Lin Yutang once said: "Li Shutong is one of the most talented geniuses of our time." Indeed, although this prodigy devoted his life to art education, calligraphy, Buddhism, and unintentional literature (except for early poetry creation), he had indirect contact with Mr. Lu Xun, a great writer of modern literature, and left a good story in the history of Chinese literature.
Master Koichi's calligraphy works
According to the "Diary of Lu Xun", on March 1, 1931, I received a letter from Master Hongyi from Uchiyama. In the diary, Nazan Jun was a Japanese friend of Lu Xun when he settled in Shanghai.
Uchiyama Manzao (1885-1959), Chinese wu qishan, owner of Uchiyama Bookstore, a native of Okayama, Japan. In 1913, he went to Shanghai to sell eye drops. After marrying Michiko in 1916, he went to Shanghai with his wife, Michiko Uchiyama. In 1917, Uchiyama Shoten opened under the name Michiko. Lu Xun settled in Shanghai until his death in 1936. He went to Uchiyama Bookstore more than 500 times and bought more than a thousand books. Many of Lu Xun's Japanese friends met through Uchiyama. Since 1932, Uchiyama Bookstore has become an agent distributor and editor of Lu Xun's prints, and has helped Lu Xun hold woodcut exhibitions and woodcut workshops three times. Lu Xun's last suicide note was written to Uchiyama.
In the diary, Master Hongyi was Li Shutong (1880-1942), whose real name was Wen Tao, nicknamed Xishuang, and a native of Pinghu, Zhejiang. In 1917, he was ordained at the Dinghui Temple in Hangzhou, named Hongyi. Master Koichi was a well-known artist who achieved success in theatre, painting, music, poetry and stone. The most accomplished calligraphy is also the most influential.
Lu Xun saw Master Hongyi's calligraphy works in neishan's home: "All things have their own ways, such as dreams and bubbles, dew and electricity, so we must do it." (Speaking of the Diamond Sutra) I liked it, so I asked Uchiyama to give it to Master Honyomo Mo Baozao. Because Uchiyama Masayoshi made great efforts in the exchange of Buddhism between China and Japan, Master Hony once presented four calligraphy works of his own to Uchiyama Masayoshi through Xia Junzun. Uchiyama saw that Lu Xun liked it, so he wrote one of them and gave it to Lu Xun. It says "Abstinence". "Ding Jie Hui" is a Buddhist language. It refers to the "three non-leakage methods", that is, to prevent non-evil, to worry about the quiet edge, and to break through doubts and prove the truth. There are many explanations in history about "abstinence." In the Song Dynasty, Su Dongpo's "Gift to qianzhou warlock Xie" wrote: "After a person dies, he passes on the precepts of wisdom and remains in the bullfighting basket when he is born." Historian Fan Wenlan said in his book Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty: "There are three ways to practice Buddhism, namely abstinence and wisdom. If you do not catch a thief (trouble), you must be a thief, and wisdom is like killing a thief. Therefore, to study Buddhism, we must first take vows. "Master Hong's calligraphy, Mr. Lu Xun has always treasured. Now in Beijing Lu Xun Museum. After seeing the word "jiezhi", Lu Xun commented: "Simple and complete, muddy and natural. I was lucky enough to get Shi Li's calligraphy. Lu Xun took the initiative to ask for Mo Bao and called him "Shi Li", which not only showed Lu Xun's admiration and appreciation for the art of Hongyi calligraphy, but also showed Lu Xun's praise and affirmation of the character of Master Hongyi. Such a move was extremely rare in Lu Xun's life. This is also the only place where the word "begging" is used in Lu Xun's Diary, showing the status of Master Hongyi in Lu Xun's mind, because at that time few so-called "gentlemen" or social "celebrities" could enter Lu Xun's "eyes". Lu Xun was one year younger than Master Hongyi. Although the two have a world of difference in life, the choices of "joining the world" and "coming out of the world" are almost extreme, but there are similarities in the lofty realm, spiritual persistence, and seriousness of life.
Master Koichi's calligraphy can be said to be proficient in every way, and it is the most prominent, the most influential and the most accomplished in his artistic activities. For himself, he is also the one who works the hardest and the longest working hours. When we appreciate his calligraphy, we should pay attention to the problem that there are obvious stylistic differences in his early and late works, or before and after his ordination. Master Hong's early calligraphy works, born in Weibei, are angular and heroic. After his ordination, his calligraphy style lost his temper, and the brushstrokes became brisk, the breath was calm, and full of deep contemplation. After renunciation, all art was alienated, except for calligraphy, and calligraphy after monasticism was also a long-term copy of Buddhist scriptures. Master Hongyi received inspiration from Master Yin Guang to copy Buddhist scriptures. One day, after reading Master Hongyi's book, Master Yin Guang said, "Writing scriptures should be as simple as the writing strategies of the literati, and the body should follow the rules." If the letters under the seat are physically unusable. This passage deeply touched Master Hongyi, and since then his writing has become more meticulous, which is probably why his calligraphy has been praised as the "Book of Buddha" by posterity. While living in Beijing, Lu Xun began to study Buddhism in 1914 and purchased a large number of Buddhist scriptures and Buddhist art books, and copying Buddhist scriptures became one of his most important tasks during that time, which shows that both had a Buddhist affinity. Moreover, Lu Xun copied the Buddhist scriptures meticulously, which is consistent with master Hongyi's attitude of copying the Buddhist scriptures.
After his renunciation, Master Hong's work had the meaning of exchanging inscriptions and inscriptions, and he wanted to put them back. Ma Yifu, a modern thinker and calligrapher, once praised his calligraphy: "Those who are clumsy in writing to the Jin and Tang Dynasties have never returned to the habits of the Six Dynasties." Guo Moruo once said of Lu Xun's calligraphy: "The calligraphy he left behind has its own style. Melt the seal characters in the furnace, let the heart and the wrist meet, simple and without contracture, free and law-abiding. Far beyond the Song and Tang Dynasties, straight into the Wei and Jin Dynasties. "One is a master of Buddhism, the other is a master of literature, and their calligraphy works have given them personality charm.
In addition, Lu Xun and Master Hongyi both taught at the Zhejiang Second Grade Normal School, and the teaching time did not overlap. Lu Xun taught at the Zhejiang Second Normal School for two semesters, from September 1909 to July 1910. In 1913, Master Hongyi was hired by the Zhejiang Second Normal School as a music and art teacher. Although Hong Yi did not teach until three years after Lu Xun left the school and did not become a colleague in the true sense, Zhejiang Secondary Normal School was once the home of many artists, such as Xu Shoushang, Xia Junzun, Liu Dabai, Zhu Ziqing, Yu Pingbo, Ye Shengtao, Feng Xuefeng, Pan Mohua, Cao Juren, Feng Zikai and so on. This place can be seen as an important platform for them to practice their social ideals and cultivate their beliefs in life. From this point of view, Lu Xun and Master Hongyi are also related.
In short, although Lu Xun and Master Hongyi have never met or had much exchange, they are two peaks in the history of modern Chinese literature and calligraphy.