Su Shi's "Title Wang Xu's Poems" calligraphy aesthetic commentary
Li Hongxing. The Palace Museum in Beijing collects Su Shi's "Title Wang Xu's Poems" cloud:
Jin Qing was burdened by the servants, and the servants were both Qi An, and Jin Qing was also degraded by Wudang. Hunger, cold, and poverty, this book is commonplace, and the servants are not related. Guyi. It is strange that Jin Qing suffers from this trouble with his noble son, without losing his integrity, poetry is beneficial, and he is transcendent and has the joy of being out of the world. This Confucius said that he can make an appointment with a long time, and he is happy with his strengthsSu Shi on September 8 of the first year of Yuan You.
This inscription can give a glimpse of Su Shi's literati feelings, and also has the aesthetic characteristics of calligraphy. The reasons are: First, it survives in the form of Su Shi's handwriting, representing Su Shi's writing state at that time. Second, the content involves a strong literati sentiment, revealing true feelings, and explaining the deep friendship between Su Shi and Wang Xu. Third, the content more or less reveals some realities of the Northern Song Dynasty and the literary world.
1. The background of Su Shi's "Title Wang Xu's Poems".
Su Shi's "Title Wang Xu's Poems" said: "Jin Qing is burdened by servants, and the servants are both Qi An, and Jin Qing is also degraded to Wudang." According to "September 8 of the first year of Yuanyou", Su and Wang advanced and retreated together because of a "Wutai Poetry Case" that shocked history. Zhang Rongguo's "The Friendship of Su Shi and Wang Xu" has research:
In March of the second year of Yuanfeng (1079), Su Shi took office from Xuzhou to Huzhou. In July, Shu Yan, He Zhengchen, Li Ding and others ** Su Shi incident. Shu Yan slandered Su Shi for ridiculing current affairs, and presented three volumes of poems printed by Su Shi during his stay in Hangzhou as evidence of the crime. On 18 August, Su Shi was escorted to Taiwan for questioning for writing poems satirizing current affairs, which is the famous "Wutai Poetry Case" ...... historyWang Xu, the concubine, was involved in the case because Su Shi had reported to him when he committed the crime, leaking the information that the court wanted to secretly investigate Su Shi to Su Zhe, and Wang Shu had accepted Su Shi's poems and texts that "ridiculed current affairs" and helped make plates and was involved in the ......
It can be seen that the relationship between Su Shi and Wang Shu is indeed extraordinary. At present, through multi-angle research, the academic community has always recognized the deep friendship between Wang Shu and Su Shi, and Zhang Rongguo's "The Friendship between Su Shi and Wang Xu" has verified the relationship between the two through a large number of historical materials and documents, and has achieved great results. In addition, Zhang Rongguo's "Poetry and Painting Intertextuality: From the Perspective of Su Shi and Wang Xu's Singing and Poetry's New Interpretation of Wang Xu's Ink Scroll Yanjiang Stacked Peaks" provides an in-depth examination of their relationship from the perspective of their poetry and singing. Wang Xu's "Stacked Peaks of the Yanjiang River" has always been the object of research in the academic community. Among them, there are many political, literary, and artistic contents related to Su Shi. As it mentioned, "Wang Dingguo, Wang Shu and Su Shi share common political demands and literary and artistic pursuits". This question can be found in their poetic literature. Wang Xu's role in the trial of the "Wutai Poetry Case" fully shows that the relationship between Su and Wang is extraordinary. How deep is the relationship between the two, Zhu Gang's "Trial and Verdict of the "Wutai Poetry Case" ———Starting from the Trial and Criminal Court's Wutai Poetry Case":
……The rules of the Northern Song Dynasty did not allow scholars to have too close contact with the emperor's relatives and relatives, so the imperial history platform took the poems related to Su Shi and Wang Shu as the focus of the interrogation, and the first article in the "confession" was "Correspondence with Wang Xu" ("Trial Court Ben" as "One interferes with Wang Xu")....
It can be seen that the personal relationship between Su Shi and Wang Shu was already intolerable in the Zhao and Song dynasties at that time, so from the perspective of political struggle, it is inevitable that they will be involved in a storm at the same time. However, it is their personal relationship that makes their relationship deeper and the degree of mutual trust greatly increased.
