A brief discussion on the enlightenment of Ouyang Xiu's view of calligraphy creation to contemporary calligraphy I, Ouyang Xiu's view of calligraphy creation II, and the enlightenment of contemporary calligraphy

◆ Luo Hongsheng Sang Ting/Wen

Abstract: In the history of Chinese calligraphy, Ouyang Xiu's contribution to the blue wisp of the Yanlu Road was to open the precedent of the Song Dynasty's "Shangyi" calligraphy style, and inject fresh blood into the Tang people's rigorous and law-abiding calligraphy style in a specific historical background. The author tries to briefly comb from three aspects: his concept of learning books for pleasure, his attitude of learning books without hesitation, and the method of learning books of "seeing the book of pens", and combined with the relevant phenomena of contemporary calligraphy, he pointed out the enlightenment of Ouyang Xiushi's innovative spirit of ancient and self-reliant family and the enlightenment of natural and non-utilitarian learning mentality to contemporary calligraphy. Keywords: Ouyang Xiu Calligraphy Creation Concept Contemporary Calligraphy Enlightenment

Ouyang Xiu was in the dull and weak Song Dynasty of calligraphy, and most of the scholars were based on the concept of pragmatism, and the bad atmosphere of "tending to be expensive books" once appeared in the book world. Ouyang Xiu lamented the weakness and abuse of the book world, issued a voice of "learning books as a family", and with his political and cultural status, took on the heavy responsibility of the era of book revitalization, and united Cai Xiang, Su Shunyuan, Su Shunqin, Shi Yannian and others who were also influential. With their broad vision and rich academic cultivation, they have blown a free atmosphere for the calligraphy culture of the Northern Song Dynasty, breaking the century-old dull pattern of the Song Dynasty's calligraphy, forming another peak in the history of the development of Chinese calligraphy, and providing a steady stream of calligraphy nutrition for future generations.

As the banner of cultural innovation in the Song Dynasty, Ouyang Xiu had high achievements in politics, literature and history, and calligraphy was no exception. Although he was influenced by the Confucian tradition of "chongdao light art" and regarded calligraphy as "a matter of the scholar's leisure", he also paid more attention to and practiced it. Ouyang Xiu's calligraphy achievements are mainly reflected in his calligraphy theory, and the "Collection of Ancient Records" is a more concentrated record of his experience and calligraphy. He opposed the supremacy of the Tang people's study of books and put forward personalized views such as "learning books for pleasure", "learning books to consume the day", and learning books "regardless of work". The non-utilitarian and aimless nature of his books has further separated calligraphy from the traditional Confucian function of the world, and the arbitrariness and sense of freedom in writing have broken the aesthetic pattern of attaching importance to law and unifying forms since the Jin and Tang Dynasties, and profoundly influenced the Song Dynasty calligraphers represented by Cai Xiang, Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, Mi Fu, etc., and truly opened the precedent of the Song Dynasty's "Shangyi" style of writing.

Ouyang Xiu put forward a series of calligraphy concepts, such as emphasizing "characters as their people", juxtaposing books with character; advocating "shigu" but not mud ancient, emphasizing the innovative spirit of "becoming a family of its own". The author intends to make a specific analysis from three aspects: his concept of "learning books for pleasure", his attitude of "not counting clumsiness", and his method of learning books of "seeing the book of pens".

(1) The concept of "learning books for fun"

The essence of Ouyang Xiu's calligraphy theory is his concept of learning books, that is, advocating "learning books for pleasure" and emphasizing calligraphy as "self-adaptation". This has a lot to do with the life of the Song Dynasty scholars- literati doctors will inject a pleasant aesthetic taste into the daily life of piano, chess, wine, tea, books, paintings, and social travel, and their careers will turn into edutainment. Ouyang Xiu wrote in the "Preface to Sending Chen Jingxiu Talents": "Overnight stay at the West Peak, between the pine forests of the stepping moon, above the mountaineering, the road is poor and returns." Tomorrow, go up to the Stone Tower of Xiangshan Mountain, listen to the Eight Festival Beach, go boating at night, go down the mountain, give poetry and drink, and return at dusk. (1) The comfort of the environment and the pleasure of socializing provide a better writing state and natural inspiration for Ouyang Xiu and others to write books. Ouyang Xiu wrote in the "Test Pen": "Su Zimei tasted the words: the clear window is clean, the pen and ink are all extremely sophisticated, and they are also a joy in life. However, those who can enjoy this pleasure are very rare, and those who do not move their good things for foreign objects are also very rare. Yu Wan, knowing this fun, hates that the font is not working, can not go to the ancients, if you think it is happy, then there is more than enough. (2) It can be seen that there are not many people who can enjoy calligraphy, and with the influence of foreign objects and the admiration for the ancients, "taking pleasure in books" has become more and more difficult. Ouyang Xiu put forward the concept of "learning books for pleasure", that is, to emphasize the concept of non-utilitarian and aimless learning, and advocated the discovery of calligraphy as an aesthetic function of pleasantness and self-adaptation. However, it should be noted that although Ouyang Xiu emphasized the lyricism of calligraphy more, requiring calligraphers to "enjoy their hearts" and "be affectionate" when creating calligraphy, he did not abandon his study of the ancients and his respect for the Fa. In order to truly achieve the aesthetic realm of "learning books for pleasure" as Ouyang Xiu said, on the one hand, it is necessary to cultivate temperament, have the attitude of studying books without being burdened by external objects and "not counting the work", on the other hand, we must obtain solid technical support through the method of learning books of "seeing the pen and writing books". Only when emotions and techniques are integrated can we achieve the state of free writing of "both hearts and hands" and "unity of things and self".

