Fan Hong [Writer, Painter, Art Critic]
“Poetry comes from character. [1]” The same is true for the art of calligraphy, where morality is evident. Traditional Chinese culture pays more attention to the cultivation of character than to knowledge. The art of calligraphy contains the cultivation of the author's thoughts and personality as well as cultural experience. The cultivation of knowledge and character is particularly important to the art of calligraphy.
The calligrapher Mr. Feng Zhifu has a noble character and profound knowledge. His calligraphy art is even more praised by everyone. He is a calligrapher with both virtue and art in the cultural and art circles of our country.
Henan is Yuzhou in the center of China's nine states. It is rich in resources and talented people. It is the birthplace of Central Plains culture and the most important source of culture for the Chinese nation. The Central Plains has profound cultural heritage, is vast and profound, and Chinese civilization was born in this vast land. The culture of the Central Plains played a vital role in the formation of Chinese culture, the inheritance of the national spirit, and the birth of Eastern civilization.
Feng Zhifu, courtesy name Yinting, was born in Xinxiang, Henan Province in 1944. He was influenced by traditional culture since childhood and loved literature and calligraphy art. He was born into a poor family. When he was a boy, due to his poor family, he could only collect, borrow and copy ancient and modern famous calligraphy texts. He became knowledgeable and learned the art of traditional calligraphy assiduously. For the pursuit of the art of calligraphy, Feng Zhifu had to put in many times the hard work of ordinary people. He had learned countless ancient and modern calligraphy texts, so many that even he could not remember them all. At that time, he worked hard for a living but did not dare to spend the little change he had. The desire for books, the pursuit of knowledge and the intolerable torture of hunger often become contradictory. Therefore, going to friends' houses to borrow or exchange copybooks and going home to copy and study became his top priority most of the time. Some books require staying up all night to copy them, and they have to be returned home as soon as possible the next day. He once worked in a factory laboratory doing spectral analysis and studied calligraphy in his spare time. Later, he was transferred to the Xinxiang City Mass Art Museum to do professional calligraphy tutoring. He is very happy to have come through the difficult years of those years. It is the special experience in his youth that makes him cherish everything now and be satisfied with the good life today.
Calligraphy is the art of a lonely person, and one needs to be able to endure loneliness. A fierce battle in the vanity fair will not make one a true artist. Feng Zhifu pursues art for the sake of culture and art for the sake of art, without worrying about gains and losses of money, fame, and material wealth. In today's calligraphy world, craftsmen's artificiality, mechanical reproduction, absurdity, and deceit are prevalent. The art of calligraphy has become an arena for fame and fortune, deviating from the origin of art. Facing the increasingly noisy and impetuous modern calligraphy world, Feng Zhifu, with a sense of responsibility for culture, was different from the times and was willing to be lonely. He stayed away from the chaotic and noisy core of the calligraphy world, hid in a simple study, and devoted himself to studying the art of traditional calligraphy. , comprehend the connotation of traditional culture, continuously innovate on the basis of tradition, and inherit and carry forward the traditional national culture.
Money is a means to achieve a goal in life, not an end. For most calligraphers, winning awards and making money are naturally very exciting things, but this may not be the original intention of learning the art of calligraphy. In some cases, the abundance of material life cannot bring spiritual happiness. The highest enjoyment of cultural workers is the happiness of the spiritual level. The highest state of calligraphy art lies in the pursuit of the spiritual level, rather than monetary and material enjoyment.
The anxiety shown by Mo Yan’s Nobel Prize is the concern of Chinese intellectuals about the suffering of the people, cultural responsibility and the future of the nation, rather than the pursuit of material and reputation.
Feng Zhifu is elegant in manner, courteous and humble. Although he is not good at talking, his broad and open mind, profound and wise knowledge and thoughts will always infect your emotions. His healthy and progressive outlook on life and values, his indifferent and detached attitude towards material desires and fame, his care for the weak, and his contemplation of culture will inadvertently affect your life path and artistic orientation.
The art of calligraphy is a high-level summary of Chinese characters, an art of the soul and culture, and a perceptual expression and natural expression of thoughts and spiritual realms. If those who practice Chinese calligraphy do not have a broad mind, profound knowledge, and a diligent and serious academic attitude, it may be difficult to achieve positive results.
Feng Zhifu inherited the excellence of traditional culture, emphasized virtue and art, and focused on the practice of basic skills and the inner cultivation of literature, history, and philosophy. He has extensively dabbled in literature, history, poetry, painting, drama, etc., and has accumulated a solid foundation in Chinese studies over a long period of time. In his spare time, he can occasionally go on stage to sing a few voices in Henan Opera and Peking Opera, and he seems to have a very professional level of opera.
The art of calligraphy originates from nature and should transcend nature. Monk Shi Tao said: "Before the ancients legislated, they did not know what the ancient laws were. After the ancients enacted the law, they did not allow modern people to follow the ancient laws. For thousands of years, modern people have not been able to get ahead. Learn from the traces of the ancients, It's a shame that he can't stand out without following the spirit of the ancients. [2] "Books certainly have laws, but they are stuck in the rules and are not adapted to the past. They only know that they are addicted to the ancients' procedures and follow each other, which is a certain family. A slave, this is also the "ability" that many "calligraphers" are often complacent and proud of.