Su Shi and Wang Shu were both famous scholars in the middle and late Northern Song Dynasty, and the scholars and doctors living in this period often sang poems together, appreciated literary games, and appreciated calligraphy and painting because of the social environment. The elegance of the life of the Song people is not only a pastime, but also a way to integrate art, literature, and appreciation into their lives. This phenomenon appeared at that time and had certain peculiarities. This has a certain relationship with the social circles of literati and doctors. Fang Jian's "Records of the Friendship and Travel of the Northern Song Dynasty Scholars" mentions the influence of the literati's circle on their social life at that time: "The friendship between the Song people was extremely extensive and became a prominent social phenomenon. As far as its intellectual elite, the scholar class, is concerned, its main travel groups can be roughly divided into the following categories: (1) retirement, retirement and leisure;(2) Classmates, teachers and students, the same year;(3) Friends with bureaucrats;(4) In-laws and friends;(5) Friendship between parties and outsiders. It is true that from the analysis of the nature of the "Wutai Poetry Case", Su Shi and Wang Shu belong to "fellow bureaucrats". As the creator of the culture and art of the elite class at that time, it also has its own characteristics. This can be found in the poems, calligraphy and painting works handed down by Su Shi and Wang Xu.
There is no doubt that the friendship established between Su Shi and Wang Shu is the so-called gentleman's friendship between literati and doctors. Su Shi implicated Wang Shu because of the "Wutai Poetry Case", and even the two were deposed at the same time, they all advanced and retreated together. Although Wang Shu became a "victim" of the "Wutai Poetry Case", he did not lose confidence in his life because of this incident. He is still fascinated by poetry, calligraphy and painting. It is strange that Jin Qing suffers from this trouble with his noble son, without losing his integrity, poetry is beneficial, and he is transcendent and has the joy of being out of the world. Obviously, after being demoted, Wang Shu still lived freely and did not give up poetry creation. And he is also "detached", which is a way of self-adjustment in the life of a literati doctor.
From the late first year of Yuanfeng to the first year of Yuanyou (1086), Wang Shu and Su Shi came to operate. Su Shi was sent to Beijing to serve as a bachelor of Hanlin, and Wang Shu was restored to the rank of lieutenant of the horse. After that, it was the era of the rise of Sumen culture and art in the late Northern Song Dynasty. Su Shi's "Title Wang Xu's Poems" was written in this "spring". In other words, the two of them were demoted because of a public case, and after a few years, they reunited in the capital, and there must have been a reunion after a long absence, and then the behavior of continuing the previous edge, Su Shi's "Title Wang Xu's Poems" came out at this time.
2. The artistic value of Su Shi's "Poetry of the Title King".
Japanese scholar Kenjiro Yoshioka described the relationship between art and people: "It can be said that the word 'art', whether it refers to the act of making or creating by people, or to the work as a result of these acts, is only meaningful in the relationship with people. On the other hand, the word 'history' is also a word with such a meaning. It is dominated by political history, economic history, social history, cultural history, and so on, but the fundamental thing is that they are all man-made things, or things made by people, or records or accounts made by people about them. Obviously, the ancient Chinese poetry, calligraphy and painting art are the crystallization of the literary and artistic spirit of the ancient Chinese, and the cultural spirit conveyed in their works of art is also a specimen of the times in which the ancients lived.
Su Shi's calligraphy status is indispensable in the history of Chinese calligraphy. The reasons are: First, Su Shi's image of a literati doctor is very typical. As a great writer of the Northern Song Dynasty, his poetry was naturally famous, not only influential at the time, but also influential in later generations. Second, Su Shi's expansive and free personality charm made later generations of literati fall for him. From the analysis of Su Shi's life experience, he has been at a low point in his life many times, and his life is facing embarrassment, but he is still able to engage in literary and artistic creation in a chic manner, and it is also touching to appreciate his works so far. Third, Su Shi's talent is beyond ordinary people. He is an all-rounder, and because of his superior conditions, he has a broader space for artistic creation. From poetry to calligraphy and painting to the development of daily necessities, they were all constantly created in his bumpy life. There is no doubt that Su Shi was a creative man of letters.
From Su Shi's "Inscription of Wang Xu's Poems", we can see his suffering at that time. The content of the text expresses his guilt for Wang Xu, and at the same time reveals his confidence in artistic creation.
