In the past thirty years, Mr. Qi Gong has been hailed as one of the greatest calligraphers in the domestic art world. But he himself never called himself a "calligrapher", nor did he take "calligrapher" as a profession.
Qi Gong, born between 1912 and 2005, is a descendant of Aisin Gioro. He calls himself Qi Ming Gong, named Yuan Bai, and grew up in Beijing.
Qi Gong’s calligraphy "On Shu Quatrains" , around 1992
Middle-aged Qi Gong and the mentor who promoted him? Historian Chen Yuan
But on the other hand, I also insist that he told a lot of the truth. The biggest one is that he is indeed not considered a first-rate master in the history of calligraphy during the Republic of China and before, let alone a "master".
Mr. Qi Yuanbai later became a calligraphy and painting star of an era. But I personally have never been a big fan of his books. To be fair, his calligraphy achievements can only be said to be among the top masters of the contemporary era. At the highest level, they can only be called representatives of traditional literati calligraphers at this time.
Qi Gong’s paintings and his calligraphy inscriptions are obviously more effective
Mr. Qi Gong’s calligraphy is a typical literati calligraphy. I think that the study of calligraphy is not even inferior to that of Mr. Shen Yinmo. Mr. Shen's calligraphy has indeed been trying his best to get rid of Chen Duxiu's "sweet and vulgar" criticism throughout his life. The overall impression of Qi Gong's calligraphy is that of an uplifting young master, and also has the sentiment of an old-time scribe. At the same time, in terms of brushwork and structure, it is restrained and graceful on the outside but steely on the inside. It is thin, tall and straight, with clear bones, large and powerful, and can be stretched. There is no doubt that it is a first-class contemporary master.
However, to be frank, I think his book is still far behind the real masters in history. Even if we only measure the level of calligraphers of the Republic of China, such as Shen Zengzhi, Yu Youren, Sha Menghai, Lin Sanzhi and even Hu Xiaoshi, Mr. Qi Gong can only be said to be at an average level among them, not necessarily that outstanding. out. The fact that he later enjoyed such a high reputation had a lot to do with his late birth, long life, and high esteem.
If we use the standards of "masters" in the history of calligraphy, especially since the late Qing Dynasty, to measure Mr. Qi Gong, I think the most important shortcomings of his works are at least three.
I personally think that Wang Xianzhi's "Thirteen Lines of Luo Shen Fu" is the deepest source of Qi Gong's calligraphy.
Firstly, his calligraphy has long been criticized for its special structure. His name is "Qiti", and he seems to be in a line of his own, but looking at the underlying factors, I think he is just sticking to his roots, has no special initiative, lacks creativity, and inevitably falls into the threshold of his predecessors, and the spirit of his works is thin.
On the surface, Qigong was educated at home at an early age. He was deeply inspired by his aunt and grandfather's calligraphy, and he became a master of many schools. He himself used "first to imitate Zhao Dong and then Ouyang, later to Aicheng Xuanjing's body fragrance, and occasionally to break the nest and nail the wall to read. Others said that it seemed that Cheng Wang's poems came from the process of studying various schools, but his The style of calligraphy has not completely escaped the shadow of Wang Xianzhi's "Luo Shen Fu". Compare them with each other and you will understand.
Penglai Wangyingtai in Shandong Province inscribed a plaque to commemorate his achievements? There is a problem with Mr. Qi’s calligraphy if it is enlarged
Most of the art was originally based on the ancients, and then merged with the ancients and became me. In the end, the ancients died together with me, they began to reach the state of transformation, and finally they were called everyone. Mr. Qi Gong's calligraphy is scholarly, and he emphasizes that every stroke has no origin. As a result, he was contaminated with too many golden laws, adhered to the law, and entered a self-imposed prison.
For example, his "Qi Ti" has an ambiguous relationship with "Luo Shen Fu" and "Ling Fei Sutra", but his skills, structure, composition, calligraphy, etc. are far behind. For example, his brushwork and lines are not very good at management, which makes people feel the sameness. It is hard to avoid feeling that the words are too monotonous, and it feels like he is copying the book mechanically, which is difficult to arouse emotions.
Another amateur calligrapher Guo Moruo inscribed a plaque for Rongbaozhai in Liulichang
In comparison, I still prefer Shen Zengzhi, Wu Changshuo, Sha Menghai, Even the works of Xu Beihong, Huang Binhong and others can always give me a surprise inadvertently. This is truly everyone's handiwork.
Secondly, although Mr. Qi Gong’s calligraphy is famous for its elegance and elegance, careful examination reveals that his calligraphy is still too flat and the structure is too balanced in terms of calligraphy and other techniques. , the lines are too monotonous.
