Baisha Maolong Pen has been born for more than 500 years, known as "divine work", and its and Maolong calligraphy have become an important part of Jiangmen Wuyi Baisha culture
Text/Yangcheng Evening News reporter Chen Zhuodong Peng Jining Ma Yong Correspondent Jiang Xuan Xinhui Xuan Tan Yaoguang
Photo: Propaganda Department of Xinhui District Committee
In the Songyuanyamen Naval Battle Cultural Tourism Zone of Gujing Town, Xinhui District, Jiangmen City, a piece of the "Ciyuan Temple Stele" carved during the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty is displayed, and its inscription was painted by Lingnan Daru Chen Xianzhang (Mr. Bai Sha) with a white sand Maolong pen and wielded maolong calligraphy, and was praised by the contemporary painting master Liu Haisu as "the most powerful stele written in ancient and modern times". The strength of the White Sand Maolong Pen and maolong calligraphy can be seen here.
Originating from the Xinhui Guifeng Mountain, the Baisha Maolong Pen has been in existence for more than 500 years and has been praised by many calligraphers as "divine works". The appearance of the Baisha Maolong Pen is said to be related to Chen Xianzhang, so the Baisha Maolong Pen and Maolong Calligraphy have also become an important part of the Baisha culture of Wuyi in Jiangmen. In the view of Zhang Ruiheng, the inheritor of the Baisha Maolong Pen technique, it is necessary to unify the inheritance of the Baisha Maolong Pen with the cultural inheritance of the Baisha Mao, so as to give the Baisha Maolong Pen new vitality.
The mountain dwelling lacks pens, and the bundles are replaced
"Mao Jun used a little thing to start calling it a divine worker." Chen Xianzhang's "Writing Nostalgia for Li Jiuyuan in Illness" wrote about his love for the White Sand Mao Dragon Pen. According to legend, Chen Xianzhang, whose ancestral home was Xinhui, during his lectures in his hometown, "the mountain residence occasionally lacked pens, and the bundles of Mao replaced them, so they became a family of their own, which was sometimes called Mao Pen Characters."
Zhang Ruiheng said that more than 500 years ago, Chen Xianzhang, who lived in Guifeng for a long time, took local materials, collected a handful of thatch between nearby mountain passes, took its roots and bundled thatch as a pen, dipped in ink and wrote Cangjin Zigzag. Some other scholars have also considered that because Chen Xianzhang lived in the countryside, the supply of brushes could not be supplied, so he tried to use the Xinhui specialty of shanmao ghostwriting, after a long period of practice, found that this novel writing instrument has a special artistic effect, and began to explore calligraphy from this aspect. However, no matter what kind of statement, "after Chen Xianzhang bundled Mao into a pen, the Baisha Maolong pen came out" is well documented.
The gestures are like dragons, dry and wild
In the Chinese calligraphy tradition, the "pen" is generally made of animal hair, while the white sand maolong pen is made of grass, and the pen is slender and multi-pointed, which is more "sparse and wild". Chen Xianzhang used his advantages to create a strong calligraphy.
Zhang Ruiheng introduced that Maolong calligraphy gestures are like a phoenix, spicy and wild, strong and powerful, and the most obvious feature should be "flying white". Feibai is a special brushwork in traditional Chinese calligraphy and painting, which is mixed with dots of white marks when writing, adding a sense of agility to the calligraphy and painting. Zhang Ruiheng said: "The white sand mao dragon pen is rich in changes, can be a stroke of multiple edges, the brush has only one edge, and the brush is dry pen when flying white, the white sand mao dragon pen is always flying white, and the white sand mao dragon pen is easier to control the flying white technique, and the flying white is more intense when the ink is full." ”
After a long period of practice, Chen Xianzhang left behind many masterpieces of Maolong calligraphy. In addition to the classic "Monument of Ciyuan Temple", the cursive writing of "Seed Ma Poems" is also a must, the penmanship is dry and steep, and the dry is moist, the pen and pen seem to be broken and the pen is connected, and the flying white is particularly wonderful, reaching the realm of "moving and seeking tranquility, putting but not letting go, staying without staying" pursued by Chen Xianzhang.
Zhang Ruiheng said that for hundreds of years, many people have made good use of Maolong calligraphy, such as Chen Xianzhang's disciple Zhan Ruoshui, Qing Dynasty's Su Er, Chen Li, etc., and then promoted the development of Baisha Maolong pen, and the pen-making skills have also begun to be inherited and developed in the folk.
Scrape the grass and slow down to form a pen
The traditional Baisha Maolong Pen uses the unique thatch of Xinhui Guifeng Mountain as raw material and undergoes more than ten processes to make a Baisha Maolong Pen.
Zhang Ruiheng introduced that the hay used in the White Sand Maolong Pen is very exquisite, "It is necessary to choose the thatch of Guifeng Mountain that is leeward to the sun, not old and tender, with a strong stem and a suitable length." "After the thatch is cut, the stem is hammered into a flat shape, placed in clam ash water for a period of time, dried, and then quickly scraped the hay with a sharp knife and file according to the design of the pen shape and pulled into a pen blank by hand. After the pen blank is dipped, dried and combed, it is then wrapped with red and white velvet, and equipped with pen caps and other ornaments, and finally the water basin is pulled, that is, the pen is soaked in water, and the pen edge is pulled in the water to adjust the edge to achieve the "four virtues" of roundness, tip, qi and health.
