On the style of pavilions and pavilions
Wang Shuguang
1. What is a pavilion?
The name of the pavilion originated from the Five Dynasties. After Liang moved to the capital of Bianliang, he began to set up Jixian County and History Museum, which were also called "Three Museums". After governing the national sports system, Song Taizong merged the "three halls" into a courtyard and named it Chongwen Academy. It is divided into three museums with a collection of over10,000 volumes. Another secret pavilion is set up, and the last three pavilions are combined into one, which is called "pavilion" in history.
Pavilion style was very popular in Ming and Qing dynasties and imperial examinations. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, imperial examination was highly valued, and candidates should answer questions according to the prescribed writing rules, and the font should be unified as regular script. After becoming an official, in order to write the memorial, official documents and other documents, lower case letters are still the first choice. For scholars, writing in small letters was an indispensable skill at that time, especially in the Qing Dynasty, when court examinations and officialdom were extremely harsh on calligraphy. It not only requires clear and standard handwriting, but also requires no altered strokes and variants. If this rule is violated, candidates will be disqualified and officials will be dealt with. In this high-pressure atmosphere, the Qing dynasty gradually formed a standardized and unified rhythm, that is, "pavilion body", also known as "manna body" This style mainly serves the officialdom or the emperor. But in the Ming Dynasty, it was called "Taige style". The so-called "Taige" originally refers to Shangshu, which is extended to the official name. In My Views on Linchi in Qing Dynasty, Zhou Xinglian said, "It's no fun to be a puppet after bidding farewell to calligraphy." This is Zhou Xinglian's definition and praise of Tiger style. As can be seen from the above, "Pavilion Style" and "Taige Style" have the same name and are both standard official styles.
Second, the evolution and formation of the exhibition hall style
Since the Five Dynasties in China, woodcut prints have gradually become popular. Ordinary calligraphers who used to help people copy books faced with business crisis and were forced to switch to woodcut. In the Five Dynasties, there was a scholar named Li E, who wrote standard regular script, but changed it to woodcut because of his residence. According to Jin Lu, there were nine classic Confucian classics (still called Nine Classics) carved on wood at that time, which were written by Li E. The woodcuts in the Tang Dynasty were mainly symbols of Europe, Chu, Yan and Liu, with standard fonts and beautiful standards. It had a great influence at that time. The woodcut in Song Dynasty was reformed and innovated on the basis of the version in Tang Dynasty. There are two main printing methods for more standardized fonts. One is the "Song Style" evolved from Yan Style, and the other is the "Juzhen Style" evolved from Chu and Europe, which is called "Imitation Song Style". The formation and application of Erti laid a solid foundation for the birth of Pavilion.
The birth of pavilion style originated from the development of pavilion culture. In Song Dynasty, the poetry school was the first to make pavilion culture famous all over the world. Poetry in white style, popular in the poetry circles in the early 50 years of Song Dynasty, is popular in palaces around the palace, or offering peace to the monarch and ministers, or rewarding courtiers. Because most of the works are officials, they are rich in aristocratic flavor, occasionally orderly, fluent in antithesis, rich in content and gorgeous in style. History is called pavilion poetry. Its appearance prepared a name for the birth of the pavilion.
Since the Yuan Dynasty destroyed the Song Dynasty and entered the Central Plains, he has enjoyed the country for more than 90 years. In the early Yuan Dynasty, calligraphy was ignored, and Mongolian was the national character. However, after the national reunification, most people were ruled by the Han nationality, and the Mongols could not push them away. In order to stabilize the country and unite the people, the authorities still use all the laws and customs of the Han nationality. In the mid-Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Yingzong (famous for badra) and Emperor Wenzong (famous for Tu timur) liked China's calligraphy. Although their calligraphy has no achievements, it has a great influence on the development of calligraphy. In Yuan Dynasty, the requirements for writing were relatively broad, and the pavilion culture developed steadily without any breakthrough.
