Northern Song calligraphy is a new artistic peak in the history of calligraphy. Out of its class, out of its strength, the four families of Su, Huang, Mi, and Cai. During the Jing kang rebellion, the Great Song Dynasty had already been shaken, turning from prosperity to decline. Political changes are reflected to a certain extent in the cultural field, and the art of calligraphy has also turned from prosperity to decline, from peak to low.
Mi Fu "Light Ink Autumn Mountain Thesis"
The calligraphy of the Southern Song Dynasty developed along two main lines: one is based on the retro, that is, the northern Song Dynasty, and the calligraphy of the early Southern Song Dynasty has been under the shadow of the Northern Song dynasty calligraphy, inheriting more than innovation, especially the huge magnetic force generated by the magnetic field of Su Huang Mi Cai, so that the proverb "Su Wen is cooked, eat mutton; Su Wensheng, eat vegetable soup"; Mi Fu and Huang Tingjian are also popular in the world because they are full of novelty.
The other is based on deliberate innovation, such as the phenomenon of the gossamer book that Wu said, deviating from the blind innovation of the ancient law, and the pure game Han Mo's gossamer book was said by Song Gaozong Zhao's "Han Mo Zhi": "Since Shaoxing, miscellaneous books gossamer books, only Qiantang Wu said. ”
Wu said that the "Gossamer Book" is partial
Wu said the word Fu Peng, the number liantang. Birth and death unknown. A native of Qiantang (present-day Hangzhou, Zhejiang), he lived in Zixi at Qiantang and called Wu Zixi. Speaking of calligraphy, the character path is extremely broad, and its original hybrid gossamer book is also quite famous. Wu said that there are "Three Poems", "Mennei Ti", "Jian Forgiveness Post", "Thousand Character Text" and other handwritings that have survived.
Wu said that the gossamer book is an unconventional understanding and interpretation of Mi Fu's "ink play" thought. Mi Fu was a genius artist who was familiar with the ancient methods of the Jin and Tang Dynasties, and although he was a deceitful or black humor advocate of "ink opera", he was still a calligrapher who respected the ancient law with a classical plot without compromise and devotion. Wu said that he inherited this idea, but did not carry it forward. Although the gossamer book was famous for a while, it was eventually lost in the rolling torrent of calligraphy history. On the contrary, his more traditional works have been enjoyed by later generations.
The Mingshan Sect Book (also known as the JianYi Ti) is a letter to the Mingshan Sect Book Yi Yi. The letter asked whether two recent letters had been submitted and also addressed recent duties and work status. From the content point of view, it is an ordinary interrogation letter. On the whole, this work does not follow the vulgarity, and pursues the Wei and Jin wind bones dominated by the two kings and the laws of the Tang Dynasty Calligraphy.
Therefore, this work is very different from the scribes of the Southern Song Dynasty, full of paper Jin and Tang ancient methods, resistant to reading and durable. This Zado uses a sharp pen to show the sharp edge into the paper, giving people a sense of thinness and strength, with a soft pen in the rigidity, and the pen has a lanting elegant posture. Its chapters are sparse, although it is a line of letters, but there are few continuous strokes, most of the words are independent and not rigid, with the situation of the shape, the size of a natural, the cloth is deeply "Leek Flower Thesis" magic.
The innovation of calligraphy art, one needs to follow the development law of art itself, such as the Song Sijia is after the Tang Dynasty Shangfa reached a height, must find another way to make a breakthrough, so the Song Sijia chose Shangyi, which is an innovation; the second also needs to have talent, such as Su Shi, Mi Fu, etc., erudite and intelligent.
The state of malaise in the southern Song Dynasty and the lack of core talents in the book world did not have the conditions for innovation. The emergence of blind, pen-and-ink gossamer books that have no interest in writing and ink cannot be long-lived and inevitable. However, Wu said that the grass, xiaokai, and the list of books were all good, and the codex he composed was clumsy, calm and elegant, and was deeply praised by those who knew it. Perhaps this gives us a useful enlightenment, when we can not do innovation, rather than run out of control reckless, it is better to respect the ancients, but also a good way to learn books.