Abstract: Maoti calligraphy refers to the calligraphy works created by the calligraphy brushstrokes of the founding leader of New China, and is a calligraphy concept proposed by people around the 80s of the last century. ** He was a great Marxist politician, military strategist, writer and calligrapher. His calligraphy has the beauty of lines, the beauty of momentum, the beauty of artistic conception of the three aesthetic characteristics, its calligraphy is mainly inclined to the right to obliquely take the right, the top is large and the bottom is small, the left is converging and the right is placed. The characteristics of penmanship are mainly in the center of the fast book, seal penmanship. The main characteristics of the chapter are the large opening and closing, and the splattering is casual. The ink method is characterized by a moderate concentration of non-focus and lightness, which is convenient for quick writing. The characteristics of the mental method are that there is no distraction, concentration, not seeking its work, no intention to be good, and the result is the best result!
Maoti calligraphy is not only a kind of calligraphy art creation and display, but also contains the content of history and reality, tradition and innovation, and is the unity of concept, action and result. Therefore, it is inevitable that Maoti calligraphy is loved and sought after by the masses, because he is the carrier of beauty and positive energy. Xi and appreciate Mao calligraphy is to have the foundation of traditional calligraphy, the second is to understand the basic characteristics of Mao calligraphy, and the third is to be able to refine Mao calligraphy and its handwriting, so that there are trade-offs and screenings, and inherit and carry forward with an attitude of abandonment.
Keywords: Mao calligraphy aesthetic characteristics personality characteristics
A recent photo of teacher Peng Lixin taken by Zhou Fengchuan.
The great leader of the Chinese people, Chairman ***, is a great calligrapher, but he never admits that he is a calligrapher, nor does he know that his words have become one. Because he has a lot of opportunities, he only uses writing as a tool and means for work and conveying information. Although people liked his calligraphy during his lifetime, some people began to study Xi his calligraphy. But what really called his calligraphy Mao was after his old man's death. Especially after the 80s of the last century, more and more people have sought after it and treated it to the height of calligraphy art, and in 2019, the core journal of Chinese calligraphy organized experts and scholars to select the top 10 calligraphers of the 20th century, and they deserved to be selected. There are profound historical reasons why the art of Maoti calligraphy is liked and accepted by calligraphers and ordinary people, and it is in line with the laws of calligraphy art.
1. The three stages of Maoti calligraphy
From his birth in 1893 to 1920, 27 years before the founding of the Communist Party of China was the first teenage period, and it was also the foundation period of Maoist calligraphy. In 1901, at the age of 8, he went to a private school to learn Xi Four Books and Five Classics and practiced calligraphy Xi, at that time he developed a strong interest in calligraphy, and since then he has formed an indissoluble bond with Hanmo. Later, he was admitted to the county Dongshan High School and the provincial high school for Xi. In 1910, he entered the Changsha No. 1 Normal Xi School, during which he met Sun Ligong, and the two had a sense of knowing each other late. In the later exchanges, in addition to the exchange of progressive ideas, they also carried out in-depth calligraphy.
** I once said with deep feeling: "I have always kept in mind the essentials of calligraphy taught to me by Mr. Sun when I was the first teacher, especially the '28-character formula' of calligraphy. Even though I have improved in calligraphy, it is mainly due to Mr. Sun's teachings. During this period, he mainly Xi visited the two kings, Wei tablets, and Jin and Tang Kaishu, laying a solid foundation for calligraphy. Now we can see the "Lisao" and "Nine Songs" that he copied in his early years,* these inkblots have a chic and elegant style, a flying spirit, a face with muscles and willow bones, and a skimming of feet, which is quite the style of the Wei and Jin dynasties. At the same time, his calligraphy has already shown the characteristics of arrogance and righteousness at this time.
The 28 years from 1921 to 1949 were a historical period in which earth-shaking changes took place in China's history, from the new democratic revolution to national independence to national liberation, from a young talent who accepted Marxism to gradually become the commander of the three armed forces of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and the great leader of the Chinese people, during which he experienced the Great Revolution, the Agrarian Revolutionary War, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation. There have also been significant changes in personal feelings and family members.
Throughout the period of the New Democratic Revolution, the main energy of ** was concentrated on the painstaking theoretical creation and revolutionary practice of combining Marxism-Leninism with the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution, and calligraphy was only a by-product of it. As a leader who is familiar with poetry and literature, history and philosophy, the brush in his hand is a tool that cannot be left for a moment. He wrote a large number of poems, articles, letters, notes, and research reports. Whether it is "Spring Snow in Qinyuan" or "On Protracted War", which guided the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, they are all blooming and creating during this period.