Qigong couplet, vertical scroll, paper
From this point of view, the biggest weakness of his calligraphy is that it is not broad and broad. In terms of technique, it is very original but stylized. It is intended to draw on the calmness of Tang steles such as Ouyang Xunliu Gongquan but is more rigid. It learns from the simplicity of Jin people but shows a simplistic trend that lacks connotation. Probably because of this, there are so many people studying his calligraphy nowadays, and it seems that most of them are similar to his calligraphy. There is even one person who has reached a certain level where it is difficult to tell the real from the fake. In the past few years, fake seals have been sold at auction houses.
To put it more harshly, Mr. Qi Gong’s calligraphy is indeed very precise, very subtle, and very refreshing, which is difficult for ordinary people to achieve, but due to the lack of variation, it is even a bit close to the style of the pavilion. . Especially in the later years, as the body gets older and the body weakens, even the unique spirit gradually loses its bone strength and becomes sluggish, which further shows its shortcomings.
Since ancient times, everyone in the calligraphy world has regarded their calligraphy as completely free from ingenuity, with a free, qualitative, and vast atmosphere. The rules are strict but the changes are unreasonable. Back then, Zhang Daqian was able to fake Shitao landscape and escape Huang Binhong. He has a discerning eye, but he never dares and cannot forge Wang Duo's calligraphy. This is also the secret. But when I read Mr. Qi Gong’s calligraphy myself, it’s hard to feel this way.
I have always felt that Mr. Qi Gong’s works have a small-minded spirit, which is enough to make him a famous scholar, but he cannot be called a great master.
Thirdly, in the final analysis, the calligraphy pen and ink must be mastered. Only by mastering various fonts can one become a master. But Mr. Qi Gong is simply a scholar in the study, and he does not concentrate on calligraphy. He is very lacking in this aspect.
Not only a writer, but also a scholar
In terms of calligraphy, Mr. Qi Gong mainly focuses on classical calligraphy. He is good at regular script and Xingkai script, with special emphasis on small characters. His layout is relatively cramped compared to any master in the past and present. Throughout his life, he has basically been a person who studied under the tradition of the Er Wang. He pays little attention to Wei stele and does not seem to have a deep understanding of facial expressions. In fact, most of his Tie studies are in small print. In addition, he is also a bachelor of letters in a study. His experiences were all mediocre, which inevitably resulted in his calligraphy practice and realm not being broad enough, and he stayed at the level of "occasionally expressing leisurely feelings" throughout his life.
For example, his small calligraphy, small running script and small regular script, and handwriting are indeed extremely precise, but that's all. His official and cursive styles are not ideal, and his large characters are not satisfactory enough. There are too many plaques with his inscription hanging in the society now, but just by looking at them, you can see where his weaknesses lie.
Qigong gave the inscriptions to the books published by Zhonghua Book Company? His handwriting was used for the inscriptions, and they were extremely appropriate and beautiful
Not to mention the lack of forcefulness in his handwriting, they were simply In terms of space, structure, strokes, etc., they are all very reluctant and appear to be very inadequate. It is not obvious just by looking at it, but if you compare it with contemporary calligraphers such as Sha Menghai and Guo Moruo, you can see the differences between them. This feeling of weakness is related to his self-limitation of only being good at one body.
Similarly, people who only value Wei stele often cannot write small characters as well as those who have studied the text in depth. But if you only run one business, you can hardly be called a master. From these aspects, I personally think that Mr. Qi Gong's calligraphy achievements are worthy of being called a contemporary master, but it is still a bit exaggerated to say that he is a master or master in the history of calligraphy.
Thus, let me say something that offends people. Many people today respect Mr. Qi Gong and want to promote him to the throne of master. I think it is an exaggerated praise and exaggeration. I remember a few years ago, when I read the magazine "Chinese Calligraphy", someone in it formally proposed the so-called "Qi Gong Calligraphy Study". It made a lot of noise, but it was still a bit boring.
In recent years after the death of Mr. Qi Gong, this trend seems to have become more and more intense.
Almost every year, the so-called "International Symposium on Qi Gong Calligraphy" is held with great fanfare, and the "Proceedings" are also printed locally. I once got two copies and found that they were full of flattery and blind praise, almost There is no fair and objective review text, which really makes people shake their heads.
The modern calligraphy culture has indeed languished. In the past, the scholar-bureaucrats in the Eastern Jin Dynasty had the Lanting Gathering-style spiritual communication. Nowadays, all that remains is the bustle of a group of long-robed men attending temple fairs. I think that Mr. Qi Gong, who has always been a man of disgrace to a gentleman, would have felt that these disciples and disciples were too filial if he were still alive.
And I always feel that the best way to commemorate and carry forward is to respect the predecessors, truthfully review the merits and demerits, and then hope to surpass the sages! To be a teacher with a high degree of education and a model with a high degree of morality? Enjoy your old age