When Shanting came into contact with the Chu seal script method, the first thing he faced was that the Chu seal script method was difficult to understand and the number of words was relatively small. Now the Chu seal script that can be seen is mostly found in bamboo slips and inscriptions, and the number of words is very small, which presupposes too many obstacles for creation and reference, and there are few forms of works for reference. Character recognition and reading is the first difficulty we face. Shanting first made great efforts to read and identify Chu books, read and study a large number of characters, sort and sort them out systematically, find out the structural characteristics of Chu calligraphy and the law of stroke movement, and write and re-create them with Chu books according to the Book Score. He has been sorting out Chu calligraphy for more than ten years. His friends urged him to publish the research as soon as possible. He is in no hurry. He believes that the classification is not in place and comprehensive, and the work must be done seriously. This is his principle. The deeper he studied, the more complicated he found Chu Ci, so he had to expand the scope of calligraphy research of Chu Ci, make a comparative study of the characters in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, find out the inheritance relationship of Chu Ci, and find out the rheological law. Therefore, Ma Xiao joked that Shanting is a "foreign language" expert who knows seven languages. Starting from Chu bamboo slips, it has been extended to the characters of various countries in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, even traced back to Oracle Bone Inscriptions, and extended to Qin bamboo slips, Han bamboo slips, tile-dangwen and clay seals, chasing the traces of ancient Chinese characters and looking for the formal skills and spiritual feelings of ancient Chinese characters. Shanting takes the complementary road of writing research and artistic creation. While doing in-depth research on the rules of Chu Ci, how to form its own unique calligraphy form on the basis of the existing calligraphy of Chu Ci is undoubtedly another difficulty.
The calligraphy form of Chu Shu is relatively simple, and all that can be seen now is written for practical purposes. There is nothing more to learn from except the special writing form of words. Shanting chose the path of Chu calligraphy creation, that is, chose a challenging artistic creation path. Because it is challenging, his chances of success may be higher. After a long period of reconstruction of Chu style, a long grasp of the characteristics of Chu style calligraphy, and the reference and utilization of other writing forms, Shanting's Chu style calligraphy creation is becoming more and more mature and free. In every seemingly ordinary work, he devoted a lot of research efforts to Chu Ci. On the other hand, reorganization and structure also make his calligraphy creation contain more originality. Although we can't fully understand his Chu seal script method, his works tell us the difficulty and rationality of Shanting's creation of Chu seal script, showing a rigorous attitude and surging with bold talents. The Chu book of Shanting is his most creative work, but he is not limited to the Chu book. Apart from Chu calligraphy, he also dabbled extensively and deeply in Cao Zhang, Cao Xing, Han Li and stone carvings, which is also the source of inspiration for his Chu calligraphy creation. Therefore, his path of calligraphy creation is open. More artists choose paranoid temperament in their artistic career. They are more lonely, more extreme, narrower and more difficult to integrate. This is the artist's personality and the artist's limitation. Calligraphers who can be called masters in ancient and modern times have extensive knowledge, extensive paranoia and extreme mastery, so we can judge whether calligraphers can achieve great things. Shan Ting's calligraphy creation is not limited to a narrow style and form, which makes the cornerstone of his calligraphy creation open and solid. In the calligraphy of Chu Ci in Shanting, there are cursive continuous and rapid strokes in the running script, subtle and simple words in Dazhuan, wild escape of bricks and tiles, and mellow Chu Ci in Dazhuan. The calligraphy of Chu bamboo slips in Shanting is more than just a face. In my opinion, one is a typical form that is more loyal to Chu seal. Chu Xi's unique exposed brushwork and straight line, almost no ups and downs and twists and turns, looks cold and straight, thin and neat. One is to add more decorative skills to Chu seal script, and add interesting collections and decorations at the turning point and the pen collection place. The pen is slow, vigorous and concise, which obviously implies the composition of calligraphy other than Chu seal, making Chu seal have many intriguing places. There is also a kind of Chu seal script, which brings in the strokes and shapes of seal script, and the lines are protected. Although the pavilion is often closed when collecting pens, it still plays a role in hiding and protecting. The lines of Chu seal script are mostly Jiao Mo and dry pen, which are rough and vigorous, and don't show people with fresh strength like the first two. Lao spicy and muddy became the main spiritual pillar, and even incorporated many cursive writing methods. Chu seal script is more of a kind. In the magnificence and flying of Chu calligraphy, the domineering and dignified spirit of Qin and Han dynasties is embedded, which makes the publicity of Chu calligraphy converge, increases its richness, meets the trend of contemporary art form supremacy, and adds many decorative and pure form changes to its own Chu calligraphy. Who says the same author has only one style? In front of a creative author, anything is possible.
