The influence of Confucianism on the aesthetics of Chinese calligraphy is subtle. Its ideas run through the long river of calligraphy elements for more than three thousand years. It is an important bloodline and plays a role in it. It is a kind of latent aesthetics, that is, aesthetic potential and turning constraints. It is secretly reflected in the creation of calligraphy elements through its guidance on life, which also causes Chinese calligraphy elements to always take harmony with nature and harmonious society as the ultimate value. At the same time, Confucianism has become the regulator of the calligrapher's spirit, focusing on the calligrapher's revolutionary personality shaping. Confucian thought is built around "benevolence" and "virtue".
In order to realize the cultivation of "benevolence" and "morality" and achieve order and harmony, "the mean" must be used as the behavioral control standard. "Golden mean" is a kind of moderation and harmony, not going to extremes, it is the unity of content and form, "literary" and "quality" should complement each other, and then be gentle and gentle. The harmonious unity of "text" and "quality" is a criterion that cannot be neglected when evaluating works. Confucius put forward the view of "paying equal attention to literature and quality". He pointed out: "Quality is superior to literature, which leads to wildness; literature is superior to quality, which is history. Literature and quality are gentle, and then a gentleman." (The Analects of Confucius? Yong Ye). On the basis of the existing concepts of text and quality, Confucius proposed the harmonious unity of text and quality, and applied it to music appreciation. From Confucius' analysis of the music of "Shao" and "Wu", we can also clearly understand It can be seen that he made different evaluations based on the different text and quality of his works. The Doctrine of the Mean is the essence of Confucianism. In addition, the Doctrine of the Mean has also had an important impact on the spirit of Chinese classical art. Especially in the development process of calligraphy elements, the Doctrine of the Mean has been materialized into the pursuit of "the beauty of neutrality". From the Han and Wei dynasties From the Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, it has always played a hidden or explicit role. Chinese calligraphers of all dynasties have all followed this as a guideline and practiced the "golden mean" of calligraphy. ‘Medium’ means suitable, and ‘yong’ means doing things in a suitable way. And doing things in a suitable way can last for a long time, which is "good". ”
As a traditional culture, Zhang Xin believes that the “spirit of the mean” means grasping it in moderation, doing things in a moderate way, and striving to stay within a reasonable range. The elements of calligraphy are deeply influenced by Confucianism, which is mainly reflected in Two points. The first is that the idea of ??the beauty of neutrality has a profound influence on the formation and development of ancient Chinese calligraphy elements. Confucius said: "Tao is governed by government, and justice is punished, and the people are free from shame; Tao is governed by virtue, and justice is governed by etiquette." , shameless and dignified. "Confucius respected the rule of virtue, and its basic approach was the education of etiquette and music. In the rule of virtue, etiquette is a crucial category. In Confucius, etiquette generally refers to etiquette and etiquette. By studying Chinese calligraphy works and comments, we can see that The golden mean has always been the core content of his thought. The beauty of harmony has become the ultimate criterion for judging calligraphy. The second is the profound impact of the beauty of fullness on calligraphy. Mencius is one of the representative figures of Confucianism. The thought of "benevolence" developed into "benevolent government", and further put forward the people-oriented thought of "the people are valued and the monarch is despised". In terms of ethics, he advocated "nature is inherently good" and restored and expanded people's goodness through the implementation of benevolent government. Mencius believed that people should It has a kind of personality strength that no one can rely on, and a firm confidence to defend its beliefs, which is summarized into six aspects, including "goodness, faith, beauty, greatness, sage, and god". , There is no beauty without being complete or pure. Completeness is what Mencius calls "substantial beauty", which is "substantial". "Quality" means "removing the rough and extracting the essence", which injects "substantial beauty" into traditional Chinese calligraphy. "Momentum, spirit". This is mainly reflected in the vivid images and consistent characteristic momentum expressed in calligraphy works.
Momentum constitutes the sense of power and movement in calligraphy. Confucianism calls "enrichment" beauty. Calligraphy emphasizes the strength and elasticity of lines; Confucianism emphasizes "benevolence and filial piety", calligraphy emphasizes "calligraphy ethics", and the highest criterion for art is "morality and morality". The iron-clad spirit fully reflects the power of the prosperous Tang Dynasty and the upright character of Yan Zhenqing. Zhang Huaiguan of the Tang Dynasty's "On Writing" records that "the momentum comes from the stool, and the spirit comes from the sharp edge." "The standards of Confucian art must be in line with goodness, moderation, and harmony.