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From the time the exhibition was stopped to today's "Yu Youren's Thesis and SteleOlogy", you don't know About Wo Xinghua! Yu Ren's Thesis and Epigraphy

author:Art Alerts
From the time the exhibition was stopped to today's "Yu Youren's Thesis and SteleOlogy", you don't know About Wo Xinghua! Yu Ren's Thesis and Epigraphy

Wo Xinghua

Wo Xinghua, born in 1955, is a native of Shanghai. Professor of the Department of Literature and Science of Fudan University, doctoral supervisor, researcher of the China Book Court. He was a director of the Chinese Calligraphers Association, vice chairman and secretary general of the Shanghai Calligraphers Association. He has taught in the Department of History and the Department of Art of East China Normal University. He has published many works such as Dunhuang Calligraphy, Dunhuang Calligraphy Art, History of Chinese Calligraphy, and Wo Xinghua Calligraphy and Painting Collection.

Text | Wo Xinghua

I. Theology (-1919)

One of the earliest surviving works of Yu Youren is the signature Boxun with no year. Mr. Wang Cheng examined in the "Commentary on Yu Youren Calligraphy" that in 1908, Yu Youren returned to Shaanxi to visit his father's illness, and on the way there was a poem "Zhengzhou Sense Old Inscription Wall", and in the winter of 1909, he returned to Shaanxi to bury his father. This situation is consistent with the sentences in the work that "last year today is again" and "today is more sad", as well as the inscription "See the old inscription wall poems in Henan Province". Therefore, it is inferred that this work was written in the winter of 1909.

From the time the exhibition was stopped to today's "Yu Youren's Thesis and SteleOlogy", you don't know About Wo Xinghua! Yu Ren's Thesis and Epigraphy

Yu Ren Presents Hui Tang Shibo Four Screens Size Unknown Material Unknown Year Unknown

Mr. Chen Moshi's "Annals of Yu Youren" in 1907: "Since the age of ten, Mr. Chen Moshi has been studying books without interruption, his skills are solid, and his calligraphy has greatly increased. During this period, he wrote the Northern Wei inscriptions, especially He Shaojilin's "Epitaph of Zhang Heinu", which is very similar. Comparing this record with the original work, the smooth use of the pen has the influence of Zhao Mengfu, the knot body is flat, the left is low and the right is high, the vertical painting is hanging, and the influence of Su Shi is even greater, which reflects the enlightenment kung fu of the Right Ren Xueshu. There is no trace of "writing the Northern Wei stele" throughout the text, but if the shape of the characters "come" and "have" is consistent with He Shaoji's calligraphy, the last sentence of the annals is not completely unfounded. Moreover, He Shaoji particularly admired the "Epitaph of Zhang Heinu", and the "Epitaph of Zhang Heinu" that came to him had a great influence and many people studied it, so it is inferred that it is completely possible for Yu Youren to contact the "Epitaph of Zhang Heinu" through He Shaoji.

From the time the exhibition was stopped to today's "Yu Youren's Thesis and SteleOlogy", you don't know About Wo Xinghua! Yu Ren's Thesis and Epigraphy

Yu Right Ren Xingshu Eight Words Lian

234cm×36.5cm×2 Silk Year unknown "A Generation of Scholars in the Right Ren (Continued 1)" Cultural Relics Publishing House, 2014 edition

The earliest work of Yu Youren's yearly style is the "Extended Sentimental Matter" axis, written in June 1918, the famous model is no longer used in Bo Xun, instead of being used for Right Ren, the writing method is different from that after 1921, the "right" word apostrophe is longer than horizontal, and the apostrophe next to the "Ren" word "壬" is written from right to left, and the lower vertical is written continuously, emphasizing vertical and vertical coherence, which belongs to the characteristics of theology. There are not many such famous works, and I have seen five of them. In addition, the other four are the "Weishui Autumn White" poetry axis, the "Thunderstorm Continuous Night Sending Mouth Cool" poetry axis, the "YuanYi Mountain Poem" four screens and the "Xin Jiaxuan Words" four screens. There are no annual models, the writing method is basically the same, and the pen is not like the inscription " the pen is broken, the broken and then rises", but emphasizes the turn. Comparing these five works with the above-mentioned 1908 works, although they all belong to the Thesis system, the influence of Zhao Mengfu and Su Shi has disappeared. With the pen relaxed, the knot opens, the chapters are large and small, jagged, and the whole style is bold and open, and the ups and downs are ups and downs. According to the words of the characters, Yu Youren used "half crying and half laughing" as the name of the chamber in his early years, and on the poem grass published in 1903, the first page photo was shirtless and covered with hair, and the side inscription was "Change Taiping with neck blood, love freedom like a wife", which is completely an "angry youth". Later, he ran for revolution, was born into death, and called himself a "warrior of the rivers and lakes", and the arrogance of the style of writing truthfully reflected the spiritual outlook of Yu Youren's year.

