text/Zou Xiangjian
Content summary: The core idea of " Zhouyi " is "neutralization". In the art of calligraphy, "Zhonghe" is the basic principle followed by calligraphers in their creative practice, and it is also the standard for judging the artistic level of calligraphers. This article analyzes and compares the evaluation criteria of Chinese calligraphy with "neutrality" as the core.
Keywords: calligraphy; neutral and beautiful; core evaluation criteria
Chinese calligraphy is a traditional art with a history of thousands of years and is also the most typical art category. The famous Chinese philosopher in France, Xiong Bingming, once described it as follows: "Calligraphy is the core of Chinese culture and a garden unique to the soul of China." Confucianism had a profound impact on the art of calligraphy, and its core content was "junction". Calligraphy art takes "junction" beauty as the ideal pursuit of calligraphers' creation, which can be traced from this.
The Book of Changes is called "the head of the classics and the source of all schools of thought", and contains the idea of "neutralization". The "Lin" hexagram of "Tuan" in "Zhouyi" says: "When the strong and the tycoon responds, the tycoon is righteous, which is the way of heaven." The "Jie" hexagram of "Tuan" says: "The center is correct and the heaven is harmonious, and the four seasons are formed." The "Lu" hexagram of "Xiang" says: "The middle is not chaotic." The "big animal" hexagram of "Xiang" says: "There is no fault in the middle." The "Zun" hexagram of "Xiang" says: "There is a celebration in the middle." The "Xian" hexagram of "Xian" says: "The sage touches people's hearts and the world is peaceful." The "Quan" hexagram of "Tuan" says: "Healthy and Saying, it is determined and harmonious." "The Book of Rites: The Doctrine of Meaning " says: "Happiness, anger, sorrow, and happiness are not yet released, and both are both central and central are called harmony. Zhong is the foundation of the world; harmony is the way of enlightenment. To achieve harmony, heaven and earth are in place, and all things are nurtured." The "zhong" here is the fundamental living state of the universe and nature, "harmony" is the ultimate destination of the universe and nature, and "junction" is the best state for the heaven and earth to pursue balance and harmony.
Mu of the Ming Dynasty said in "Elegant Words of Calligraphy": "The middle means that there is no more than or less than the same; harmony means there is no deviation or unruly. However, the middle cannot be abandoned, and harmony cannot be separated from the middle." [1]172 means that the neutral beauty is a kind of neutral and harmonious, "no more than or less than the same", it is an impartial and moderate balanced beauty, and the middle and harmony cannot be separated from each other. Xiang Mu also said: "Experience changes, gather the essence, and achieve neutrality." [1]135 It can be seen that "neutrality" has become the core evaluation standard of calligraphy art and guides Chinese calligraphy practice activities. This core standard is mainly reflected in brushwork, structure, composition, ink method, etc.
In terms of brushwork, it emphasizes "toward, backward, downward, and downward, and backward without losing each other" [2]80, "When using the brush, there are starts and ends, slows and rushes, reflects, loops, lights and heavys, turnings, virtual and real, biased and positive, hidden tips, and exposed tips" [2]567 needs to be "square and rules, round and rules", "a slow and fast state is suitable for the right way" [2]218, "There must be thickness and thin in a stroke, and it is not flush like a boundary" [3]792, "If calm and unhappy, then it will be fat and turbid and not charming; if it is happy but not calm, then it will be sloppy and the rules will be gone" [2]505. In terms of structure, "the body should be strange and stable" [2]712, "Distribute white space between different parts, do not let the side be side" [3]158, "The most affected square, the characters with different lengths and sizes have their own characteristics, because of their nature, they are up and down, one right and one side are indirect, and they can be intricate, so they can fulfill the situation of all things" [3]631, and they must also "stop the four sides evenly and have eight sides; the length and length are combined, and the thickness is folded" [2]105, "The main and guest look at each other, and the ups and downs are in line" [2]565, "The depth and shallowness are appropriate, and the length and short are moderate" [2]566, "The fat character needs to have bones, and the thin character needs to have meat" [2]567. In terms of composition, you must "violate but not violate, be harmonious but different" [2]355, "The upper character is in the lower character, the left character is in the right character, the horizontal line is in the right character, the horizontal line is in the slant and sparse, each with the right character is in the right form" [2]130, "You must gain power vertically and horizontally. If the front and back are flush, and the upper and lower parts are at the same level, then there are words like the ridicule of the operator" [2]603.In "Calligraphy Book", Sun Guoting applies the idea of "harmonious but different" to calligraphy art, requiring characters to be coordinated but not similar, and the whole article is harmonious and varied, revealing the aesthetic program and creative rules of calligraphy art, fully reflecting the influence of Confucian culture on calligraphy. In the ink method, you must "press hard and push lightly, travel far and close" [2]484, "When grinding the ink, wet the pen, and when wet the ink, wet the pen" [2]484. To achieve "dry and heavy wetness, and lightness" [2]498, the ink color should not be unbalanced, "the ink is light and the spirit will be damaged, and the thickness will be stagnant" [2]98, "The meat will be stagnant, and the meat will be thin" [2]848. In the long process of development of calligraphy art, it has always taken "neutrality" as the core principle, guiding the creative practice activities of calligraphers of all dynasties.