Su Shi "Title Wang Xu's Poems" Paper Book Specification 299cm×25.7cm
The title of "Wang Xu's Poems" is just 88 words, from which it can be found that Su Shi is running because of the time and showing his inner pride. Every word in the post is written energetically, which is different from the dull style of "Huangzhou Cold Food Post". The chapter layout of "Title Wang Xu's Poems" is comfortable and refreshing. For example, at the beginning, the middle of the word "Jin" is suddenly written very openly, from the beginning of the pen to the line of the pen and then to the end of the pen, there are changes, so that the artistic expression of the whole horizontal painting is more lively. It is true that after Su Shi read Wang Xu's poems, he must have been happy in his heart, so when he wrote the content, he showed his feelings. Similar to such words, there are also "Wu", "Qi", "Jiu", "Yuan", "Nian", etc., each word has dazzling strokes, Su Shi seems to express his happy mood at that time. Su Shi "attaches great importance to the expression of personal will and interest, and attaches importance to the innovation of theory and practice" (Yang Kaifei: "Research on the Concept of Heart Painting and Calligraphy in the Song Dynasty"). On the whole, the strokes and knots are staggered, and the feeling is rich.
In the history of calligraphy, Su Shi's calligraphy has always been highly praised, and an important reason is creativity. He once said, "I can't make a book, and dot painting is easy to ask", which shows that his calligraphy is mainly to express his own temperament. Again, he broke Ouyang Xiu's so-called "withering in the world of calligraphy", and the rise of Shangyi calligraphy represented by Su Shi became a monument in the history of Chinese calligraphy. As he mentions in the Commentary on Cursive:
At the beginning of the book, it was not intended for Canagar. Although cursive writing is a result of learning, it is necessary to be out of speed. The ancients said: "It's too late, cursive." This is not true. If you are "in a hurry", you are usually interested in learning. This disadvantage is extreme, so as for Zhou Yue and Zhongyi, there is no blame. Although my book is not very good, it is a fast one that comes out of new ideas and does not practice the ancients.
The "meaning" mentioned by Su Shi is different from the "meaning" of the Jin people. The so-called "meaning" of the Jin people, as Wang Xizhi said, "the intention is to write first", that is, before writing, the idea is mature, and then the pen is written;Su Shi's so-called "meaning" is not only "the intention of the pen first", but more importantly, he must have his own emotional expression in the writing process, so his "meaning" needs to have the author's temperament, knowledge, experience, etc. The main one is to express his own novelty, and not to practice the ancients.
Su Shi, who is a literati, naturally has a calligraphy style full of literati atmosphere, that is, bookish atmosphere. This is explained in Ren Xiaoping's "A Brief Treatise on the Origin of "Literati Calligraphy":
The representative calligraphers and representative works of the ancient "literati calligraphy" are full of a strong literati atmosphere, and because the calligraphers have always been representative in the current dynasty and later generations, they are the great masters and cultural celebrities who have influenced ancient and modern culture, so they have endowed their works with tenacious vitality.
In fact, the literati atmosphere in Su Shi's calligraphy works is his own. It also makes sense to regard Su Shi as a literary giant of the Song Dynasty. The "Shangyi calligraphy style" advocated by him essentially required the literati's own cultural literacy to realize their interest in calligraphy art style.
3. The literati feelings of Su Shi's "Title Wang Xu's Poems".
Wang Shuizhao's "Su Shi Studies" commented on Su Shi:
Su Shi's life experiences of ups and downs and ups and downs have caused his complex and contradictory and often changing ideological and artistic outlook, which has brought many difficulties to the periodization of research and creation. But, first, his life ideas of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism were a mixture of life throughout all periods of his lifeThe pen is vertical and horizontal, and it is a unified artistic style embodied in poetry, lyrics and essays in various periods. This is unity. Second, his thoughts and art cannot change with the great changes in his life.
The Northern Song Dynasty provided a superior social environment for literati, and also provided a high-quality soil for literati and doctors to create culture and art, and cultivated many cultural giants, such as Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu, Zhang Zai, Cheng Yi, Cheng Hao, etc. However, there are few life experiences as complex as Su Shi, and his experience can be said to be a special phenomenon in the Song Dynasty. Especially in the face of adversity, Su Shi's thinking is constantly improving, he interacts with Buddhist monks, and comprehends the mystery of "Zen";From time to time, he also uses the "transcendental" thought of "Zhuangzi" as a sustenance, seeking the spiritual world of "happy nature". However, as a Confucian scholar, he needed to make a difference in his career, so he had to return to reality and continue his original wish to enter the WTO as a literati doctor.