Moreover, his calligraphy is not only an expression of personal emotions and will, but also a witness to an era and history. During this period, his calligraphy was characterized by practical application, the speed of writing was accelerated, and the calligraphy style was mainly calligraphy, but the cursive style was obvious. Moreover, the style characteristics of italic knots are basically formed, such as the inscriptions of "serving the people", "do it yourself, have enough food and clothing", and "seek truth from facts" are all masterpieces of this period. And the later it gets, the more unrestrained the dynamism and vitality that is about to come out.
After the founding of New China on October 1, 1949, the Chinese people stood up from then on, which was a truly epoch-making event. Although *** said, "Achieving a national victory is only the first step in the completion of the long march." But after all, this is a very, very important step, the establishment of people's power is his old man's lifelong ideal and feelings, when he announced from the tower of Tiananmen Gate that "the People's Republic of China ** ** was established today", we can imagine his happiness and relaxation. After all, 28 years of struggle and sacrifice are for this day.
This can be seen in the changes in the characteristics of his calligraphy later. For example, the inscription he gave to the masthead of the "Red Flag" magazine was also annotated next to it: "Like the fluttering of the red silk dance", and there are more and more such "dances", such as the inscription "Learn Xi from Comrade Lei Feng" and so on. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he also wrote a large number of self-composed poems and calligraphy works of the ancients' poems, which are also this kind of dancing atmosphere and wanton attitude.
Most of the Mao works that people love are also works from this period. In fact, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, I read the Dharma more and more diligently. Over the course of 20 years, he had read nearly 600 kinds of texts. The cursive scripts of "Erwang", Sun Guoting, and Huaisu and the "Sanxitang Fati" are often his favorite to read. **Reading posts is good at observing its pen, structure, chapter, etc., absorbing the essence, and constantly enriching their calligraphy art. Among the calligraphy forms, his favorite is cursive, and his favorite in cursive is Huaisu Zhang Xu.
Second, the three aesthetic characteristics of Mao characters
Maoti calligraphy is not an ordinary calligraphy art, and it is not an expression of the artist's personal emotions or heart paintings. She is a bright light in the dark night, she is the explosion between heaven and earth, and she is the freehand of the rafter giant pen on the blue sky and the earth that has never been seen in the long history. She is the cry of the mountains and the tsunami and the cry of life in the universe. Like thunder and lightning, it is like thousands of horses galloping over the river and the sea. To borrow Su Dongpo's words, it is called "the pen falls into the storm, and the poem becomes a crying ghost and god". To borrow Chen Ziang's words, "I don't see the ancients before, and I don't see the comers after."
First of all, Mao calligraphy has an unparalleled beauty of lines. The hair lines are rich and colorful, the horizontal painting is positive and the shoulders are positive, the vertical painting is tall and proud, and the skimming support is like a giant striding meteor, especially her up and down even the pen leads, like the dance of the red silk streamer and the flash of lightning and thunder, are all exciting percussions or touching plucks.
Secondly, Maoti calligraphy has the beauty of the momentum of opening and closing. He moves his pen casually and arbitrarily, the size changes suddenly, a stroke runs through the momentum like a rainbow, and many words are connected in one go. There is the power of thousands of troops to destroy the city and pull out the village, or there is the momentum of the sea to destroy the withering and decaying!The pen is sharp and the gesture is sharp, and there is a sense of surprise. Therefore, Mao is a master of creating danger and momentum, and this kind of great trend and danger hides great beauty and great love, that is, the great benevolence and righteousness of the world and the righteousness of eliminating evil and promoting good.
Third, Maoti calligraphy has an obvious artistic conception of beauty. Appreciating Mao makes people have infinite reverie and association, not to mention his dragon flying phoenix dance flowing smoothly, just his highly recognizable peerless **, suddenly reminiscent of his poetry and articles, his personality charm, his feelings and ideals, as well as what he said and what he did and his great achievements and achievements. We can say that his words are like his words, like his people, like his great cause, and the four in one are interrelated and complement each other. Those who have read his writings on calligraphy will not only be passionate but also contemptuous of difficulties. This is the artistic conception and charm of Maoti calligraphy.
3. The main personality characteristics of Mao calligraphy
The reason why Maoti calligraphy is eye-catching and appreciative, in addition to her outstanding beauty, is also because of her very flamboyant personality and very obvious characteristics. Specifically, there are the following points:
The calligraphy characteristics of Mao calligraphy: First, most of the outer contours of the character knot are inclined to the right, that is, to take the right obliquely, obliquely without losing weight, maintain balance, and full of dynamics. The second is that most of the words are in a downward and downward trend, which is just the opposite of the ** division ratio of human aesthetics, just like a walker who carries a heavy load on his shoulders, and is an image of responsibility and responsibility for moving forward with a load. The third is that some characters are dealt with in an asymmetrical or non-balanced way, or they are clumsy, or they are strange and dangerous, or they are full of charm.