Art focuses on innovation, and innovation is the further development based on tradition. The art of calligraphy needs to show individuality, express one's own spirit, come up with original ideas, and write one's own style. Due to the shocking, classic and normative nature of the works of art created by the predecessors to future generations, coupled with human nature's blind worship of the predecessors and devaluation of current and future generations, everyone is accustomed to strictly abide by the rules of the predecessors, follow suit, and stick to the rules. , refuses innovation, lacks personality and creativity, and binds the author's hands and feet. In a sense, Wang Xizhi and his son "kidnapped" Chinese calligraphy, thus making the art of Chinese calligraphy "two kings in every family, and everyone practices it", which is the same for every person, shackles the creativity of many calligraphers.
“Good works of art are not imitated, but created...Artistic innovation is always developed from old art. [3]” Profound literary accomplishment, rich Life experience, a healthy outlook on life, and profound philosophical thoughts are all necessary conditions for writing good calligraphy art. Feng Zhifu is good at thinking, has a unique eye for the art of calligraphy, and has outstanding insights. His creative attitude is serious and rigorous, focusing on academic, artistic and spiritual pursuits. His works always present a positive and healthy mental state, calm and confident, full of vitality, showing the author's good creative mentality and thoughts and feelings. He is down-to-earth, does not seek fame, and does not pursue popular calligraphy styles. He has been persevering for decades, based on tradition, and determined to innovate.
Traditional culture is the inheritance of the national spirit. Although Chinese calligraphy art seems to have only a few simple lines, it carries thousands of years of Chinese cultural history. Feng Zhifu believes that learning calligraphy must first be based on tradition, constantly absorb the essence of traditional culture, retain the essence and eliminate the waste, and cultivate the brush and ink. He examines calligraphy from a cultural perspective, draws nourishment from ancient inscriptions on inscriptions, masters and sages, and enriches and improves himself. In his long-term artistic practice, he gradually mastered the pen and ink language that suits his cultural temperament, and formed a unique calligraphy art style that is both profound in traditional skills and different from mainstream popular calligraphy styles. His calligraphy has the charm, beauty, elegance and unrestrainedness of calligraphy, as well as the profoundness, simplicity and depth of stele study. In particular, hard work has been put into the penetration and combination of different fonts and brushwork. Personality and tradition are integrated, and the flavor of the times is strong. His calligraphy is never arrogant or sensational, but relies on technique to support Taoism, creates a state of mind based on his heart, and pursues the inner beauty of subtlety, stability, and moderation. He is good at using the advantages of different fonts. He does not adhere to fixed rules, but draws on, infiltrates, and complements the brushwork of various styles to perfectly combine them in his own works. It seems to be illegal, but everything is within the rules. Zhuangzi said: "There is no limit to indifference, and all the beauty follows from it." Reading Feng Zhifu's calligraphy makes people feel the essence of the traditional national culture, and realize the simplicity and implicit inner beauty of traditional culture.
"The most important thing in an article is calmness and joyfulness. [4]" Feng Zhifu's calligraphy has a broad approach and is good at all styles. His official script is gentle and elegant, simple and natural, calm and joyful, and is completely in tune with God's will. He never obsessed mechanically and one-sidedly with the neatness of the techniques, and was fettered by the rules and regulations of the ancients. He believes that when creating official script, "the structure must not be uniform, like an operator." The structure of his official script is flat and square, adapting to local conditions, adapting to changes, and using the virtual and actual density flexibly.
Chinese calligraphy art is not just simple lines, nor is it an art of money. The art of calligraphy should be endowed with thoughts, feelings, and cultural connotations, and it should write the spirit of national culture. The art of calligraphy is a condensed cultural symbol and a flowing spiritual home. The art of calligraphy must have an elegant style and noble sentiments, and be able to lead the people's spiritual realm.
"Simple, but no one in the world can compete with it for beauty.[8]"
"If the foundation is solid, the flowers will flourish. If the source is deep, the glory will be great.[ Nine]"
Extremely gorgeous, return to dullness. I wish Mr. Feng Zhifu always maintain his artistic youth!
[1]: Qing Dynasty. Liu Xizai's words
[2]: Qing Dynasty. Shi Tao's "Poems and Postscripts on Paintings by Da Dizi"
[3]: United States . Emerson's "On Success"
[4]: Qing Dynasty. Zheng Banqiao's Language
[5]: Tang Dynasty. Yu Shinan's "On the Essence of Writing"
[ Six]: See "A Collection of Works by Famous Contemporary Calligraphers—Feng Zhifu"
[Seven]: Warring States Period. Mencius' Language
[Eight]: Warring States Period. Zhuangzi's Language
[9]: Ming Dynasty. Zhang Juzheng's "Studying in Hanlin Academy"
2012, 11, 17