Chapter 22 Section 4 The level of calligraphy works must be judged by social standards

The evaluation standard mentioned here refers to social and general social standards applicable to different departments and levels, and of course it is the highest standard.It should be said that this standard also implies the historical standard. There are two standards on the issue of evaluation standards, one is the standard of the times, and the other is the standard of history.It is difficult to achieve complete unification of these two standards.For example, in a certain dynasty, we can judge who is the first, but if we look at him by historical standards, he may not even be ranked 10th. These are two different things.However, in both standards, there must be some common and consistent standards.

The common and consistent standard we put forward is this: Come and see what you have. The so-called "come out of something" means where the characters of the calligraphy come from, and the origin of the calligraphy can be seen - this is also the unique cultural quality of Chinese calligraphy art: a character that looks simple and unpretentious on the surface , may condense the wisdom of several generations, and can reflect the aesthetic fashion or trend of thought of an era. In the long history of our country, there are many famous writers who have created rich and colorful calligraphy styles for us. They have done their best on the issue of writing, explored many successful ways, and provided valuable experience for our study. , is a great blessing to us.The so-called "learning" is to learn from others; if you are "fascinated by the principles of swaying luck", "following the formula of imitation", "let the pen become the body, gather ink to form", and "create" blindly by yourself, then it is not "learning". "Are.So if you want to really learn calligraphy, you must start by copying good calligraphy.The purpose of copying is to learn from other people's good writing methods.Once one's own hands become Wang Xizhi's, or Mi Fu's... that would be remarkable.

How long a person has trekked on the road of calligraphy learning and how far he has cultivated his "Tao Xing" will be clearly displayed in his calligraphy, and the connoisseurs will know it at a glance.Whether he has not learned it, or learned it poorly, or is relatively good, or excellent, it must be clearly expressed in his calligraphy.If the method is high and the method is learned well, then the state and style of the brushwork will naturally be outstanding.Therefore, to evaluate a person's handwriting, we must first look at the source of his handwriting. Where did it come from?

Words that have no provenance and no origin must have no testimonials, and they must not have really worked hard.It's not that I don't believe in my own talent and intelligence. I couldn't write Wang Xizhi's calligraphy without learning Wang Xizhi's calligraphy.We believe that there are rules to learn well, but in fact, writing badly must also be part of the law.No one has learned that kind of study well. If you learn one thing today, you will not succeed in another tomorrow. So it is said that you are combining the best of all schools, and you are writing your own style. This can only be self-deception.You should know: it is not easy to deceive yourself, but it is even more difficult to deceive others.The purpose of studying the predecessors is to "enter the Dharma". If you have not studied the predecessors, how can you enter the Dharma, and how can you write "Dharma books" that conform to the law without entering the Dharma?Therefore, in order to see whether a person has entered the Dharma, and whether he has entered the high-level and superior Dharma, we must first look at the origin of his writing and the source of his writing.

Some people may have seen many posts, for example, they came to Ouyang Xun first, and then Wei Bei; or they wrote running script first, and then wrote regular script; It is clear at a glance, which cannot escape the eyes of insiders.Of course, the more posts I have come across—this "many" must be learned to a certain extent, just superficial and superficial—the foundation will be richer, and the words written by him will be more connotative and inclusive. The richer the history and cultural connotation it shows, the more intriguing and ornamental it is.The so-called "family of generosity" must be omnipotent.Therefore, the degree of spaciousness is a criterion of evaluation.

To what extent the temporary post has come, this is a deep question.For example, someone has had three kinds of postings, but they only reached three or four out of ten. Of course, he is not as high as others who have reached five or six out of ten.The depth of the temporary post is manifested in the words, and there will be a clear difference between high and low.Naturally, the performance of those who are deep in the posts is high, and the performance of those who are shallow in the posts is low, because the so-called "deep" means that he has studied a certain calligraphy thoroughly and comprehensively.If you taste it briefly, you may only get a glimpse of the leopard, and you may even make the mistake of a blind man feeling the elephant. Therefore, what he chews and then spits out may be superficial and unreliable.Therefore, the depth of learning is another criterion for judging the level.