The penmanship characteristics of Maoti calligraphy: First, the center of the pen is fast writing, and the heart and hand are free to do as you like. The second is that the horizontal painting is higher, and the amplitude of the shoulders is more exaggerated. Getting higher and higher is a trend of going uphill. The third is that the vertical painting is tall and slightly convex to the left, just like the military posture of the honor guard standing on the ground, majestic and proudly straight. Fourth, there are feet and strides meteors. Just like the words on the masthead of "People**", it is no longer possible to use a cone to draw sand as a metaphor for its writing, but to cut it with a knife. Fifth, the use of even pens is more, breaking through people's Xi of connecting with the nearest and following the trend, but the dot painting in the opposite direction of the upper and lower characters can also be strongly connected, which can be described as a domineering side leakage that has conditions to be connected and no conditions to create conditions.
Characteristics of the ink method of Mao calligraphy: Mao calligraphy because of the reason that the strokes are thin and fast to write, so the ink can not be too thick and too focused, too thick and too focused will not be smooth in the pen, the brush is just dipped in ink when the writing is not only fast, but also to use a similar method of virtual pen to write, a little more broken pen, a little more pick, a little less press, a little less sluggish, at this time the strokes have a sharp trend, just like his soldiers, often surprise its unpreparedness. The words written are majestic and dangerous, and they are eye-catching. When the tip of the pen contains moderate ink, you can open the bow left and right in the center, and implicate it up and down in a circle, just like the four crossings of Chishui with soldiers like gods!When the nib contains less ink, slow down, focus on the nib, and drag it appropriately to expose the flying white. The words written are old and vigorous.
The characteristics of the chapter of Mao calligraphy: one is the big opening and closing, when the opening of the sky and the earth to the end, when the time to see the subtle and introverted, giving people the feeling of letting the horse Tianshan gallop freely and strategizing freely. The second is that the top and bottom are uneven, the upper edge is flush with the pen, and the lower edge is casual when the pen is closed.
The mental characteristics of Maoti calligraphy: he almost does not arrange according to the traditional chapter layout, sometimes there is no payment, sometimes it is not stamped, and he never even writes the time according to the chronological method of the dry branch. But he has no intention of being a good one, and he does not seek work but works himself. He wrote his own poems and changed them once and again, and no two versions were exactly the same. He wrote "Orchid Pavilion Preface" in one go, although he dropped a lot of words, but it is still praised by experts as a masterpiece of high artistic value. Maoti calligraphy is an out-and-out soul writing, and it is the free bloom of the flower of the soul. He did not admit that he was a calligrapher, and he would never copy and copy the calligraphers in history.
Fourth, give you a reason to collect Maoti calligraphy
Maoist calligraphy is known for its majestic atmosphere full of positive energy, which is also the main reason why people love Maoti calligraphy, which is embodied in the following aspects:
First, Maoti calligraphy can bring people the enjoyment of beauty. As mentioned above, in addition to the aesthetic characteristics of Maoti calligraphy, the kind of calligraphy lines that open and close casually seem to stir the world, and the majestic momentum makes people feel a kind of majestic beauty;The posture of the hair body leaning forward is very dynamic, if the swordsman is like a running athlete, giving people a strong vitality of the beauty;Appreciating Maoti calligraphy always makes people feel a positive and struggling atmosphere, which can make people feel a kind of masculine beauty that stands up to the skyEven a person who doesn't know calligraphy can be infected by this atmosphere.
The second is that Maoti calligraphy rejects all negativity. Mao calligraphy is generally based on his own poems and his favorite classical poems as the main content, and these poems and beautiful texts can make people passionate, he writes the cold winter as "extraordinarily enchanting", and writes the autumn as "the mountains are red all over, and the forests are dyed", so there is no difficulty in his pen, no cold, no impossible, no pitiful, only struggle and only hard work, only "infinite scenery in the dangerous peak".
The third is that the golden sentences of Maoti calligraphy are rich and colorful. It is said that more than 100 idioms have been contributed to the treasure house of Chinese idioms in his poetry articles, and each of his poetry articles has classic sentences that make people admire, such as "count the romantic characters, but also look at the present dynasty", "the rivers and mountains are so delicate", "the scenery is unique here", "10,000 years is too long, seize the day", "Xiongguan Mandao is really like iron, and now we are stepping forward from the beginning" and so on, are classic idioms and famous sentences with a high citation rate.
