Chinese believe that by observing the words written by a person, the character of the person can be judged inseparably, as the saying goes, "the heart is right, the pen is right". This rhetoric has become the consensus of every Chinese, and at first glance it seems insignificant, but in fact it implies a major message - the integration of writing (calligraphy) and morality.
In the process of developing Confucianism in the face of the crisis of Buddhism and social collapse since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the moral outlook of the Chinese changed and a moral ideology based on "mind" was formed.
At the same time, the formation of this moral outlook also shapes the aesthetic spirit of calligraphy, and the moral character enters the writing, aesthetics, and evaluation of calligraphy.
Chinese have this understanding of calligraphy: they believe that calligraphy can show the moral realm of the writer. From the perspective of appreciation, viewing a calligraphy work can deduce the personality of the calligrapher, the so-called "book is the heart painting" and "character is the book". From the perspective of learning calligraphy, if you want to write calligraphy well, you must first learn to be a person, the so-called "words are like people" and "the heart is right".
The saying that the book is a heart painting" was first published in Yangxiong's "Fa Yan and Ask God" in the Western Han Dynasty: "Words, the voice of the heart;."Books, heart paintings, too. The sound and painting are shaped, and the gentleman and villain are seen. The gist of this passage is that both language and writing are the outward manifestations of a person's heart, and through this outward performance, it is possible to judge whether the person is a gentleman or a villain. Here, "heart painting" refers to texts and dictionaries, not calligraphy.
During the Sui and Tang dynasties, "heart paintings" mostly came from Buddhist classics. For example, "Huayan Da Shu Yuan": "All living beings are like portraits." All kinds of alien shapes are drawn from the heart. In the Buddhist concept, the "heart painting" represents the picture of the world constructed by the subject's heart.
In the Song Dynasty, the use of "heart painting" in Buddhism disappeared, and Yang Xiong's "book for heart painting" began to be used again, but at this time, the meaning of "heart painting" shifted from the meaning of the text to the meaning of calligraphy, calligraphy, and handwriting, and sometimes "heart painting" directly became synonymous with "calligraphy". For example, Guo Ruoxu said in "Pictures and Stories: On Qi Yun Non-Teacher": And the art of the world's words is called the heart seal. This is the source of the heart, and wants to form the traces, and the traces are in harmony with the heart, which is the seal. War and ten thousand laws, the fate of the cause, as you like, all get the name seal;If it is calligraphy and painting, it is sent to the feelings, and the contract is in the silk, so what is the non-print?Rhyme words and save all the noble and low, how can calligraphy and painting escape the charm of the high and low?The husband is still a book, and Yang Zi said: Words, the voice of the heart;Books, heart paintings, too. The sound and painting are shaped, and the gentleman and villain are seen.
"Xin Zheng Zhi Bi Zheng" comes from the story of Liu Gongquan's pen admonition, which was first seen in the "Old Tang Book" of Liu Yun in the fifth dynasty. This story takes place during the Tang Muzong period. Tang Muzong was an emperor who "feasted too much and traveled too much". Because he liked Liu Gongquan's calligraphy, Tang Muzong summoned Liu Gongquan as a bachelor of Hanlin scholars. Once, Tang Muzong asked Liu Gongquan how he could write well. Liu Gongquan replied with "the heart is correct and the pen is correct". Mu Zong's face changed greatly after hearing this, and he heard that Liu Gongquan was using this to persuade him to cultivate himself and be a righteous man. After that, this story became a historical allusion such as "pen advice", "public power pen advice" and "advice to the king with a pen", and Liu Gongquan was also praised by the world for his upright image.
In the Song Dynasty, the saying "the heart is upright and the pen is right" was basically used in the discussion of calligraphy appreciation. For example, Su Dongpo said in "The Last Song of the Six Books of the Tang Family": "Young Master Liu's books are out of Yan, and he can come up with new ideas, a hundred gold, not a false word." Those who speak and write correctly are not sarcastic, but reasonable. It can be seen that at that time, "the heart is correct and the pen is correct" has become the concept of appreciating calligraphy, and it is common sense to see the moral character of the writer through the handwriting. In the Southern Song Dynasty, "the heart is right" has become the internal requirement of "the book is the heart painting", just as Wang Tingqi said: "It is said that the heart of the book is also painted, and the heart is correct and the pen is correct." In the past, when people saw Yan Lu Gongzi, they knew that he was a loyal martyr, a moral gentleman, and his fortitude and unyielding spirit were seen in calligraphy and painting. As for the mediocre and rotten people, there is nothing strange in the chest, the face is hateful, and their declining atmosphere cannot be taken off the end of the pen, which is also rough. ”
Through the above preliminary investigation of the frequency and semantics of the words "heart regularity and pen correction" and "book is the heart painting", we can draw two understandings: first, we can literally see the important position of "heart" in it. The moral connotation given to calligraphy is a moral concept based on the "heart";Second, although both have their own semantic origins, they were both commonly used in calligraphy and moral evaluation during the Song Dynasty. These two points show that calligraphy uses "heart" as a bridge to establish a moral evaluation based on "heart". And this cognitive habit of discussing books based on character was established in the Song Dynasty. In order to better understand the process of the formation of this concept, we will trace the development of the concept of "mind" and the theory of mind and the cultivation of mind.
Above, the topic of books as heart paintings, heart and pen is correct is discussed for the time being. What do you think?Everyone is welcome to express their opinions in the comment area.