Ouyang Xiu's concept of "learning books for pleasure" also influenced later scholars. "Learning books must be interesting, he is good at forgetting, it is wonderful; don't be good, then don't work" (3) Mi Fu also uses calligraphy as a game, and the utilitarian pursuit of calligraphy art and technical refinement have shifted to spiritual enjoyment and emotional experience, which is consistent with Ouyang Xiu's concept of not pursuing calligraphy in life with inflamed tendencies or seeking fame and fortune, and advocating calligraphy surpassing utilitarianism.

(2) The attitude of "not counting the work"

Ouyang Xiu's "clumsy" attitude of learning is the subjective will to achieve the realm of "learning books for pleasure", advocating that the creation of calligraphy should go with nature, focusing on the allegorical Yaxing, rather than having to be clumsy. "Every word in a book, taste itself and think it is not good, and those who see it may say that it is desirable." There are people who are not happy at first, and look at them every few days, quite like cute people. However, if this initial desire to dispel his heart is to be worse than his work, and if he is merely here, he will become a labor of a battle, and it is not the heart of the people who is hidden in the victory over evil! (4) Ouyang Xiu's opposition to calligraphy being "more clumsy than its work" is first of all against the utilitarian psychology of using the advantages and disadvantages of calligraphy as a tool for inflaming and competing for strength and competition, which is aimed at the shortcomings of the times; more importantly, by opposing "being more clumsy than its work", Ouyang Xiu raised the "meaning" of the subject to an unprecedented height. "Intention" is the natural expression of one's inner feelings and personal feelings in writing, a "meaning" word runs through Ouyang Xiu, and even the entire Song Dynasty, ranking the supreme "law" in the eyes of the Tang people behind "meaning", "meaning" becomes the master of "law", and comes to a new view of "law can be realized", which is the foundation of the Song people's Shangyi style of writing. From his appraisal of the calligraphy of his predecessors, we can clearly understand Ouyang Xiu's understanding and attitude towards the "Fa": "Since the study of writing has been passed down for three generations, its body has changed at any time, and it has changed from its ancestors to its ancestors. After the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the truth and grass were gradually divided, while the Xi and the sacrifice of father and son were still for a while, and those who wrote in later generations were not the law. His artistic sincerity is exquisite, but it must be the law, then what is the basis for it? The so-called world knows the fa-rectification. (5) Ouyang Xiu believes that in the period of font evolution before the Erwang, there were calligraphy masters at each stage, and the calligraphy had different faces, which was the result of learning from the ancient and being able to become, and the posterity "not the two people are not the law" and do not really understand the "law". The "Fa" that Ouyang Xiu said was a free writing that varied from time to time and from person to person, and what he admired was the Jin people's free and natural state of mind and attitude of not deliberately working, and "Fa" became another expression of "intention".

Later, Su Shi was influenced by him, and advocated a straightforward expression of the chest in the creative mentality when composing the book, listening to the pen, "I can't make a book, and the dot painting is annoying to push" (6) is a typical expression of the "intention" style of writing. Although Ouyang Xiu opposed the excessive pursuit of exhaustion and refinement in calligraphy, Ouyang Xiu's "clumsiness without regard" and Su Shi's "inability" were both based on a certain degree of law, and the naturalization of "believing in nature" was a transcendent creative attitude, and both Ouyang Xiu and Su Shi were virtuous in the good old, and were the "inability" in "having the law".

(3) The method of learning books "see the pen and the book"

Ouyang Xiu's method of "seeing the pen and writing the book" aims to accumulate the foundation of the Law degree for the realization of the aesthetic realm of "learning books for pleasure", and hopes to continuously integrate techniques and emotions in long-term training, so as to achieve the free realm of "infernal heart, forget the rules". Ouyang Xiu said in the "Learning True Cursive": "From now on, only cursive writing will be learned every day, and true books will be learned on two days. True calligraphy and cursive writing, ten years of tireless work, deserved its name. (7) Ouyang Xiu practiced real calligraphy and cursive calligraphy for ten years, not only to see its superficial kung fu, but also to be clear that "seeing the pen and writing" reflects his love for calligraphy. If Ouyang Xiu did not have a supreme aesthetic ideal and a sincere love for calligraphy, how could he work so hard?