To sum up, one of the two major indicators of calligraphy evaluation, "the source has its source", is actually compared to the breadth and depth of learning from the ancients.The wider and deeper the source, the more broad and higher the expression; otherwise, the uglier and the lower. Broad and deep are actually what we often call "expert" and "bo". In calligraphy learning, it is a pair of contradictions.In a limited time, it is difficult to focus on a wide range of topics, and sometimes it is inevitable to sacrifice depth at the expense of depth. How to reconcile these contradictions?We think that specialization and broadness, depth and breadth are all important, but when "fish and bear's paw" cannot have both, we would rather lose the breadth than the depth.Because, if you can go to a certain depth, even if you are not wide, or even go deep in your own family, you will have the housekeeping skills to stand in the world, which is better than just being broad but not deep, knowing all eighteen martial arts but not being proficient in any of them. much.There are indeed unique calligraphers in the society, although they are not generous families, they are still a family of integrity; and the kind of calligraphers with no provenance, they are only based on their own little cleverness, and they are not at all ignorant. Without evidence, there is no place to stand on the book world.

The so-called "go to see their talents" means that we must also see the prospects for development in words. We believe that one must learn calligraphy through temporary calligraphy, but temporary calligraphy is not the purpose, and ultimately one must write one's own style of calligraphy.How can I form my own style?Accomplished calligraphers say that temporary posting is "introduction", and "posting" is necessary to form a style. "Post posting" must come after "entry posting"; if there is no "entry posting" at all, there is no "exiting post". "Publishing posts" means not being bound by posts, but taking the most ideal things from the characters you have learned, making choices according to your own wishes, and putting your knowledge, experience, character, cultivation, moral character, habits, tastes, Inspiration, etc., are all melted into my own words.After being read, people feel that the word "comes from a source", and the "source" is rich, which not only shows the deep foundation and deep origin; but also feels that it cannot be found in the existing copybooks. Although such a style of writing seems familiar, but no one is like it, which means that what is displayed is a brand new style of writing.Although it is so new that people are surprised, it is all within the law, and it is so new that people feel unattainable. It is a completely new realm-this kind of "new" is not "weird" or "inconceivable" , but different, that is, "unexpected", but also "reasonable" - this is the innovation based on the inheritance of tradition, which is not the same as the ancient.

Both inheritance and innovation are very important; what is more important is whether a book scholar can display a positive, irresistible, and immeasurable talent in his works, which makes people Faced with such calligraphy, it is hard to imagine how it will rise to the next level when imagining tomorrow.So far, people may have continued to think in their own way on the basis of his words, and even made plans for him in the next step.But when his new creations came out, they were completely different from what they had imagined. His writing was far beyond their imagination, and it was a new realm.If this step can be achieved, then it can be concluded that the prospect of this person's writing is unlimited.It should be admitted that this requirement of "going to see their talents" is the most ideal goal.

Of course, it is not easy to achieve this ideal goal, and it is even rare in history.However, starting from the most ideal requirements, choosing the second best as a last resort, and gradually degrading, many people will naturally reach a certain level to varying degrees. Those who can meet the most ideal requirements of "coming out and seeing their talents" are naturally the comprehensive product of genius and hard work. Such books are "divine products", and calligraphers belonging to this level are historical geniuses.As far as those who can only "come out", or "do not come out widely", they are still talents of the times.As for those who "have not come out deeply", they can still be regarded as talents of one side.However, those who "come without coming out" and "go without seeing talent" have nothing to do with calligraphy and are not included in the list.