Zhang Ruiheng said that the production process of the Baisha Maolong Pen relies entirely on human hands, and the slow work is fine. Every step is done well, and the pen will be tough enough.
Reborn through the ages, restore the inheritance
Since its inception, the Baisha Maolong Pen has evolved and become more exquisite in the late Qing Dynasty and early Min. Zhang Ruiheng introduced that there were many shops that made white sand Maolong pens in the new year, and now Huimin Road in Xinhui District, because of the many pen shops, was called "Doing Pen Street". "Later, because of the war, many pen craftsmen dispersed to Hong Kong." Later, there were only a few Baisha Maolong pen shops in Hong Kong, and the Mainland Baisha Maolong Pen shops no longer did this business, and only a few people used Baisha Maolong pens for their own use. The inheritance of the White Sand Mao Dragon Pen is at risk of generational discontinuity.
After the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Japan, a Japanese friend talked about the past of entrusting people to buy the Baisha Maolong Pen in foreign affairs activities, "The relevant person in charge called Xinhui to inquire about the Baisha Maolong Pen, and the Provincial Craft Corporation then allocated a special fund to plan to restore the Baisha Maolong Pen." Zhang Ruiheng remembers that it was 1978. In this year, Zhang Ruiheng, who works in Xinhui Arts and Crafts Factory, officially became acquainted with Baisha Maolong Pen.
In order to resume the production of the Baisha Mao Dragon Pen, Xinhui Arts and Crafts Factory formed a Baisha Mao Dragon Pen Restoration Team. Zhang Ruiheng, who was 17 years old at the time, had a collection of white sand maolong pens at home and had a certain foundation in painting, so he was able to enter the group. Later, Zhang Ruiheng was transferred to the Gangzhou Painting Academy. Because he liked Maolong calligraphy, he made baisha maolong pens at home for his own use, and occasionally gave them to other artists, "Later, more and more people came to me to buy baisha maolong pens. Slowly, Zhang Ruiheng became the inheritor of the baisha mao dragon pen making skills.
In June 2008, the Baisha Maolong Pen was selected as a traditional skill on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List. This made Zhang Ruiheng feel very happy. "It's a cultural identity, and it means that more people will recognize the White Sand Dragon Pen."
【Dialogue with "Inheritors"】
Maolong implies a big culture
Reporter: In the process of inheriting the Baisha Maolong pen, you have always insisted on advocating the complementarity of Maolong culture and Baisha culture.
Zhang Ruiheng: Since its birth, the Baisha Maolong Pen has actually been inseparable from Chen Baisha's calligraphy. Speaking of Chen Baisha's calligraphy, it is inevitable that Maolong calligraphy will be the first to be promoted, and this is related to the birth of the Baisha Maolong pen. Therefore, the Baisha Maolong Pen is not only a kind of calligraphy and painting pen, but also a carrier of culture.
The entire Baisha Maolong pen culture system includes not only the innovation of the production technique of the Baisha Maolong pen, but also the Maolong calligraphy, Maolong Chinese painting, etc., and also includes the Baisha culture implied by the Baisha Maolong pen.
Reporter: In addition to calligraphy, I noticed that you also use the White Sand Maolong Pen to create Chinese paintings. Why is there such an attempt?
Zhang Ruiheng: I have learned to draw since I was a child, and I have a certain foundation in painting. When I came into contact with other painters, I found that the Baisha Maolong Pen was very suitable for painting trees, stones, and mountains, so I began to study the production of Maolong Pai Pen, which is specially used for the creation of Chinese paintings, as well as the creation of Baisha Maolong Pen Chinese paintings.
In fact, Gao Jianfu, Mai Huasan, Guan Shanyue, Liu Haisu, these calligraphers and painters have all used the Baisha Maolong pen to create Chinese paintings. I just stood on the shoulders of giants and created some small paintings with the theme of tea branches and orange peels from my hometown to add some hometown feelings.
Reporter: In the past few years, in order to promote Maolong culture, what efforts have you made? What's next?
Zhang Ruiheng: In 2014, with the support of the government department, I and some of my colleagues built the Maolong Caotang, which is a White Sand Maolong pen cultural experience hall. In addition to teaching exchanges in Maolong Caotang, I also went to many schools in Jiangmen to share the skills of making white sand dragon pens and calligraphy and painting skills with students and teachers, hoping that more people would be interested in white sand dragon pens. In 2017, the government department supported me to create the "Maolong Zhang Arts and Crafts Master Studio". In addition to demonstrating the craftsmanship of the Baisha Maolong Pen in the studio, I also displayed the historical materials and objects of the Baisha culture collected over the years. In this way, it has successively made some small contributions to the inheritance and promotion of Maolong culture.
Next, I will continue to use calligraphy culture, painting culture, Baisha Maolong pen artwork, tourism culture, Maolong dance, etc. to promote the Baisha Maolong pen culture. When the time comes, I also plan to bundle the white sand dragon pen making skills with the use of the skills to make a world intangible cultural heritage application.
Edit: White tea
Source: Golden Sheep Network