Yu Youren said that in his early years of studying books, he "had no intention of seeking work" and did not pay enough attention to techniques. Therefore, although his works have swept away the withering of theology, the use of pens is too simple, the knots are too sloppy, and the forms are too rough to attract people's attention. It is recorded that in 1905 he wrote a character in Shanghai, which Ma Xiangbo recommended, and very few people asked for books. In the first month, because of the popularity of friends, more than thirty paintings were sold, only three or five paintings were sold in the second month, and only one painting was sold in the third month (quoted from Chu Guoren's "Temple Weather Is Difficult to Trace, Grass Sacred Style and Style Seeks Easy Books"). In 1917, there was "Sending Jingyou Poems on the Sea" Yun: "Painting the color cloud car in the dream, the loser coldly looks at the Beijing dust, the heavens and the wasteland become shenzhou tears, and the idle Jiangnan sells characters." "It seems that the business is also light, and no one cares."

From the time the exhibition was stopped to today's "Yu Youren's Thesis and SteleOlogy", you don't know About Wo Xinghua! Yu Ren's Thesis and Epigraphy

Yu Right Ren Danqiu Canghai Kai Shu Five Words Lian

243cm×60cm×2 on paper Year unknown "Ancient Grass Saint yu Right Ren" Heritage Press, 2010

II. Epigraphy (1919-1932)

Qing Dynasty calligraphy, the great bad of theology, the flourishing of epigraphy, the prosperity and decline, reflecting the transformation of social culture. Zhu Dake's "On the Book Rebuke Bao Shen Bo Kang Changsu" Yun: "Chasing the last quarter, Xi Shang is weird, the scriptures talk about rams, the economy talks about Wei Moshen, the article talks about Gong Ding'an, the business is obedient, to show off the flow of time, first to correct the wok, sweep the floor, long su multiplied, to talk about calligraphy, so the north stele prevails, the southern book is extinct, don't cut the pseudo-body, shocking, this calligraphy is also the worry of the world." I do not agree with his views, but it is correct to regard Kang Youwei's theory of epigraphy as an integral part of the ideological and cultural fronts such as classics and literature in the late Qing Dynasty. The purpose of epigraphy is to break the sluggishness of the thesis, return to the Han and Wei Six Dynasties tablets, to taste the barbaric force and tenacious potential, to pursue a kind of life fullness and opening, so that the thick, heavy, broad spirit resurrected.

Influenced by this culture of the times, Yu Youren, as an angry youth, a warrior, and a revolutionary dissatisfied with the decadent rule, he will naturally tend to be majestic and broad in aesthetics, and it is easy to move towards epigraphy in the pursuit of calligraphy. Mr. Zhong Mingshan's "The Art of Calligraphy in Yu Youren" said: "In his youth, Mr. Yu was very enthusiastic about the study of Northern Wei stele calligraphy, especially after paying homage to Mr. Sun Yat-sen, he had a deeper understanding and affection for the calligraphy of The Northern Wei stele, and he once told his friends that Premier Sun advocated Wei Bei, and he also advocated Wei Bei, because Wei Bei had the spirit of 'Shang Wu'. Since the Opium War, the Qing court has become more and more corrupt, the national strength has declined, and the Chinese nation has been invaded by great powers, that is, it lacks the spirit of 'Shangwu', so he likes to rough and bold Northern Wei calligraphy with the spirit of 'Shangwu' and even a little bit of wildness. ”

From the time the exhibition was stopped to today's "Yu Youren's Thesis and SteleOlogy", you don't know About Wo Xinghua! Yu Ren's Thesis and Epigraphy

Yu Right Ren Nam no Amitabha Buddha

149.5cm×39cm on paper Year unknown Beijing Kuangshi Autumn 2013 Art Auction Transaction price: 1.1155 million yuan