Especially those who can only write a few "big characters", from characters to words are unbearably vulgar; obviously the right hand is very good, but use the left hand to write, but indicate the left hand to beg for forgiveness; Nose writing, tongue writing, finger writing, it should be said that none of them have anything to do with calligraphy.Viewers don't care how you write with your pen, they only care whether your handwriting is good or not.As long as the writing is good, the viewers will admit it;Because these situations are extremely deceptive, it is especially easy to invite the sympathy and curiosity of friends who do not know calligraphy well, and it will cause confusion in social understanding, so we pay special attention here. As for those "crazy", "weird", "wild", and "difficult", words that are not recognizable to people are not good, so don't be fooled by this phenomenon. What has been discussed above is a general principle, and some specific issues need to be analyzed in detail. For a calligrapher, of course they are all excellent works, but compared with his own works, there must be a distinction between his own works and his own.Those who have a new environment are high, and those who have habits are low. For ordinary people, especially for beginners and teenagers, those who enter the law are better than those who cannot.As for saying that a child depends on his childishness, this is a harmful and erroneous view.As a child, he can only have childishness, but no other "qi".Therefore, children should first "enter the law" when learning books; if they don't "enter the law" and seek "childishness", it is better not to learn, which is completely absurd. For the elderly, those who are angry are high, and those who are old-fashioned are low.As for the old man's childishness, since the old man is easy to be old-fashioned, but childish, it is a kind of rejuvenation.But this kind of childishness is formed naturally, not fabricated; the kind of mystification and posturing are not only unbeautiful, but also make them ugly. The general, social and historical standards of calligraphy appreciation have been discussed above from the perspective of universal application.However, when we face a sublime work and feel that it makes people never get tired of it, and even put it away, we still want to taste its beauty more specifically: why is it With so much charm? ——This is because, when a calligrapher with profound attainments writes, he melts his emotions with rich brush and ink language; these brush and ink languages ​​form several major elements, which synthesize the artistic conception of calligraphy art, and we are enjoying it At the same time, you can start with these major elements and make subtle observations. In the course of thousands of years of historical development, Chinese characters have formed a variety of fonts with both origins and differences, such as seal script, official script, regular script, line script, cursive script, and so on.Although calligraphers of the same era may have different personalities when writing, the same typeface must have some common characteristics.These characteristics are the basis for the overall aesthetic style of the font.Their specific manifestations are, first of all, the principles of the shape and structure of stippling.Sun Guoting's Preface to the Book of Books pointed out: "Zhuan, Li, Cao, and Zhang are changeable in terms of work and use, and they are both beautiful and beautiful. It is smooth, and the chapters are checked and convenient." Jiang Kui [kuikui] "Continued Book Book" in the Song Dynasty also believed that: "truth (kai), grass and lines, each have their own system", "there is a true attitude, and the action has an attitude of action , the attitude of grass has grass".Because most of the stippling in seal script are curving and curving strokes, it should be tactful; while in official script, when the curving turns into square folds, attention should be paid to the precise arrangement of stippling in the horizontal and vertical directions.Xing and Caoben are "going to the emergency", which was initially created, and later gradually legislated and formed a standard, but the original nature of the original creation was not eliminated, but was incorporated into the law of cursive, and became the same as seal script, official script, and regular script. A salient feature of dissimilarity.Sun Guoting once brilliantly analyzed the difference between truth and grass from the aspects of stippling and transfer: "Truth takes stippling as its form and quality, and turns it into emotion; grass takes stippling as its emotion, and turns it into form and quality", If you turn around, you can't make characters; if you really lack stippling, you can still remember writing."These differences are objectively formed in the course of historical development due to the successive times, the evolution of quality and the change of conditions, and they constitute the basic norms of calligraphy in various fonts.The solemnity of the seal script, the elegance of the official script, the precision of the regular script, the beauty of the strokes, and the ups and downs of the grass all depend on this.For a calligraphy work, if a typeface is selected, it should abide by the basic norms of this typeface, so that it can be called a work of conformity. However, since Kai, Xing, Cao, Li, and Zhuan are all Chinese characters and have a relationship of origin, their most original principles must be closely interlinked. Their forms, and the meaning conveyed by them, It must be able to melt and cast each other.Therefore, Sun Guoting said: "The grass does not have the truth, and it is more serious; the truth does not understand the grass, but it is not Hanzha." Jiang Kui also advocated: "It must be learned, and it can be both." "Bypassing the two seal scripts, looking down and penetrating eight points, including chapters, sweeping and flying white", so that "all the wonders return" are brought together in one furnace.There are grassy feelings, but adding seal rhyme, which is more ancient and solemn besides the ups and downs; not only observing the regular script, but also increasing the meaning of the line, and seeing the agile style in the strictness, etc., the work will naturally has a deeper meaning.In artistic creation, those who are good at melting and cutting should be the top priority, and the same should be true when we appreciate it. Of course, fusion cutting is not hashing.The kind of works that simply and mechanically