Neutralization is the calligrapher's accurate grasp of "degree", just as Zhou Xinglian said: "Writing words can be smooth and reverse, with direction and back, with ups and downs, with light and heaviness, with gathering and dispersion, with hardness and softness, with dryness and dampness, with fast and slowness, with sparseness, with sparseness, with thick and thinness, with thick and thinness, with connection, with breakage, with discharge, with support. Only those who have this number can make a calligraphy work." [2]24 Calligraphy artistic creation should adhere to the principle of "civility and military being left in the pen, with nosedness, with openness and closing, with openness and closing, with yin and yang" [2]398. Calligraphers must understand the principle of "using the same degree can be called calligraphy" [2]271. Ancient calligraphy theorists mostly used "neutral" beauty as a measure of the artistic level of calligraphers. Sun Guoting explained the wonderfulness of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy lies in "not being excited or harsh, but the style is far away" [2]129; Bao Shichen praised Northern Monument "The method of entering and leaving, raising and raising, raising and bowing, avoiding and bowing" [2]653; Xiang Mu also said, "If you know the neutrality, you will be good" [2]713.
"Zhenhe" as the core idea of Confucianism has always been the evaluation scale and methodology of the value of Chinese calligraphy art. The calligraphy art styles are different and vary widely, and it originates from "junction". Liu Xizai once said that "books must have both the energy of yin and yang." [2]530. means that in the creative practice process, the book must use "neutralization" to harmonize yin and yang to achieve the best state. Sun Guoting borrowed Confucius' "cultural and polite" words [4] to discuss calligraphy, Zhang Huaiguan said, "Things carry yin and embrace yang, and the books are soft on the outside but hard on the inside" [2]213. Xiang Mu believed that "the immortal hand of Dharma calligraphy can achieve the ultimate harmony in the middle, and can develop the mystery of heaven and earth, promote the mysteries of morality, inherit the unique knowledge of the past saints, and open the conscience of the later awakening. The merits and rituals and music are at the same time, and the name is with the sun and the moon" [2]530.
What is Tao? Taoist and Confucian have different statements. In " Tao Te Ching ", Lao Tzu explained the principle of the universe generation, and the harmony of yin, and the harmony of qi. Only when yin and yang are unified can all things be achieved. Only when yin and yang are unified can all things be achieved in nature. The saint of calligraphy, Wang Xizhi, believed in Taoist theory, and his calligraphy art was mainly influenced by the thought of Taoism ; and Yan Zhenqing was deeply influenced by Confucianism. Wang Xizhi used the balance of yin and yang as the guideline for calligraphy creation practice, so that his calligraphy art presents a peaceful, natural, implicit and tactful, and a harmonious beauty that combines hardness and softness. Wang Xizhi's " Lanting Preface " and Yan Zhenqing's " Commemorative Nephew's Manuscript " are both products of the highly unified documentary text, natural writing and real emotions. The former is slightly better than the latter because the emotions are moderate but not excessive. As Zhang Huaiguan of the Tang Dynasty commented on Wang Xizhi's calligraphy, "Prefer to the rules and regulations, and movement must be moderate." Emotions must be exerted under the control of rationality and reach the best state of "neutrality", so that the art of calligraphy can be sublimated from art to Tao. Confucius said to Guanju: "Happy but not lust, sad but not hurt." [6] explains this truth.
To sum up, "Zhonghe" is the core evaluation standard of Chinese calligraphy. Although Confucianism and Taoism have different understandings of it, they both play a crucial role. Confucianism was used as an official school by emperors of all dynasties, which influenced all aspects of ancient culture and social ideology, and calligraphy was no exception.The "neutral beauty" in calligraphy art is also influenced by Taoist thought , especially the Taoist philosophical thought of Laozi and Zhuangzi regards "neutrality" as the root of the survival and development of all things in the universe. "Neutrality" is not an old rule, a rigid dogma, or a static state, it is the origin of the natural beauty of the universe, the highest criterion for solving the contradiction between heaven and earth, the best state of everything in the universe, and the origin of calligraphy art from skill to art and art to Tao.
References
[1] Xiang Mu. Elegant Calligraphy [M]. Nanjing: Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House , 2019.
[2] Shanghai Calligraphy and Painting Publishing House , East China Normal University Ancient Book Collection Research Office. Selected Calligraphy Papers of All Dynasties [G]. Shanghai: Shanghai Calligraphy and Painting Publishing House, 1979.
[3] Cui Erping. Selected and Continued Calligraphy Papers of All Dynasties [G]. Shanghai: Shanghai Calligraphy and Painting Publishing House, 1993.
[4]Sun Guoting. Book book [M]. Changsha: Hunan Fine Arts Publishing House , 2007: 45.
[5] Laozi. Tao Te Ching [M]. Hefei: Anhui People's Publishing House , 1990: 72.
[6] Confucius. Analects of Confucius [M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House , 2010: 567.
(original published in " World of Calligraphy and Painting " 2021 Issue 5)