However, the theology and epigraphy, stylistic outlook and creative methods are completely different, to achieve this transformation, it is not an easy task, it needs to be promoted by internal and external factors. There is a phenomenon in the history of Chinese calligraphy, when the cultural elite of dafan zhishi and benevolence suffers setbacks, they will be close to calligraphy, using calligraphy to dispel depression and heal mental wounds, and Yu Youren cannot escape this fate. From 1918 to 1922, Yu Right served as the commander-in-chief of the Jingguo Army in Shaanxi, fighting against the Beiyang warlord forces, because of the disparity in strength between the enemy and us, the war was extremely difficult. When he was pessimistic, he wrote to his Shanghai friend Shuyun: "The old man is thick to me, and when he picks up my bones in the ashes." Moreover, there were many contradictions within the Jingguo Army, and some generals often turned against each other, "the sons of the Three Qins have many wronged ghosts, and the mountains and rivers of the Hundred Battles have reversed the banner of righteousness." Yu Youren was sad and depressed, and began to immerse himself in Burmese calligraphy, and visiting the monument became a part of daily life. The poem "Monument to General Ji Guangwu" reads: "There is time in the army, and the ancients send dusk." "Guangwu General Monument Comeback Song" poem Yun: "Seven years of Prancing Horse out of the mountain city, through thorns and thorns searched everywhere." "Looking for the Monument" poem Yun: "Dragging the staff to find the monument to go, the south of the city to go back and forth." The water sinks to Fukuji Temple, and the clouds cover Mount Wutai. Wash the cliffs and wander between the statues. Sorrow comes and goes, gain and loss. "When sorrow comes, I spend all day visiting the cliffs of the monument. Due to the profound cultural accumulation of the ancient capital of Shaanxi, stone carvings of the Six Dynasties of the Han and Wei Dynasties can be seen everywhere, so Yu Youren was able to widely explore, and finally promoted the change of calligraphy from the study of thesis to the study of steles.

From the time the exhibition was stopped to today's "Yu Youren's Thesis and SteleOlogy", you don't know About Wo Xinghua! Yu Ren's Thesis and Epigraphy

Yu Ren Runde Hall

61cm×138cm on paper, 1929 Guangdong Chongzheng Autumn Auction 2016 Transaction price: 1.265 million yuan

After 1918, Yu Ren began to study the monument. There are four main types of stele plates: epitaphs, steles, cliffs, and statues. They vary in style. According to the changes in Yu Youren's calligraphy style and the analysis of the objects of his calligraphy, we find that his learning process is divided into two stages, first the epitaph, then the stele, the cliff and the statue.

The "Annals" record that in 1921, Mr. Li began to purchase stele epitaphs. In 1983, I visited Qiantang Zhizhai in Xinxiang, Henan Province, and listened to the old man Mr. Guo Yisheng relay that during yu You's tenure as commander-in-chief of the Jingguo Army in Shaanxi, he and deputy commander Zhang Xuan (later the owner of Qiantang Zhizhai) were good at collecting epitaphs, but each had its own emphasis. The two agreed that all who saw the Tang epitaph returned to Zhang, and saw the six dynasties epitaph returned. In 1924, Yu Received More Than 100 Tombstones of the Six Dynasties. In 1935, he donated all 380 pieces of the Six Dynasties Epitaph to the Forest of Steles in Xi'an.

From the time the exhibition was stopped to today's "Yu Youren's Thesis and SteleOlogy", you don't know About Wo Xinghua! Yu Ren's Thesis and Epigraphy

Yu Ren De Wu Ri Long Six Words Lian

67cm×32cm on paper Year unknown Cast Mountain Ancient Art Collection

The epitaph calligraphy of the Six Dynasties has three characteristics: First, the font is in the process of the evolution of the sub-book to the letter, there is no program, the old body is not broken, the new meaning is repeated, the near-division is close to the letter, and the division is unified. Second, because it is a knife carving work, the lines are very straight, especially the single knife carved work, the horizontal painting of the flank obliquely, the point is triangular, the vertical is a hanging needle, the angle is sharp, and the corner is majestic at the turn, which is strong and refreshing. Third, most of the knots are left low and right high, the oblique painting is tight, the dot painting distribution is loose and tight, and the shape is sideways, which is very vivid. Between 1921 and 1927, Yu Youren wrote many epitaph works. 1921's "Madame Wang's Strategy", 1924's "Zou Rong's Tomb Table", "Ru Luoke's Epitaph", "Zhang Qinghe's Epitaph", 1925's "Hu Lisheng's Epitaph", "Peng Zhongxiang's Epitaph", 1927's "Lady Perrin's Epitaph", etc., although the styles are different, they are all born from the Six Dynasties Epitaph, and the form and taste are very close.

