through screening, analysis, and comparison, he improved his level of understanding, which fundamentally solved the problem of starting point.
The following one shows how he is "reluctant to learn". The gradual deepening of his understanding made him touch the same kind and realize the valuable calligraphy:
Yu Shi got Li Yong's book, which was not very good. However, if you suspect that Yong is a book, he must have a deep interest. and read it for a long time, so it is said that he has few books. The latest, the good one, for example, is still to make friends, the beginning is also difficult, and the union will be long. Although Yu has obtained the penmanship because of the Yongshu, but the words are by no means similar, how can he get his meaning and forget the shape of the evil? Because of the Yongshu, the pursuit of the calligraphy of the Emperor and the king can be passed, but the Yongshu may not be unique. Classmates who paint, get one of them can pass the rest, and the rest of the couple's ears are obtained from Yongshu!
This is Ouyang Xiu's "thorough understanding" of calligraphy.
Taking the spirit of the remains has always been considered to be the positive result of learning. Attacking the face of a certain family, chewing on the spittle of others and relishing it, is the most unproductive performance. Ouyang Xiu's most insightful point, that is, "Yongshu may not be unique", that is to say, from Li Yong can lead to the avenue, and this is not the only way, take another family, as long as it is recognized by everyone, it can end up in the same way.
Let's look at Ouyang Xiu's calligraphy in his later years, such as the four pieces of "Jigulu Bawei", and feel that in addition to the flat and broad glyphs, we can still find some images of Li Yong, which have basically turned into their own form. This ancient and honest spirit reflects his own bosom and learning.
(Detail of "Collection of Ancient Records")
Su Shi commented:
Ouyang Wenzhong used a sharp pen and dry ink to make square and broad characters, with beautiful hair and endless moisturizing. Later generations look at it, if they see its clear eyes and plump cheeks, they will become more prosperous.
Ouyang Gongshu, the pen gesture is dangerous, the font is beautiful, and it is a family of its own. However, the public ink should be a treasure of the world, and it does not wait for the work of the strokes.
In his later years, Ouyang Xiu was no longer a "book-weary" person who could only be willing to "read other people's books", he had taken calligraphy as his only hobby. Because he gets endless pleasure from it. He even made a plan for himself to learn calligraphy:
Since then, I have only learned cursive on a single day and real on two days. The real book is both a line, a cursive script, ten years of tirelessness, and it deserves the title of the book. However, the void has been obtained and the true qi is consumed, and everything is the same. There is to imply its meaning, not knowing the body for labor, and there is to enjoy its heart, not knowing the material for tiredness. However, since ancient times, there are all things that are tiring, and there is a heart to enjoy things.
Getting a name is exhausting, and being happy is laborious, which is a contradiction that is difficult to reconcile. Ouyang Xiu admits that calligraphy is his only hobby, but he is always wary not to indulge in it.
But in fact, he himself still can't bear or even stop calligraphy.
If you have time, you can learn books, not to seek the essence of art, and it is better to work hard for others. In this way, those who do not dwell on things are really called supreme people, those who are beneficial, gentlemen, those who are harmful, and foolish people. You can't learn without hard work, and you can't hurt your ears. He who wants to have the joy of silence, this is the ear!
Ouyang Xiu repeatedly emphasized that he only talked about learning books to kill the day, not counting the work, so he took the principle of not working hard. This creates the impression that learning doesn't take much effort. In fact, he said when he was in the sixth year of Jiayou: "You must be familiar with the words, and if you are familiar, you will have more than enough spirit." ”
Proficiency is a basic requirement at the technical level, and of course it requires a great deal of labor. However, after all, calligraphy cannot be aimed at mastery and imitation of the ancients, and calligraphy has a higher pursuit. He had a clear understanding in the second year of Jiayou: "Learning books should be a family of its own, and its imitation of others is called a slave book!"
He also pointed out a point of methodology for studying books:
You don't have to be tired of writing inkstones, read more relics of the ancients, seek their intentions, and get more.
Observe the handwriting of the ancients and think about their penmanship and structural intentions, and gain more. At the same time, it can be seen that Ouyang Xiu's opposition to "abandoning Pepsi and taking the study of books as a career" certainly has the positive significance of putting an end to utilitarianism, but its starting point is to remind the world that it is necessary to pay more attention to moral cultivation that is far more important than calligraphy. He cited Yan Zhenqing, Yang Ningshi, and Li Jianzhong as examples:
The ancients were able to write, and the sages of the only people spread far and wide. Then the world does not push this, but in the book, I don't know that the day before yesterday, the work book with the paper and ink abandoned innumerable. Although Yan Lu's official book is not good, future generations will see it as a treasure. Yang Ningshi admonished his father with straightforward words, and his festival was seen in hardships and dangers; Li Jianzhong was cautious and gentle, and he was a lover of his books and a man. How can there be a fact, and then it will last for a long time? It is not that since ancient times, sages and sages will be able to write, but the sages can be saved, and the rest will not be seen again.
