In the 80s of the 20th century, there was a heated discussion in the calligraphy circles around the question of "what kind of art is calligraphy" or "the essence of calligraphy". This discussion certainly has its historical background. Since the 50s, due to the influence of Marxist literary theory and the Soviet model of literary and artistic theory, the literary and artistic circles have generally replaced the exploration of the vibrant art world with rigid conceptual deduction. Therefore, after the "Gang of Four" was crushed, with the introduction of a large number of Western philosophies, aesthetics, literature and art, and psychological theories, people began to use new theories to reflect on the traditional view of literature and art. Influenced by the "aesthetic fever" of the entire academic world at that time, the calligraphy community was far more interested in the essence of calligraphy and the question of aesthetic concepts than in other issues. In this discussion, a number of valuable results have been produced.
Since most of the discussions at that time used Western theoretical concepts to replace the study of Chinese calligraphy theory itself, there were different opinions, and in the end no consensus was reached. After entering the 90s, the study of calligraphy aesthetics gradually fell silent, and was replaced by the rise of calligraphy philology and calligraphy research, and the study of calligraphy aesthetics showed a trend of marginalization.
Nowadays, the development of calligraphy has entered a very important period. Calligraphy exhibitions are extremely active, and the concepts and ideas of calligraphy creation are also very diverse, but there are still many prejudices and deficiencies in the understanding of calligraphy, and there are also many one-sided understandings of traditional examination and methods. For example, the ambiguity of the aesthetic standards of calligraphy and the resulting discussion of the criteria of calligraphy criticism are a good example.
Due to confusion about the nature of calligraphy and confusion about the standard issues, many people have become confused and suspicious about calligraphy. Therefore, it is necessary to "establish a clear philosophical foundation for Chinese calligraphy and form a more concise thematic judgment", which is helpful to clarify the current confusion of the concept of calligraphy creation.
As we said earlier, calligraphy expresses the beauty of nature on the one hand, and the beauty of the rhythm of the human mind on the other. In other words, calligraphy conveys both the beauty of nature and the beauty of the spirit. Ye Lang, a contemporary aesthete, believes that "imagery" is a core concept of traditional Chinese aesthetics, and has come to the conclusion that "beauty is in imagery". This is a profound inspiration for us to understand the essence of calligraphy. Calligraphy, as an art, undoubtedly expresses people's spirit and emotions. However, what is interesting is that the Chinese calligraphy art of "focusing on the heart" takes "starting from things" as its starting point. As a result, Chinese calligraphers invariably turn their attention to nature, and in the admiration and leisurely wandering of nature, they look for perceptual symbols that express their inner feelings. Therefore, if we want to explore the fundamental principle followed in the creation of Chinese calligraphy, in a word, "the image is the whole intention".
Standing like a whole", from "Zhou Yi Department of Dictionaries". In "Zhou Yi", in addition to words and meanings, there is also a system of "images", that is, the so-called hexagram system. It conveys subtle and indescribable meanings through visual images. Image, between words and meaning. Influenced by the philosophy of "Zhou Yi", Chinese calligraphers have developed the whole art of calligraphy, creation and appreciation, from the observation and taking of images to the image of law and taste. As a result, the observation of objects and images and the image of all things have become the most important tradition in the creation of Chinese calligraphy art.
Xiao He, a Han Chinese, once said: "The scholar is also the meaning of the book." "The nature of the pen and ink is based on the temperament of people. Calligraphy is based on "meaning" and "heart", but it must rely on the image of all things, and it must be "vertical and horizontal". When Cai Xizong of the Tang Dynasty commented on Zhang Xu's cursive script, he said: "Shi Zhang Xu, the governor of the government, is isolated and isolated, and the sound is wide, and the strangeness of the imagery cannot but be complete with its ancient ......."The majestic weather is for the sky. Zhang Xu's cursive script, vertical and horizontal, encompassing all kinds of differences, his calligraphy "strange imagery", is the embodiment of the "majestic atmosphere".
The beauty of calligraphy is not a simple imitation of nature, but a unified role that penetrates the human heart in the process of law and nature. Therefore, the image of the book is not only the image of the object, but also the image of the mind, and the integration and unity of the image of the mind and the image of the object. In this regard, Han Yu has a wonderful passage, which is also said to be written by Zhang Xu in cursive:
In the past, Zhang Xu was good at cursive writing, but he didn't treat other skills. Joy, anger, embarrassment, sorrow, pleasure, resentment, longing, drunkenness, boredom, injustice, and emotion will be expressed in cursive writing. Looking at things, see mountains, rivers, cliffs and valleys, birds, beasts, insects and fish, flowers and trees, sun and moon, stars, wind and rain, water and fire, thunder, song and dance, battle, the changes of heaven and earth, gratifying and stunned, a book in the book. ("Preface to Sending High Idle Masters").
It is necessary to take care of the "changes of heaven and earth" and "gratifying", which shows that calligraphy shows nature and life. Although this kind of manifestation comes from the care of objective objects, it is also filtered by the human heart, blending into man's view of the natural life of the universe, and reflecting the subject's own life mood. The predecessors once said that Zhang Xu's "Belly Pain Post" and Huaisu's "Our Lady's Post" were said to be Ming Wang Shizhenyun: "Zhang Changshi's "Belly Pain Post" and "Qianwen" are a few lines, out of the ghost and into the gods, and the joy is unpredictable. Therefore, calligraphers can only express the ups and downs of the heart, the waves of emotions, and the contradictions of thoughts in the dancing Chinese characters, and in the rhythm of the traced lines. In this way, the creation of calligraphy can be completed "to create an image with all intentions".
The influence of "Standing Image with Intention" on the concept of calligraphy creation is profound. To sum up, it is simple to contain abundance. We know that "Zhou Yi" is a book that uses simple methods to explain that change is not easy for the universe. Simplicity is the biggest creative feature of "Zhou Yi". Chinese calligraphers seem to be the most proficient in this, and they know the truth that "less is more". It can be said that the simplicity of Yi Chuan has been brought into full play by Chinese calligraphers. The thousands of ** that create nature are filtered by the calligrapher's discerning eye, and immediately become extremely expressive lines. In the history of calligraphy, the cone painting sand, printing clay, wall pattern, house leakage marks, hairpin strands, etc., are all obvious examples in this regard.
The form of calligraphy is simple, but the meaning that can be expressed is rich. The richness of calligraphy is related to the fact that "image" has a greater breadth and coverage than language. This is the profound connotation of what Zhang Huaiqian said, "encompassing all differences and cutting into one phase". Compared with painting, the expression of calligraphic imagery can be described as abstract and pure, but it can be more than a little. Zheng Qiao, a native of the Southern Song Dynasty, said: "Painting takes the form, and the book takes the image; Take more paintings, take fewer books. "It's about the abstract beauty of calligraphy. It can be said that Chinese calligraphy is the base camp of Chinese's understanding of abstract beauty.
In China, true calligraphy is regarded as a higher art. The reason why it is called advanced is because it can express the infinitely rich "meaning" with an extremely concise "image", and it has found the most refined form for the expression of the human spirit.