This epitaph style is reflected in large character works, which completely changes the original thesis tradition. The large-character works of this period mainly include "Four Screens of Gifting Qing Qing Kai Shu" in October 1921, "Qinglu Taihua Eight Words Lian", "Kuang Huai Gong Theory Five Words Lian", "Lang Bao Gao Wen Five Words Lian" written in August 1922, "Wai Meng Nuo Yan Shan Visiting the Ancient Tomb Poem" written in 1926, "Shi Mu Sheng False White Poem" written in 1927, etc., the dot painting is straight and straight, the knot is round, the inside is tight and loose, the shape is left and low and the right is high, the side is vivid, and the style is handsome and refreshing. All of this is similar to the Epitaph of the Six Dynasties, except that because it is a large character, because it is a book, it is more casual and ups and downs. Among them, the most obvious feature of the transformation of the inscription is manifested in the name of the paragraph, the horizontal of the "right" word is longer than the apostrophe, the "Ren" word is written as a horizontal from left to right, the pen becomes round and turns into a square fold, and the strokes that intersect horizontally and vertically are often broken and then started, not continuously written, and the knot begins to emphasize the yokozuna. All this belongs to the way the tablet is written.

From the time the exhibition was stopped to today's "Yu Youren's Thesis and SteleOlogy", you don't know About Wo Xinghua! Yu Ren's Thesis and Epigraphy

Yu Youren and Zhong Minxingshu Five Words Lian

173.5cm×44.5cm×2 On paper Year unknown China Guardian Autumn Auction 2014 Transaction price: 3.68 million yuan

Yu Right Ren took the Fa epitaph, and the epitaph is only a kind of epitaph calligraphy, the style is compared with the magnificent stele and moya works, the dot painting is more delicate, the middle section is too simple, the knot is tight, the style is more beautiful; compared with the strange and clumsy statue calligraphy, the shape is somewhat deliberate and reserved. In particular, the epitaph is buried in the circle, there is a cover protection, the engraved text does not touch the soil, the dot painting lines are rarely damaged, not exposed to the wild like other inscription works, wind and rain erosion, artificial vertebral expansion, mottled, do not have a thick golden stone atmosphere, the lack of epitaph calligraphy is also the lack of calligraphy in the right ren during this period.

Yu Youren emphasized that to learn calligraphy, we should read more, write more, and study more, and the result of the "four more" is that Yu Youren "discovered his own shortcomings" and began to take the method from the epitaph to the stele and the statue. According to the works involved in Yu Youren's poems: "Drunkenly copy the "Baozi", wake up to the White Horse Lake." When half awake and half drunk, he frantically writes cold pictures. "Murong Wen re-gengkaifu, and the Taoists are like Gui's "Yao Boduo", and the addition of "Guangwu" is particularly unique." "Chao wrote the "Shimen Ming", and the twilight "Twelve Pins". I collected poems at night, and I didn't know that the tears were wet. The main stele he came into contact with were "Cuan Bao Zi Stele", "Murong En Stele", "Yao Bo duo Statue Record", "Shi Men Ming", "Longmen Twelve Pins" and "Guangwu General Stele", etc., what made him most fascinated was the "Guangwu General Stele", "Guangwu General Monument Comeback Song" Yun "The scale of the stele was the Sixth Dynasty, huanyu sound price Mai Er cuan", thinking that it surpassed the "Cuan Bao Zi Stele" and the "Cuan Long Yan Stele", which can be used as a representative of the calligraphy of the Six Dynasties. He also said: "When I first studied the Wei And Han Tablets, I discovered the "Guangwu General Monument" and thought that Zhongmei Bei, that is, devoted myself to in-depth study and extreme research, did not quit writing, and had to be greatly used, so I gradually changed my style. ”

From the time the exhibition was stopped to today's "Yu Youren's Thesis and SteleOlogy", you don't know About Wo Xinghua! Yu Ren's Thesis and Epigraphy

Yu Right Ren Takayama Deep House Five Words Lian

142cmx38. 5cmx2 on paper Year unknown "A Drop in the Sea- Ancient and Modern Calligraphy and Painting Gleaning" Taipei Museum of History, 2008 edition

The font of the "Guangwu General Monument" is between the divisions, the knot body takes the horizontal momentum, the plague is strange and ancient, the extreme changes, the dot painting of thick branches and leaves, informal, although there is a boundary in the grass law, but it is not bound at all, moving left and right, avoiding up and down, often writing the boundary grid, and the wandering skeleton. Yu Youren borrowed the characteristics of luxury from the "Monument to the General of Guangwu", the originally relatively compact knot began to open, the horizontal painting was stretched vigorously, the glyph was wide and magnificent, and the style became magnificent.