Ouyang Xiuwen's name is too sheng, and he is also erudite and eager to learn, so the title of the book is hidden. However, looking at Ouyang Xiu's works, we can see his technical efforts and attempts at expressing "intention". "Burning Ai Ti" is one of the few calligraphy inks that Ouyang Xiu has survived, this post is clear and elegant, the lines are smooth and clean, giving people a fresh and bright feeling, so Su Shi commented on Ouyang Xiuwei: "Ouyang Gongshu, the pen gesture is dangerous, the font is new, it is a family of its own, but the public inkblot is a treasure in the world, not a special stroke work." (8) Ouyang Xiu was very fond of dry writing, and his pen gestures were tilted and full of vigor. Su Shi commented on his pen as follows: "The sharp pen is dry and inky, the square characters are wide, the hair is colorful, and the cream is endless." (9) Flesh and bones, ups and downs are natural, giving people the calm of the sea but losing the feeling of being wide and boundless. The knot body has both heavy bears and light ones like skimming swallows, the flattened slightly fat structure is dominant, the knot is beautiful, the space inside the word is sparse, the posture is full, there is a naïve and rambling interest, and its natural brush stroke state jumps out of the paper. The layout of the whole article is dense and elegant, the ink rhyme is vivid, the atmosphere rhyme is stable, extremely natural, the rhythm is slow and fast, and the pen and ink and mood flow naturally, which is a masterpiece.

Zhao Ai Ti Calligraphy Ouyang Xiu

The development of Chinese calligraphy to this day is different from the traditional art of combining calligraphy and writing by the ancients, and has moved towards a more elite pure art system, gradually developing into the art of line and black and white. The prevalence of the cultural era of the exhibition hall and the visual impact of scientific and technological tools have put on the traditional calligraphy art in the cloak of the rapidly changing "fast-paced" and "utilitarian pursuit" of the times, and the development of calligraphy has gradually appeared two extremes: the dual learning of traditional calligraphy theory and technique under the higher education system and the exhibition hall-style learning based on the beauty of calligraphy techniques under the prevalence of exhibition hall culture. Under such circumstances, Ouyang Xiu's theory of calligraphy still has something to learn from today's book world and contemporary scholars:

(1) The innovative spirit of innovation and self-reliance

Advocating ancient law, there is an innovative spirit of "teachers and ancients" but "self-contained", emphasizing the richness of the spiritual connotation of scholars. Ouyang Xiu said, "Learning books is a family body, and its imitation of others is called slave books." (10) We should dialectically accept the strengths of the ancients, and not stick to them. As mentioned earlier, Ouyang Xiu opposed blindly learning from the ancients and damaging the expression of personal emotions, and in order to achieve the realm of freedom that can be transformed into the ancients, it is necessary to give full play to the individual's feelings in solid basic skills, so as not to become a puppet of the ancients. If one excessively pursues the Fa and destroys one's personality, one may have a cookie-cutter and thoughtless "Pavilion Body" and a "Pavilion Body."

Today's calligraphy exhibition hall culture should be based on the beauty of the form, not only limited to the skillful and magnificent skills, but also should emphasize the rich connotation of the calligrapher's spirit, and strive to inject the main spirit of the calligrapher into the book. Taking the National Exhibition as an example, the phenomenon of "one side of a thousand people", "ghostwriting and plagiarism" and "form first" is decreasing year by year, and there are more and more works of "self-composed poetry" and "rooted in tradition, pioneering and innovative", and the participation mechanism is aware of this problem and consciously improved, which puts forward higher requirements for scholars. At the same time, the learners themselves should also consciously enhance their creative awareness in copying, experience the free realm of "heart and hand correspondence", and unify their personal study path with a higher aesthetic concept, in order to become a family of their own.

(2) Natural and non-utilitarian learning mentality

"Happy with its heart" and "allegorical", what is missing in today's book world is such a non-utilitarian attitude of learning. The non-utilitarian nature of calligraphy refers to not using calligraphy as a tool to draw fame and fortune, and Ouyang Xiu's calligraphy concept of "learning books for pleasure" was first proposed in response to the shortcomings of the times. Judging from the current development of calligraphy, most scholars of calligraphy blindly pursue the trend of the times because they do not know it, although the effect may be obvious in the short term, and in the end it may be only a flash in the pan. At the end of the 12th National Exhibition Review, there were many "falling on the list" self-statements, and the author believes that book readers should balance the mentality of learning books and establish a higher concept of studying books. "You don't have to be tired of writing books, read more ancient relics, seek their intentions, and get more." (11) Like Ouyang Xiu, he put aside the external environment, put an end to absolute utilitarianism, and paid attention to the study of ancient relics. However, Ouyang Xiu also opposed the excessive demands of scholars on techniques, believing that such a strong purposefulness was contrary to the aesthetic taste of "learning books for pleasure".