Shanting's seal cutting is in the same strain as his Chu calligraphy. His seal cutting characters are mainly Chu calligraphy, but the seal cutting method is more Han printing, which follows the seal cutting method of Chu calligraphy in words, but it does not show its edge like most of his Chu calligraphy works. Shanting is very particular about knife skills. As a layman, the most brilliant thing is the knife method, the subtlety of the knife method and the form of seal cutting. Strengthened the taste of the stone in the fine carving, smooth and fluent, and the words are not wild and spotless. Although it is quite different in appearance, it is very similar in spirit to the vivid charm and settled dust of Chu calligraphy. The seal cutting of the mountain pavilion can be said to be an alternative in the contemporary era. He wisely jumped out of the creative method of contemporary seal cutting, which blindly pursued disorderly knives and waste pieces, and took it by surprise. The quiet interior has successfully carved out works with calm form and serene printing surface, which are not exaggerated, dominate the wild and remain dull for a long time. It is a work that has been carefully remembered and appreciated by people who have a deep understanding of seal cutting, and it is not suitable for today's hall display. It can be said that the seal cutting of Shanting has advanced to the extreme, and I often marvel at the patience and perseverance of Shanting's seal cutting creation. He chose Water Margin (108) and Sun Tzu's Art of War (Sun Tzu), and the complete seal cutting of Chu Ci is a big project for individuals. This kind of project can't be completed casually, nor can it be completed with enthusiasm. It needs great courage, tenacious perseverance, profound infatuation, long-term endurance, exquisite skills and lasting creative passion. What people say most about the seal cutting of Chu calligraphy in Shanting is that his works look too regular, too uniform, too many same strokes, a little single, thin and dull. As a friend for many years, I am familiar with Shanting's calligraphy and seal cutting. Objectively speaking, there are some obvious problems in Shanting calligraphy seal cutting, especially in Chu bamboo slips calligraphy seal cutting. Other people's comments are not completely unreasonable. If we have enough patience and the ability to analyze and compare Shanting's works, put aside prejudice and preconceptions and face the works calmly, we will appreciate Shanting's rigorous and deliberate creation of Chu calligraphy and seal cutting. Imagine, on the one hand, we should stick to the characteristics of Chu Ci, on the other hand, we should have independent thoughts and dance freely in the fence. In fact, this is also a difficult problem for all artists. After careful analysis, Shanting tries to treat the same strokes differently. In the arrangement of space, the ups and downs of brush strokes, the direction of lines, the length and thickness of lines, and the depth of contact between pen and paper are all painstaking, and that change is subtle. How to make Chu calligraphy richer and more ups and downs under such a single writing method is not a simple matter. Personally, I like richness and depth, but I prefer to praise purity, so do critics. I hate smooth people, I hate people who seem to know everything but are not precise and specific, and I prefer people who specialize in technology. But it is not single. In fact, Shanting has produced a lot of creativity in the creation of Chu calligraphy. If we compare the original works of Chu calligraphy, we can really feel the integrity and originality of Shanting Chu calligraphy works. It's just that we are so used to rough reading and visual stimulation that we can't calm down and feel rough. Of course, Shanting is fully capable of pushing Chu calligraphy to a more formal and substantial connotation, which will take time. Can you make some suggestions like this? Shanting can use the principle of modern art composition to manage the spatial structure of characters, manage more linearity and get rid of excessive dependence on the original form of Chu calligraphy. For example, changing the arrangement of multiple strokes in parallel or opposite directions, such as changing the shape of almost every word rolling into a circle, such as changing the physiological habit of writing strokes first and then pointing, such as changing the original state of contraction and curvature of words, such as changing the writing principle of the whole work. For example, the extreme movement of each word seriously weakens the continuity of momentum and is easy to be associated with deliberate arrangement and production. For example, the contraction of the middle palace makes the characters appear convergent and lonely in space vision. For example, lines that are too uniform and clean can easily give people a rigid visual experience. I think there is still considerable room for the reconstruction of Chu calligraphy.