Fourth, Maoti calligraphy can bring good feng shui. Actually, I don't know much about Feng Shui, so I'm just borrowing the concept of Feng Shui here. Feng Shui is also known as the study of Kanyu and the study of geophysiognomy, specifically to study the influence of the built environment and even the pattern of architectural design, architectural decoration style, utensils placement, etc., on the work life and future development of the people who use it. So Feng Shui is a scientific concept, but some people tend to make it very mysterious and mysterious, just like feudal superstition. In fact, the surrounding and internal environment of the building can bring convenience and positive effects to the users is good Feng Shui, and vice versa is bad Feng Shui.
The amount of information brought by a Mao calligraphy is huge, and her content and thoughts may affect people's values or change people's behavior, or enrich people's language inventory or depth of thought, whether it is collected at home or hung in the living room, it is an excellent environmental projection and psychological suggestion, and it is extremely important for the growth and development of the collective, unit or family. In this sense, the influence of Maoti calligraphy on people is positive, so it can bring good feng shui to people.
5. Philosophical reflections on Maoti calligraphy
In the history of the development of Marxism and the history of the Communist Party of China, he is worthy of being a master of philosophers and dialectics. His theoretical writings not only made outstanding contributions to enriching and developing the treasury of Marxist philosophy, but also set an example for future generations in consciously practicing his philosophical thoughts. A careful study will find that Mao's calligraphy is permeated with profound philosophical connotations and is full of profound dialectics, which is the specific application of his rich dialectical ideas in the field of calligraphy. Today's people who study calligraphy can only understand it if they study it deeply.
Maoti calligraphy is a unity of ideas and behaviors. **As early as the Yan'an period, it was said that we are the unifiers of motive and effect, and he wrote his "Spring Snow in Qinyuan" more than ten times in his life, and each time he wrote it was a declaration of his motive and effect, concept and behavior. In the phrase "counting the romantic figures", the enemy attacked him for having imperial thoughts, and his own interpretation refers to the proletariat and the masses of the people. In fact, the people's revolution led by the Communist Party carried out land reform, allowing the people to turn over and liberate themselves to be the masters of the land, he always thought of the people in his heart, he would always talk about serving the people, and everything would be urgently needed by the people, his language, poems, articles, including calligraphy, etc., were all for the people, the people were his everything, his goal and ideal, and the two words most frequently used in his language and writing were "people". The key is that his thoughts can be transformed into actions, and actions can be transformed into results, so that his goals and ideals can be realized step by step.
Maoist calligraphy is a unity of history and reality. A good calligraphy work is not only a reflection of history, but also a record of history, Zhong Zhangxi is better than Yan Liu Zhao. **Poetry and calligraphy works, the same is the true reflection and deep memory of that period of history, his anti-encirclement and suppression two, Long March seven have pictures, moments, gunsmoke and fire, time, place, and characteristics of the times. His signature calligraphy "Serving the People" was originally the title of an article in 1944 in memory of Zhang Side, but it became the concept label of the Communist Party, and was later hung in the office by party and government organs and leading cadres at all levels, engraved on the door of the office, and worn on the chest, becoming the most instructive, influential, and easy-to-understand iconic slogan for reality.
Maoti calligraphy is a unity of inheritance and innovation. Although Mao calligraphy is unbridled and wild, there are often breakthroughs in the rules and regulations, but his normative inheritance is obvious, especially the inheritance of Zhang Xu Huaisu cursive and the use of the ancients' penmanship is very in place, it can be said that Mao calligraphy is a model of ancient but not ancient. The innovation of Maoti calligraphy is also multifaceted, such as the pursuit of knots to be oblique and correct, and the opening and closing of chapters and so on. Zhao Xinyue, a well-known theorist of party history, once said that when writing the title of the magazine "Red Flag", there was a note next to the inscription: "It is intended to be available" and "This way of writing comes from the red silk dance". Moreover, the word "red flag" used is very expressive and vivid, and there is a feeling of extreme beauty. Therefore, Mr. Zhao suggested that in the history of Chinese calligraphy and calligraphy theory, we should add a first-class "red silk dance" after the cone painting sand, folded hairpin, printing clay, and house leakage, which is a great contribution to Chinese calligraphy.