The lines of the "Shimen Ming" are difficult and ups and downs, as the inscription says: "Chiseling the mountain is the way, the maggot plate, the nine folds are incomparable." The left and right sides of the knot are also as the inscription says: "The cliff bank collapses, and the pavilion buries the pants." Kang Youwei said that its style is "flying and strange". After Yu Youren borrowed from the ShiMen Ming, the lines were no longer as straight as before, and the middle section began to have ups and downs. The knots are no longer as regular as before, and the left-right dumping is significantly aggravated.

From the time the exhibition was stopped to today's "Yu Youren's Thesis and SteleOlogy", you don't know About Wo Xinghua! Yu Ren's Thesis and Epigraphy

Yu Youren Huang Tingjian's "Stream On the Yin"

109.5cm×51cm on paper Year unknown

The font of "Cuan Bao Zi Stele" is between the divisions, and the biggest feature is that the two ends of the horizontal painting are lifted up, and the left and right are picked, such as Kunpeng spreading its wings and flying in the air. This way of writing has a great influence on the right person. As an example, the inscription calligraphy takes the horizontal posture, the horizontal painting is written very long, in order to avoid stiffness, the arc posture is adopted, or the downward bend is made in the shape of "⌒", or the upward is "ᴗ" shape. From the perspective of modeling psychology, the "⌒" shape has a feeling of depression and convergence, and the "ᴗ" shape has a feeling of opening and cheerfulness. Yu Youren is good at writing "Shi Men Ming", and the long horizontal of "Shi Men Ming" is generally made of "⌒", bent downwards, Yu Right Ren does not like, think that it is like a person's mouth down, there is a sad crying (see Wang Shiyi's "Grass Saint yu Right Ren"), so he often adds an upward movement at the beginning and even at the end of the pen when writing long horizontal, and when writing the pick, the upturned gesture is particularly exaggerated, so that the knot has a feeling of opening and cheerfulness. This way of writing is borrowed from the "Cuan Bao Zi Stele".

From the time the exhibition was stopped to today's "Yu Youren's Thesis and SteleOlogy", you don't know About Wo Xinghua! Yu Ren's Thesis and Epigraphy

Yu Youren wielded his sword and stroked the five words

146cm×39cm×2 on paper Year unknown Five years of Fanghua Xiaoyazhai Autumn Art Auction 2019 Transaction price: 5.635 million yuan

In addition, the refreshing use of the "Twelve Pins of Longmen" and the styling of "Yao Boduo's Portrait" have a major impact on the formation of the Right Ren style. After 1928, Yu Youren melted and cast these drawings and cut them into a new body. For example, "Holding the Body to Practice the Five Words", "Saying the Sword and Jade Five Words", "Shu De Li Jie Five Words Lian", etc. use the pen to swing vertically and horizontally, as he himself said: "The starting pen does not stagnate, the pen does not make a gesture, purely let nature." Moreover, in order to express the golden stone qi, it increases the strength of the pen to press down, increases the resistance when moving forward, and makes the lines more somber and thicker. In the knot body, pay attention to the horizontal posture, wide open, and emphasize the posture, swaying left and right, "the vertical and improper, but also refreshing has a style posture." The chapter does not use the traditional "one stroke book", basically the words are independent, rarely draw the ribbon, and the cohesion of maintaining a single word mainly comes from the contrasting relationship, especially so that the knot of each word is left and right, generating dynamics, and forming an inseparable whole through the mutual cooperation of the upper and lower left and right words. All in all, the dot painting is thick and thick because of the golden stone gas, the knot body is broad because of the horizontal style, and the chapter method is clumsy and simple because of the emphasis on the posture and the left and right tilt of the shape, and Yu Youren has created a style of heavy and large.

Since the Qing Dynasty, the thesis has been very bad, the study of steles has become popular, and the process of the development of epigraphy has first been deng Shiru changing the method of pen movement, writing against the paper, creating an unprecedented thick form of dot painting. Next, Zhao Zhiqian, Kang Youwei and others took the horizontal position on the knot body, so that the glyph was expanded as far as possible and became magnificent. In the hands of Yu Ren, on the basis of thickness and broadness, the posture is emphasized, and the shape of the knot body is left and right, which produces a simple interest due to instability. Yu Youren's calligraphy is more than one, embodying all the connotations of epigraphic calligraphy, marking that the epigraphy that gradually emerged from the early Qing Dynasty has gone through more than two hundred years to the extreme.

(This article is excerpted from the article "On the Calligraphy of the Right Ren")

Graphic reprint network; copyright belongs to the author

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