disassemble Kai, Xing, Cao, Li, and seal characters, and assemble parts from each, are not only unbeautiful, but also vulgar, and are not included in the discussion. The shape of strokes refers to the appearance of stippling. In short, it is the "surface" surrounded by the outline of strokes. Any stroke is not an abstract geometric line, but a shape with a certain "area"; At the same time, due to the special properties of the tool paper and ink used in Chinese calligraphy, the "surface" should not be a simple black block made of ink, but should have some special properties that can convey the aesthetic feeling. It can be called the texture of strokes.Shape and texture directly determine the success or failure of a work, so calligraphers of all dynasties have been diligently exploring the mystery and accumulated rich experience for us. In terms of shape, although shapes are endless, some typical categories can still be found: for example, square and round (circle), straight and curved, thick and thin, rough and smooth, flat and upright. etc.; from the aspect of texture, the same is true: for example, flat (flat) and round (round), dry and smooth, delicate and strong, thick and thin, strong and weak, bony and fleshy, etc.Almost every form and quality has its opposite side.In a piece of work, there is always one side that becomes the main feature. For example, "The Portrait of Shi Ping Gong" mainly uses square brush strokes, and the stippling is thick and steep, while the rubbings of "Zheng Wengong Stele" mainly uses round brush strokes, and the stippling is concise and subtle. Their shape and quality are different, giving people a different sense of beauty. "Shi Ping Gong" is strong and vigorous, and "Zheng Wen Gong" is dignified and elegant. So, how to deal with the shape and quality of stippling is beautiful? In general, monotonous repetition should be avoided in the first place.They are all square, which inevitably leads to the loss of domineering; both are round, which makes them easy to sit and lose one's mind; both are heavy, which can hardly escape the ridicule of stupidity;These are all manifestations of weak artistic creativity and casting ability. If you have a little experience, you will stand still and play what you want, which just shows the author's poverty.It may be possible to show off occasionally, refreshing, and inviting favor for a while, but if things are sad three times, there will be embarrassment of poor skills.Everyone in history has been able to melt and cast all kinds of differences, cut them into one picture, and organically integrate all kinds of contradictions into their works.It should be said that this is not only the requirement of calligraphy art, but also the requirement of all arts.Because, only in this way, the connotation of his works will not be monotonous and frivolous, but will be profound and far-reaching.For example, in Chu Suiliang's calligraphy, the stippling is mainly light and agile, with the appearance of a beautiful woman, but sometimes thick brushstrokes, which immediately receive the effect of "mountain peace", which makes people feel refreshed.Even "Shi Ping Gong" is not written with square edges and corners, but with roundness, and Fengshen naturally changes.Therefore, although it is impossible for anyone to accommodate all contradictions, focusing on one form and quality and taking into account other aspects is a state that everyone should pursue. When we appreciate such works, we also regard such works as the top priority.As for the kind of monotonous works that show off their abilities without learning much, they will naturally wait. Furthermore, there are also differences in which type of shape and quality is dominant.There are many incisive expositions in ancient book theory.For example, Cai Yong in the Eastern Han Dynasty said: "Hiding the head and protecting the tail, the power is in the words, and the pen is strong, and the skin is beautiful." The beauty of stippling is strong and moist, and this idea has been inherited by successive dynasties since then.Mrs. Jin Wei further pointed out: "Those who are good at brushwork have bones, those who are not good at brushwork have more flesh; those with many bones but little flesh are called tendon books, those with many flesh and little bones are called ink pigs; those with many strength and abundant tendons are holy, and those who are weak and without tendons are sick. "Sengqian Wang of the Southern Qi Dynasty also pointed out: "The pulp is dark and thick, and it is full of energy... The flesh and blood are plump and psychic..." It should be said that this is not a rule they imagined out of thin air, but it conforms to the aesthetic law of calligraphy art. and calligraphy practice.Therefore, for thousands of years, everyone has followed it.The expositions of ancient calligraphers on this aspect have many insights, which cannot be listed here.With the deepening of appreciation practice and the improvement of theoretical literacy, everyone will have a comprehensive and profound experience. Calligraphy accumulates dots and draws to form characters, and each character has an image of a character.Different fonts have their own characteristics in the overall style, such as the solemnity of regular script and the flying of cursive script.However, the same typeface and different calligraphers will have their own originality in the arrangement of fonts to build their own calligraphy style.Just like the cliff carvings of Wei Shu, "Shimen Ming" is written in a vertical and sideways manner to capture the wildness of the mountains and forests, while "Taishan Jing Shiyu King Kong Sutra" is the ancient Buddha's face, flat and upright, and comfortable volume There is cause.The square form of Chinese characters gives Chinese calligraphy a broad space for artistic expression.Generally speaking, calligraphers write their characters with "the intention first, and the characters after the heart", and they must be aware of the shape of the characters; we see that the calligraphy of the calligraphers with profound attainments seems to be careless and handwritten. , In fact, this kind of willful swaying is based on the careful research and accumulation of ancient Dharma books; because he knows the structure of characters and the use of brushes in his chest, he can "forget regular rules" and "allow and wandering", "back Xi, devotion without loss".The knot characters of Chinese calligraphy can be classified into two types, one is flat and straight, and the other is odd and dangerous.Pingzheng