"You cannot study without labor, and you must not harm the ear of affection, but only this ear of the one who is quiet and happy" (12). Calligraphy has been continuously developed throughout the ages as an art of cultivating and cultivating temperament, and this calligraphy pleasure can be used by the Song people to "make stories", "enjoy their hearts" and "allude to their meanings". For today's scholars, we should also always remain calm, clearly learn the bibliographic place and method, and accurately position. The value of the study book should not be measured by the entry and award of the exhibition, and the technical form should not be overly focused on the form of technique and ignore the rich emotional world of the perceptual individual behind the calligraphy. The criterion for considering calligraphy works should not only be "skin, flesh and bones", but also whether they are "allegorical and self-adaptable", paying attention to "Shen Yun spirit" and so on. Only by treating calligraphy with a natural heart that has no utilitarian and no purpose, and unintentionally doing it, can it be possible to "accidentally want to write", achieve the best state of writing, and create a natural calligraphy work.

Ouyang Xiu was the precursor of the Shangyi calligraphy style of the Song Dynasty, injecting fresh blood into the Tang people's rigorous and law-abiding style of writing in a specific historical context. Some scholars believe that "his pioneering works are completely out of nature - gentleman's benevolence, can not bear the disappearance of beauty and goodness; out of natural understanding - cultural consciousness, cultural sense of mission and sense of urgency, consciously rescue cultural heritage, study, track predecessors, the direct goal is Tang calligraphy." (13) Ouyang Xiubi's study of books and Jigu, his ideal of "learning books for pleasure", his attitude of "not counting the work", and the method of "seeing the book of the pen" is a kind of moral cultivation of recognizing the sages and carrying forward the virtues, which is worthy of deep consideration and study by contemporary young scholars. In the current new era of the development of Chinese calligraphy, from the perspective of the overall pattern, the most important thing is to be rooted in "entering the ancient" and seeking "new". The development of calligraphy is not a "Great Leap Forward" progress, it is necessary to give the Chinese spirit, Chinese blood, Chinese taste a new development look, this is a new proposition for the development of Chinese art today, is the main backbone of this era that is very urgent to grasp. Ouyang Xiu's view of calligraphy creation undoubtedly fits the proposition of the times of contemporary calligraphy, and if today's scholars can absorb Ouyang Xiu's view of calligraphy, I believe that it will be of great benefit to the practice of personal calligraphy creation and contribute to the creation of a new style of contemporary book.

exegesis: (1) Lv Shukun. "Classification of new compilation of song words", volume VI. Beijing: Beijing Writers Publishing House, 2013, p. 2796. (2) Ouyang Xiu. The Complete Works of Ouyang Xiu. Beijing: Zhonghua Bookstore, 2001, p. 1977. (3) (4) Selected Essays on Calligraphy in Past Dynasties. Shanghai: Shanghai Calligraphy and Painting Publishing House, 2014, p. 309. (5) Ouyang Xiu. The Complete Works of Ouyang Xiu. Beijing: Zhonghua Bookstore, 2001, p. 2230. (6) Su Shi. The Complete Works of Su Dongpo (Part 1). Previous Episode Volume II. Beijing: China Bookstore, 1986, p. 54. (7) Selected Essays on Calligraphy in Past Dynasties. Shanghai: Shanghai Calligraphy and Painting Publishing House, 2014, p. 308. (8) Su Shi. Su Shi Anthology. Beijing: Zhonghua Bookstore, 1986, p. 2197. (9) Su Shi. Su Shi Anthology. Beijing: Zhonghua Bookstore, 1986, p. 2185. (10) Ouyang Xiu. The Complete Works of Ouyang Xiu. Beijing: Zhonghua Bookstore, 2001, p. 1986. (11) Ouyang Xiu. The Complete Works of Ouyang Xiu. Beijing: Zhonghua Bookstore, 2001, p. 2315. (12) Ouyang Xiu. The Complete Works of Ouyang Xiu. Beijing: Zhonghua Bookstore, 2001, p. 1967. (13) Sun Hansheng. Ouyang Xiu and the Calligraphy of his Time. Straits Education Research. Fujian: Fujian Education Press, No. 1, 2020.

(Originally published in Literary and Art Life (Art China), No. 12, 2020)