Maoti calligraphy is a unity of movement and stillness. Maoti calligraphy gives people the feeling that the four seas are churning, the five continents are **, the sea is crossing, and the waves are rolling. It is a big action and a big pattern, a big handwriting, the words shout and the pen is whistling, I don't know that I thought that there would be very exaggerated expressions and actions when writing Mao characters, but I don't know that *** writing is not like this at all, but the natural outpouring of the waves. We can often see some *** when writing, each is a very quiet state, seeing these pictures people can only think of adjectives as quiet, leisurely, distracted, calm, as if the whole world is quietly listening to the sound of its pen tip. Holding the Spring and Autumn Pen in his hand, he has a million soldiers in his chest!With static braking, strategizing, and then winning thousands of miles away. This is the hair body, movement and stillness, opposites are unified, and complement each other.
Sixth, there are several issues that should be paid attention to in appreciating and Xi hair
Maoti calligraphy is recognized as a high-end atmosphere of art, why some people can't appreciate it, some people can't get started, and some people write more and more ugly after getting started. The author believes that the following issues should be paid attention to:
First, you should have a little basic knowledge of traditional calligraphy. The question of whether to have a foundation in regular script is currently a controversial issue, and it is true that some people who do not write regular script write cursive very well. However, the author thinks that cursive script evolved after simplification on the basis of regular script, but after simplification, many characters become very similar or similar, and the difference is only a little bit, if this difference is not written in place, it is easy to cause misunderstanding and ambiguity. Therefore, cursive script is based on regular script, the first thing to know is the evolution process from regular script to grass, and the second regular script is not necessarily written for a long time, but it is necessary to understand its strokes, so that when writing cursive script, there are two images of regular script in the brain at the same time, and it is natural and handy to write.
The second is to extract the essence from the coarse, and to retain the truth from the false. This is the most consistent thought, and it should be even more so when it comes to the Xi study of Maoist calligraphy. Why some people who love hair but can't write Mao characters well, it should be missing such a key link. Objectively speaking, in any hand-me-down calligraphy, there may be failures and imperfect characters written by this famous master, and this is certainly the case with Maoti calligraphy. Moreover, the speed of writing is fast, do not ask for its work, there is no time to practice words after middle age, and do not advocate practicing words, many words written naturally do not meet the aesthetic requirements of modern people, and this kind of words must not be traced according to the cat and tiger when learning Xi, but should be written in accordance with the characteristics of the hair body to improve. When I was learning Xi, I first selected 100 of the most touching words in a book of "Mao Calligraphy", and repeatedly copied them to the extent that I knew them by heart. Then he found three Maoist manuscripts of "Seven Laws of the Long March", "Qinyuan Spring Snow", and "Qingpingle Liupan Mountain" to Xi repeatedly, and then continued to expand the scope of the Xi, so that the works of domestic Maoist calligraphers and celebrities were also repeatedly studied Xi studied.
The third is to pay attention to the pen in the center. Studies have shown that the Mao body is an improvement and sublimation based on Zhang Xu and Huaisu cursive script, and the Zhongfeng Jishu seal calligraphy is the basis for writing this kind of calligraphy, and the same is true for the Mao body. Most of the manuscripts are written by the center, and there are a very small number of biases and backs, but some of the works written by practitioners are mostly biased, not only do not have the muscles and strength of the hairy body, but feel full of graffiti.
Fourth, it is necessary to dispel the superstition of experience. When the author began to practice Mao, a friend once said: You don't have the experience of fighting in the south and the north, and you don't have the pattern of the world in mind, so you can't learn Mao. This sounds very correct at first glance, but it is actually problematic, for thousands of years, people have inherited the seal and Wei monument to beat Yan Liu Zhao, do they all have the experience of the original author?Therefore, the theory of experience is a false proposition, if you have to have Yan Zhenqing's experience to learn Yan Ti, then there will definitely be no Yan Ti in the world. The key to learning Xi a font is to grasp its glyph characteristics and penmanship points, as for the experience is very important extra-word skills, experience can not be copied, different experiences can be completely inherited under the premise of calligraphy under the same end. (Wen Peng Lixin).
About author:Peng Lixin, male, born in Lantian, Xi'an in 1958, ancestral home in Qinyang, Henan. Since childhood, he has Xi calligraphy, all over the two kings of Ouyan, upside down and drunk, and has been deeply involved in Mao calligraphy for more than 40 years, and has worked tirelessly for many years, extensively studied Mao Ti, and on the basis of inheriting the artistic essence of "Mao calligraphy", he has paid attention to technical innovation, forming a unique artistic style of "beautiful form, like the inside", both form and spirit, and elegant and vulgar appreciation.
Disclaimer: The article only represents the author's point of view and is only for academic communication
Editor: Zhou Fengchuan.