Su Dongpo can be called a wizard through the ages. On literature, he is the founder of bold and unconstrained ci, and his poetry level is very high. His articles are among the eight great poets in Tang and Song Dynasties. In painting, he first put forward the idea of emphasizing similarity, advocating that there is affection outside painting, painting should have sustenance, and opposing the idea of similarity and freehand brushwork. He is good at painting bamboo and is the founder of literati freehand brushwork. Proficient in food, left Dongpo meat for future generations; Good at fashion design, a tall Dongpo hat led the new trend of literati clothing at that time; Religiously, he explained that he endorsed divination, changed the mantra of Bodhisattva, and taught impoverished Taoist priests how to catch ghosts and give them to immortals who failed to show their spirits because of demotion. The imperial court changed the title, and Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism all passed. He is an encyclopedic figure.
Emperor Song Shenzong commented that Su Dongpo's talent surpassed that of Li Bai. He said: "White has the talent to be a poet, but he has no knowledge to be a poet." Emperor Song Xiaozong thought that Su Shi: "Being a hero and achieving your own family is glorious." I personally read his articles, personally read posthumous title Zhonggong, awarded him the rank of Taishi, awarded him the title of great official of Su Shi's grandson, and personally prefaced Su Dongpo's collected works. This kind of treatment can be compared with Wang Xizhi among literati.
Su Shi's calligraphy ranks first among Su Huangmi, Cai Song and other four writers! His Huangzhou Cold Food Post is known as the third running book in the world.
Huangzhou Cold Food Poetry Post presents a dynamic trend with ups and downs. Poetry is desolate and melancholy, and calligraphy is produced in this mood and situation. Throughout the ups and downs, rapid and steady, incisively and vividly, in one go. Su Shi put the changes of artistic conception and emotion in his poems in the changes of stippling lines, either before or after, changing and changing, breaking with the trend, and being natural. Its words are also strange, big or small, sparse or dense, light or heavy, wide or narrow, uneven, arbitrary and strange, and varied. No wonder Huang Tingjian bowed his head and sighed, "Dongpo's poems are like Li Taibai, but I'm afraid they are too white and everywhere. This book was also written by Yan, Yang and Li Xitai. Trying to get Dongpo to return to it may not be the case. " (Postscript of Huangzhou Cold Food Poetry)
Poems and Postscripts on Cold Food in Huangzhou
Dong Qichang also has a postscript praising Huangzhou's cold food poem, saying: "I have read more than 30 original volumes of Mr. Dongpo in my life, and I must take this as a view." Huangzhou Cold Food Poetry Post is a masterpiece of Su Shi's calligraphy works, which has a great influence in the history of calligraphy. Xian Yushu in Yuan Dynasty called it "the third running script in the world" after Wang Xizhi's Preface to Lanting and Yan Zhenqing's Sacrifice to His Nephew.
Original works of chibi fu
The original work of Su Shi's Red Cliff Fu is a masterpiece, and it is a regular script. His calligraphy is rich and beautiful. Dong Qichang spoke highly of it in Ming Dynasty, and thought that this volume of calligraphy was "full of positive front, which was the Lanting of Pugong". At the end of each wave, there are faint ink marks, such as millet beads. Ha ha! The world does not know that there is a brushwork, and the ink method is similar. "This is precisely because of his profound literary accomplishment and solid traditional foundation of calligraphy. There is a trend of flowing water, especially the ink is thick, flexible and not stagnant. It looks ok, but it is actually interesting, and it is not too much to be called the first in the Song Dynasty.
Su Shi's Letters and Notes
Dong ting chun se fu
Su Shi took the calligraphy of the two kings in Wei and Jin Dynasties in his early years, and learned the calligraphy of Yan Zhenqing and Yang Ningshi in his middle age. What makes Dongpo outstanding is that he can learn from the past, learn from the past, be brave and be good at innovation, and finally embark on the road of independent development. He learned from the ancients, who looked down on form and sought meaning. He clearly pointed out: "I can't make a meaningful book, so it's very troublesome to make a point." "It's not as good as Yoga Yu's intention at the beginning of the book", which he strongly calls a style of promoting books with intention. His pursuit of artistic style must be casual, "the clear water gives the hibiscus, and the carving is natural". Without carving, he reached a natural artistic realm, so his calligraphy was recommended by later generations as the first in Song Sijia.