calligraphy is characterized by well-proportioned stroke arrangement and overall stable posture. It combines movement with stillness, showing the beauty of subtlety and harmony. On the side, if you want to fall back, you can make the most of the lively state of the character shape, highlighting the beauty of the movement of the calligraphy art.In specific writing, calligraphers often alternately use positive and odd knotting techniques in a work to achieve the purpose of adjusting the overall atmosphere.For example, the "Yiying Stele" in the Han stele is a relatively neat work, but among the many plain and upright characters, sometimes there are one or two figures leaning sideways, which adds a lot of interest to the work; In the cursive famous posts featuring flying strokes, we may also find some "sitting upright" characters from time to time, adjusting the ups and downs of the strokes.Relatively speaking, the plain calligraphy expresses emotions more implicitly and deeply, while the calligraphy of the dangerous road is more exposed and intense. The knotting of calligraphy is not only the management of the position, but also has a close relationship with the strokes.Pingzheng's calligraphy is strict and requires every stroke to be just right, just as Wang Xizhi said: "A little bit of loss is like a beauty's disease, and a painting is out of integrity, like a strong man's broken arm", which is almost impossible; For modeling, due to the fast rhythm of writing, it seems insignificant whether the writing is up or down, and it is not so in fact.Because of a perfect artistic shape, every part should have its best shape and position; sometimes there is a slight deviation, although it will not immediately cause damage to the entire character structure like the misplacement of strokes in regular script, but the spirit of the character must be There will be some kind of damage. This point can be confirmed by comparing a certain word that has been repeatedly written in ancient famous Dharma books. The escapement and positive and odd changes of knotted characters can make the calligraphy works more body-like changes in the shape and line changes of strokes and strokes, and strengthen the artistic expression of the works.But in the specific practice of calligraphy art, these two points alone are not enough. There is another important factor that determines the success or failure of calligraphy works, that is, the overall composition and layout. A calligraphy work, regardless of the number of characters, is always composed of characters and arranged in a certain form.There is a lot of knowledge in how these words can be arranged to complement each other.Generally speaking, in a line, the strokes should be connected with each other, so that the spirit and charm can be connected, and the words should not be in conflict with each other; between the lines, the squares and circles should not interfere with each other. Finally, they merge into a perfect overall pattern and form the beautiful calligraphy artistic conception of the whole work.In addition, there is another point that cannot be ignored, that is, the spacing between words and lines.The so-called cloth white contains this meaning.For example, Yan Zhenqing's "Yan Qinli Stele" intentionally narrowed the distance between lines in the overall white, so that the heavy brushwork made it more majestic and broad in the mutual reflection; For "Preface", the letter spacing is intentionally wide, so that the agility of the work can be fully displayed in the sparse space.For these two works, if we re-cut and frame the rubbings and change the original cloth and white format, their style and momentum will change suddenly.It can be seen that learning calligraphy is not only learning the brushwork and knotting method, but also learning the method of laying out the white. Appreciating calligraphy, in addition to paying attention to the beautiful strokes and the operation of the knot, the calligrapher's scheming of leaving blank space cannot be ignored. The overall layout of calligraphy is rich and varied.In order to express its solemn beauty, regular script generally has relatively even space between upper and lower and left and right characters; official script has a flat and square shape, and in order to enhance its elegant momentum, the distance is generally drawn up and down; cursive script has a flexible and changeable style, and the white layout is even more varied. There are many poses, such as the freshness and sparseness of "Orchid Pavilion Preface", the tightness and agitation of "Jiuhuatie", the tranquility and sparseness of "Jiuhua Tie", the ups and downs of Huangshan Valley's cursive script, the loose and strange cursive script of Xu Qingteng... etc., It can be said that all the masters who have made great achievements in the history of calligraphy have their own unique styles in terms of composition and whiteness, which is also the expression of the self-image they have established in the history of calligraphy art.In addition, the famous inscriptions and seals in calligraphy works are also part of the overall composition, and they should be placed in an appropriate position, otherwise, it is regrettable that the white wall is slightly flawed. Looking at the above, we have talked about many requirements, but in conclusion, we hope that calligraphers should not only be familiar with the nature of writing and master various brushwork techniques, but also have rich education, deep thinking, quick insight and adaptability, Only then can we successfully control the brush at the moment of splashing ink, and write calligraphy art works with active and healthy content and perfect form; if there is a little mistake, the work may lose its existence value.Sun Guoting said: "It's easy to get partial work, but it's hard to find perfection." But since you are engaged in the study and research of this art, you must always have lofty ambitions, and you can't be satisfied with small achievements.It should be said that the pursuit of art is endless, and the principles of appreciation discussed here are only general, and not exhaustive. Friends who like to appreciate playing books can use this as a way to appreciate, and after getting started , we still need to look up more ancient Dharma books, and at the same time strengthen the cultivation of knowledge and the cultivation of sentiments, so that we can hope to "think about thousands of years" and truly smile with the authors of Dharma books. This is "appreciation" the highest state.