Su Shi mentioned in "The Poetry of the Title King": "Poetry is beneficial to work, and there is transcendence and joy outside the world." "Dao Ming's life when he was demoted was not easy, and Wang Xu's life situation after being demoted will not be good. However, when he read Wang Xu's poems, he found that his life after being demoted was "transcendent", which made Su Shi suddenly feel the freedom and helplessness of Wang Xu's life. The reason: on the one hand, Wang Xu's demotion is directly related to Su Shi;On the other hand, Wang Xu, who was demoted, must have a mental burden, but he was able to create literature and art in the form of affection for nature, which also made Su Shi feel very gratified. The "detachment" in Zhuangzi's thought was originally a kind of indulgent and natural pursuit, but Su Shi also wrote, "This Confucius so-called can be with a long-term appointment, and the good is happy", which is actually the return of helpless thoughts. Confucianism has the "joy of confucius", that is, "a spoonful of food, a scoop of drink, in the alley,......I don't change my happiness when I go back", such a simple pursuit of life is bound by social morality and is too content with the status quo. Even Confucius's "do what you want and don't exceed the rules" is also bound by social morality, not to mention literati doctors like Su Shi and Wang Xu
In fact, the emotional expression in Su Shi's "Title Wang Xu's Poems" seems to be in a happy mood, but there is still a strong sense of helplessness. His helplessness is to think about his life situation, he experienced a bleak life because of the "Wutai Poetry Case", and was recalled to Beijing as a bachelor of Hanlin, what will happen to his life in the future, he himself does not know. However, it is precisely the helplessness at this time that makes his artistic expression more intriguing. The rich expression of calligraphy and emotion in "The Poetry of the Title Wang" has enriched his writing state and expressiveness. From the fullness of the pen to the staggered length of the strokes, this expression technique vividly expresses Su Shi's contradictory mood at that time. Su Shi criticized the cursive style of Zhou Yue in the early Northern Song Dynasty in his "Commentary on Cursive Writing", saying that it was "in a hurry" and difficult to be subtle. Compared with Su Shi's criticism of Liu Gongquan's calligraphy, it is worth pondering
Young Master Liu's book is originally out of Yan, and it can come up with new ideas, one word is one hundred gold, and it is not a false word. Those who speak and write correctly are not sarcastic, but reasonable. The villain of the world, although the calligraphy is worked, and his expression will eventually have a flattering state, and he does not know the human feelings
It can be seen that Su Shi's "positiveness" of Liu Gongquan's calligraphy is not only praised in terms of writing state and pen;He also praised Liu Gongquan for cultivating an upright character. From "the villain of the world, although the calligraphy is worked, and his expression eventually has a flattering state, I don't know the human feelings, and I see it as I think", it is confirmed that the core point of Su Shi's calligraphy criticism is "to discuss books by people". Su Shi praised the "moral gentleman" and belittled the "villain of the world".
Su Shi's calligraphy art attaches great importance to the expression or embodiment of philosophy, which is also one of the extremely important contents of his aesthetic thought" (Li Zhigang: "The Aesthetic Concept of Calligraphy in Su Shi's Poetry Inscriptions"). In fact, the content of Su Shi's "Inscription of Wang Xu's Poems" is not lacking in his philosophical thoughts, including both the "transcendent" Lao Zhuang thought and the Confucian "not exceeding the rules" thought. The contradiction between these two aesthetic systems is also the embodiment of Su Shi's ambivalence at that time. This psychological state shows the ups and downs of Su Shi's life experience, and how can the word "difficult" be explained. However, "The Poetry of the Title" cannot hide his contradictory and complex psychological state. At the same time, it also proves the helplessness that Su Shi encountered at that time. He felt deeply about the past, but he couldn't judge the future. He knows the ups and downs of his career, but as a cultural person, he has to take on the responsibility of "governing the country and leveling the world", and he has to helplessly find the "detached" and expansive joy of life.
Su Shi's helplessness put him in a dilemma, and he had the pursuit of an ideal life, but it was out of reach, and he could only find relief from his own thoughts with Lao Zhuang's "leisure". It can be found from the "Poems of Wang Xu" that in fact, Su Shi and Wang Shu are like this, on the one hand, they participated in the governance of the Zhao and Song dynasties, and on the other hand, they found a spiritual home for their own ideological liberation.
Fourth, the aftermath
Whether it is the study of Su Shi's poetry or the art of calligraphy and painting, it makes people feel emotional. His life experience is not so much a big ups and downs, but optimistically rich and colorful, and it is precisely because of such a colorful life experience that his literary and artistic creation has rich materials. His different life encounters and experiences have also achieved the artistic height of his artworks in different periods, from "Huangzhou Cold Food Sticker" to "Inscription Wang Xu's Poems", two works with different life situations reveal Su Shi's complex inner world. In fact, the artwork and the inner world of the artist at the time of creation of the work is a topic that can never be clarified.