Appreciation of Dong Qichang's cursive script
Dong Qichang cursive calligraphy picture 1
Dong Qichang cursive calligraphy picture 2
Dong Qichang cursive calligraphy picture 3
Dong Qichang cursive calligraphy picture 4
Brief introduction of Dong Qichang's calligraphy
Dong Qichang (1555- 1636), whose real name is Xuanzai, was named as a Buddhist of Sibai and Xiangguang. Han nationality, from Huating, Songjiang (now Maqiao, Minhang District, Shanghai), was a painter and calligrapher in Ming Dynasty. In the seventeenth year of Wanli, Zhongjinshi was awarded editing by the Hanlin Academy. He became an official of Nanjing Ritual Department and died as "Wen Min".
Dong Qichang is good at painting mountains and rivers, learning from Dong Yuan, Huang and Ni Zan, and his brushwork is delicate and neutral, quiet and elegant; Clean and bright with ink fragrance, gentle and plain; Green, simple and generous. Zen Buddhism is a metaphor for painting and advocates the theory of "Southern and Northern Schools". He is an outstanding representative of "Huating Painting School" and has the beauty of "Yan Gu Zhao Zi". His painting and painting theory had a great influence on the painting world in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Calligraphy in and out of the Jin and Tang dynasties, sui generis, can make poetry.
His works handed down from generation to generation include Rock House Map, Eight Scenes in Autumn, Zhou Jintang Map, Pipa Trip by Bai Juyi, Imperial edict of the Third World, Poem Collection in cursive script, Postscript of Yanhe Stack Map, etc. He is the author of Essays on Painting Zen Rooms, Collected Works of Rong Tai, Notes on Xihongtang (Block Edition) and so on.
Dong Qichang's calligraphy absorbed the essence of ancient calligraphy, but it did not imitate it deliberately, and it had the beauty of "Yan Gu Zhao Zi".
Dong Qichang's calligraphy achievement is also very high. Dong's calligraphy attainments are the highest in cursive script, and he is also quite conceited about his regular script, especially small script. Although Dong Qichang was in the era when calligraphy was popular in Zhao Mengfu and Wen Zhiming, his calligraphy was not blindly influenced by these two calligraphy masters. His calligraphy combines the calligraphy styles of Jin, Tang, Song and Yuan, and forms its own system. His calligraphy style is elegant and ethereal, elegant and self-sufficient. The brush strokes are elegant and plain. Use a pen accurately, always keep a positive face, and rarely use a pen that is depressed and dull; In terms of composition, word for word, line for line, branch layout, density symmetry, and strive to catch up with the ancient law. Ink is also very particular, dry and wet, wonderful. Calligraphy in Dong Qichang can be said to be a masterpiece of ancient law. "Six types" and "Eight types" were all refined under his hand. At that time, it was "famous in foreign countries, lacking in volume, spreading among the people, and competing for beauty." ("Ming history? Biography of Wen Yuan). Until the middle of Qing Dynasty, Kangxi and Qianlong took Dong Shu as the patriarchal clan system and praised him. They even copied Dong's books themselves, often listed on the right side of the seat, and read them in the morning and evening. Kangxi once wrote a long postscript praising his ink: "Huating Dong Qichang's calligraphy is very different. Its elegance and roundness are popular between Chu and Mo, which is beyond the reach of many scholars. Every time you are not careful, you will be unique, such as a breeze blowing and Wei Yun winding, which is quite natural. Taste its structural fonts, all from the Jin people. Gai spent most of his life in Ge Tie, in Lanting, winning teaching, and he was able to move his wrist, but his pen rotation seemed clumsy. ? Yan Zhenqing, Su Shi and Mi Fei are all famous for their grandeur and preciseness, but they are all Jin people. Zhao Mengfu is the second largest king. Its prosperity and origin are integrated, so it is necessary to copy the ideas of various schools, and the spirit of beauty and embellishment is unique. Cursive scripts are also arranged vertically and horizontally, which I appreciate very much. Its use of ink is wonderful, and the shade is unique. "He copied the most, and every time he said that his natural posture and skill were excellent, and it was hard." It is said that Kangxi also wrote "Shu Dong" by himself, which made Shu Donghong popular for a while, and there was a craze for Manchu people to learn from Shu Dong. For a time, the pursuit of fame and fortune almost always took Shu Dong as a shortcut to official career. On the occasion of Kangxi and Yongzheng, his calligraphy had a far-reaching influence, which was unmatched by other calligraphers.
Dong Qichang didn't leave a book monograph, but his experiences and opinions in practice and research can be found in a large number of inscriptions and postscript. Dong Qichang has a famous saying: "Jin people's books take rhyme, Tang people's books take method, and Song people's books take meaning." This is the first time in history that calligraphy theorists defined the aesthetic orientation of calligraphy in Jin and Tang Dynasties with three concepts: rhyme, method and meaning. These viewpoints have played a good role in explaining and guiding people to understand and learn classical calligraphy. Dong Qichang was diligent in painting and calligraphy all his life and enjoyed a long life. Therefore, many works have been handed down, including Pipa Xing by Bai Juyi, Poems of Haicheng, Imperial edict of III, Poems in cursive script, Postscript of Jiang Yan's Piles, Poems Before and After Nikuanzan's Red Cliff, and so on.