Chapter 12 Section 11 The Art of Calligraphy in the Ming Dynasty

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, farmers from all over the country raised their poles one after another, converging into a raging tide of uprisings. Zhu Yuanzhang gathered rebels from all over the country and overthrew the rule of the Yuan Dynasty. In 1368 AD, the Ming Dynasty was established.It lasted 276 years until the end of Ming Dynasty in 1644. Most of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty and the kings of foreign vassals were fond of calligraphy, and some even made it a daily class, calling calligraphers to serve as the internal system of Wenhua. All official edicts (external system) of the imperial court were handwritten by someone who was good at calligraphy.In order to improve their level, they even took out the Dharma books of the past dynasties in the secret mansion and let them observe and practice.In addition, the trend of private collection of Dharma books and engraving of ancient posts became more and more intense, and the imperial examinations became more complete, the number of scholars increased, and culture developed.Some people describe the three-foot boy in the Ming Dynasty as being able to write with a brush. Although it is exaggerated, it also shows the popularity of calligraphy.

Since the imperial court's books and records all need to be of uniform specifications, especially the compilation of "Yongle Dadian", the style is extremely strict, so the "Taige style" came into being.Of course, the formation of "Taige style" is a kind of regular standard; it should be sure that this is a kind of improvement requirement for those who are not good at writing, scribbling, and cannot qualify; but from From the perspective of artistic expression, strict restrictions will inevitably lead to solidification and rigidity.The art of calligraphy in the Ming Dynasty developed in the midst of this contradiction that was strictly restricted and tried to get rid of.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Shen Du was an official to the Imperial Academy to serve as a lecturer on bachelors.His lower case script was the most rewarded and became the representative of "Taige style".Although its characters lack outstanding artistic features and cannot be called masters, they are not rigid and rigid, and can be prepared in a unique style after all.Zhu Yunming did not follow the road of Taige, but traced back to the sages of Jin, Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties, striving for high standards.Its lower script is full of Zhong and Wang, but its cursive script is unrestrained, which pushes Huang Tingjian's cursive method a step further.Wen Zhengming is an all-round calligrapher and the master at that time. His running script originated from Zhao Mengfu, and he went after the two kings.Although Dong Qichang's calligraphy is considered weak and lacks thick and clumsy, it has an excellent mood.Zhang Ruitu's handwriting is unique and has its own style.Although Fu Shan is actually from the Qing Dynasty, he is by no means a Qing Dynasty person, as a Ming person himself.The characters are continuous and lingering, and the pen is swaying, quite imposing.Others, such as Shen Zhou, Zhan Jingfeng, Wu Kuan, etc., are all talented for a while and cannot be listed.

Zhang Cao made great progress in the Ming Dynasty, and there were many good calligraphers, the most prominent being Song Ke, and others such as Yu He, Yao Shou, Zhang Bi, Shen Can, Feng Fang, etc. were also able to write Zhang Cao. Seal script and official script have attracted the attention of more calligraphers, such as Li Dongyang, Zhao Huan [yi Yi] Guang, Xu Lin, etc., all have titles. Looking at the Ariake generation, it should be represented by running cursive.In the early period, the ancient law was strictly adhered to, and the workmanship was good. The style of the previous dynasty probably had successors, but in the later period, it was unwilling to stick to it. It sought to expand by taking advantage of factors such as the emergence of new styles (such as hanging scrolls), and only then did it change. .Work and change have become the book style of this generation.

Most of the book theories in the Ming Dynasty were devoted to sorting out and dredging the traditional theories, bringing together and summarizing them, but there were also some fresh theories that were self-styled and full of characteristics of the times, especially in the later period.This situation, together with the practice of calligraphy, constituted the flourishing and chaotic situation of calligraphy in the Ming Dynasty.