After the Ming Dynasty destroyed the Yuan Dynasty, the rule of the Han nationality resumed. In view of the surging peasant uprising at the end of Yuan Dynasty, the rulers took a series of measures in the field of culture and education in order to strengthen their control over the people. At the same time, the assessment of senior officials and ministers is extremely strict. Give it to a "court worker" at every turn. In addition to severe punishment and severe laws, the Ming Dynasty also strengthened the examination of officials, implemented the imperial examination system, and put spiritual shackles on scholars and officials, making them obedient and honestly serve the emperor. In the imperial examination, the examinee's paper of "Eight-part essay" is opened, and it is required to explain the connotation of Confucian "Four Books" according to Zhu's annotation, and be admitted according to a fixed model. Respondents should not be distorted, and the words on the answer sheet should be written properly according to the emperor's preferences, and there should be no carelessness. This requirement is the requirement of the pavilion, and this font is called the pavilion. In the Ming dynasty, the cabinet elite first promoted two brothers who were dedicated and loyal. The two brothers mainly used regular script, which was appreciated by the emperor at that time and won high positions and high salaries. Therefore, later scholars and bachelors followed suit, and regular script flourished at that time. Calligraphy, like "Eight-part essay", has become an essential skill in life and career, and it is also an essential tool for obtaining high-ranking officials.
The Qing dynasty was destroyed in the 1940s 17, and was overthrown by the revolution in 19 1 1. In 268, the Qing emperor was inherited by Manchu. After the national reunification, the management object was mainly Han nationality. The Qing royal family was afraid of the Han nationality uprising and rebellion, and strictly guarded against the Han nationality. It has repeatedly promoted the "literary inquisition" against Han literati and found various excuses to suppress it. Here is a very telling case. For example, during the reign of Yongzheng (the reign of Emperor Sejong of the Qing Dynasty), when the examiner put forward the eight-part essay proposition "Wei Minzhi", he said that the word "Wei" was less than the word "Yong" and the word "straight" was less than the word "Zheng", which was the beheading of Yongzheng, deliberately disobeying the Lord, immoral and sentenced. During the exam, everyone obediently wrote "eight-part essay" and "pavilion style" and dared not cross the line. Therefore, the calligraphy "pavilion style" in Qing dynasty is the most fashionable, not only for emperors and ministers, but also for the people. Scholars, bachelors and students all take "pavilion style" as a model and strive to remain unchanged. In the Qing dynasty, the calligraphy "pavilion style" has always occupied a dominant position. The Qing Dynasty implemented the imperial examination system. The highest exam is "Palace Examination", and those who pass the Palace Examination are "Jinshi". Jinshi is divided into three classes, called "A, B and A". First-and second-class bachelors are generally assigned to work in imperial academy, and those who enter imperial academy are called "Hanlin". If you don't write well in the pavilion, you can't get into imperial academy. Therefore, "pavilion style" is also called "courtyard style". Only when a bachelor of arts becomes an academician can he become a high-ranking official and return to his hometown. Therefore, in the Qing Dynasty, "pavilion-style" calligraphy was a ladder for students to get promoted and get rich, and those who could not write pavilion-style calligraphy were always the next generation. As a result, calligraphy in Qing dynasty was lifeless, circuitous for a long time, and there was no innovation and development.
From the emergence, formation and development of "pavilion style", we can see that "pavilion style" is a means and tool for emperors to stabilize people's hearts, society and rule. The formation of "pavilion style" has advantages and disadvantages. From ancient times to the present, there are different opinions and debates.