Ouyang Xiu's thought later became the main criterion for Su, Huang and others to judge the previous generation of calligraphers. Su Shi once commented on Ouyang Xiu's calligraphy: "Ouyang Wenzhong's official letter is a common ritual punishment for scholars, and it is almost like a person who sees him." If you don't work, you should still pass on the treasure, and you will be diligent and sensitive, and you will become a family of your own?"
We say that the calligraphy of Su, Huang and others is "unique and unique", and the "Shangyi" calligraphy of "absolutely clinging" actually originates from Ouyang Xiu's theoretical foundation.
Xi and Xianshi are named after books, and the penmanship is far from the same. Between father and son, there are such differences, but there are also full joys.
The study of words, passed down from three generations, its body changed at any time, turned to the ancestral habits, and then to the famous family, but also did not determine the law and evil! After the Wei and Jin dynasties, the real grass was gradually divided, and Xi, the dedication of father and son was the fashion for a while, and the later generations of the people who spoke and wrote, not these two people are not the law. Its art sincerity is exquisite, but it must be the law, what is the basis for the beginning?
Although Xi and Xian are father and son, but the son does not attack the father, each has its own face, and only "far apart" can be called "two kings" together. If father and son are still like this, then in later generations, "neither of these two will be lawful" will inevitably be a little self-defeating. The "Fa" is not immutable, but is constantly accumulating and gradually enriched.
It is no accident that from the Song Dynasty to the "post-Ouyang Xiu era", the "Shangyi" style of calligraphy appeared. It has an obvious causal relationship with Ou Gongdaofu's theoretical contributions.
"Jigulu" is another great contribution of Ouyang Xiu. If the influence of his book theory stopped at that time, then this book has made a pioneering contribution in the history of Chinese scholarship. It is the earliest of all the bibliographic books on gold and stone tablets.
According to Ouyang Xiu's own account, it took 18 years of work to collect ancient records, but the first volume of this book "Former Han Yanzu Lamp Inscription" is recorded as "Xining Renzi April", which is ten years later than the book, and it has been less than half a year since his death. It can be seen that there is no doubt that the rumors about Ou Gong's twilight years are afraid of writing and constantly modifying, adding and deleting to himself.
The original 1,000 volumes of the "Collection of Ancient Records" were later regulated, so they "summarized their major points" and deleted the ten volumes seen today, with a total of more than 400 tails.
The most important thing is that Ouyang Xiu's "Collection of Ancient Records" opened a precedent for using steles to prove history and correct history with steles. Ouyang Xiu is a historian, he adheres to the scientific attitude that history should have, and in the process of writing the "Collection of Ancient Records", he used tablets and history to prove each other, and received the good effect of choosing the secluded hook.
For example, it was found that Chu Xiangsun Uncle Ao Mingrao corrected the name of Wei Deng Ai of the Three Kingdoms and read Artemisia Ai Zhifei. In addition, physical statistics should be a more credible method. Because he could not collect the inscriptions of the Western Han Dynasty in all directions, he came to this conclusion:
Yu Jiaji ancient records three generations of Zhong Ding Pan inscription prepared, to the Later Han Dynasty after the beginning of the inscription, want to seek the former Han Dynasty stele pawn can not get, is the tomb tombstone since the Later Han Dynasty began to have.
Although the reason for this is not explored, it is a true truth and one that is proven by archaeology today.
Regarding some of the sayings of the ancients, Ouyang Xiu did not stick to partial beliefs, but used his own knowledge to make judgments through independent thinking. For example, it is pointed out that the evidence of Wei Yingwu and Han Yu of the Tang Dynasty that the "Stone Drum Text" is the object of King Xuan of Zhou is insufficient, and it proves that the two tables of the old legend Zhong Xuan's "He Jie" and "Rong Lu" are not written by him, etc., are all believed and signed. Starting from the style of the book, it is pointed out that "The Crane Ming" is not Wang Xi's book, because "Huayang Zhenyi" is the Tang Dynasty's Taoist number, and it is proposed that it may be from Gu's. You can also talk about it.
Ouyang Xiu's "work ethic" in this book is also commendable, he does not plunder the beauty of others, and shows the help given by his friends.
In short, Jigulu has made outstanding contributions not only to calligraphy, but also to historiography, epigraphy, and literature.
([Follow the pudding calligraphy history] No. 132, some pictures come from the Internet, the copyright belongs to the original copyright owner)