Third, the advantages and disadvantages of the exhibition hall style
Everything has advantages and disadvantages, and pavilion style is no exception. Its formation, development and application have both advantages and disadvantages for China's calligraphy. I think there are two main advantages:
The first is to standardize the standard of characters used in calligraphy official documents. We know that China's calligraphy is a cultural tool in history. At that time, everyone wrote and used it, whether official or folk, regular script or cursive script. As a result, China's calligraphy is mixed, and people urgently need a neat and beautiful writing standard. Pavilion style came into being. It selects fine works from calligraphers who are "beautiful in opening letters", makes them into specifications and promotes them in an all-round way. Mr. Zhong Shi went on to say: "From the perspective of respecting the law, it is an achievement to set standards, set requirements, teach and learn the law in an orderly way, and stipulate the requirements of art more strictly and reasonably. This achievement is conducive to laying a good foundation for calligraphy, standardizing the statutes and rules of writing, and inheriting and continuing the tradition of calligraphy, so we can't treat cabinet style lightly. It should be viewed from a historical perspective. "
The second is to realize the transformation from writing brush to printing industry. In the history of China, after the birth of Chinese characters, it has gone through a long process from knife carving to the invention of writing brush. After the brush is found, you can write on bamboo, wood, brocade, paper, leaves and so on. , changed the Oracle Bone Inscriptions can only be engraved on the Oracle bones in the past. The appearance of brush also provided the possibility for the creation of calligraphy, followed by official script, regular script, regular script, running script, cursive script and so on. In the history of China, after Qin and Han Dynasties, scholars began to create large-scale poems and poems. Because these literati are busy with creation and have no time to sort out and copy their own articles, many mediocre calligraphers have been born. These people live at the grassroots level and live a poor life. They write well and make a living by copying books and classics. They promoted the development of China's calligraphy. They are skillful craftsmen of folk art. They first discovered the beauty of Chinese characters and created them. With the passage of time, all kinds of books were eliminated and refreshed, paving the way for the birth of block printing industry.
I think the pavilion style has two main shortcomings:
First, it affected the all-round development of China's calligraphy. In the history of modern calligraphy, there are a lot of criticisms about pavilion style, even being degraded to nothing, which is the chief culprit that hinders and restricts the development and innovation of calligraphy art. I don't agree with this statement, but it is an indisputable fact that the Ming and Qing Dynasties emphasized pavilion style-regular script, which is harmful to the development of calligraphy in China. As we all know, in order to maintain their own rule, the rulers of Ming and Qing Dynasties forced the pavilion culture, and called on the whole people to learn, write and apply the pavilion style, which formed a national unity, resulting in a situation in which a hundred flowers blossom in the field of calligraphy, depriving people of their love for other calligraphy styles and affecting the overall inheritance of China's excellent culture. Without the influence of Ming and Qing Dynasties, China's calligraphy would be better today.
The second is to influence special talents to stand out. The imperial examinations in Ming and Qing dynasties adopted the standard of "taking officials by books". In the answer, "the beauty of writing is the first requirement. Candidates can move from ordinary people to official careers if their writing is standardized. During this period, many poor scholars became popular overnight because they met the requirements of "body". As Kang Youwei said: "The son of Dr. Ma has the ability to write books. Although he doesn't know ancient and modern times, he can accumulate wealth to get what he wants, and serve the elderly as a bachelor. He used to take books for ordinary people, but now he is also a stranger. "If you don't work hard, although you have the talent of Confucius and Mohism, you can't show the virtue of Zeng and Shi. How dare you ask Qing Xiang? Therefore, the winner ascends to heaven, and the loser falls to the ground. There are laws to follow for the reasons of losing, and honor and disgrace are combined. Not heavy! " (Kang Youwei's "Guang Yizhou Double Edition". From the above, we can see that Kang Youwei is dissatisfied and disgusted with taking officials by books, because he is one of the victims of taking officials by books.
Kang Youwei, the word length is plain, and the number is reborn. Xianfeng was born in Nanwan, Guangdong Province in eight years. He inherited Ruan Yuan's and Bao's theories and completed Guang Yi Tan (also known as Book Mirror). He was the most important expert in calligraphy theory in the late Qing Dynasty. His works are widely quoted, rich in content, rigorous and extensive. Throughout the history of China's calligraphy, he is a magnificent work. A talented writer like Kang Youwei didn't join the Hanlin Academy. It can be seen that the standard of "taking officials by books" in Ming and Qing Dynasties has delayed many talents!
The above is my view on the style of the exhibition hall, please correct me!