Ritual, music, shooting, imperial, calligraphy and number are the traditional six arts of gentlemen, and they have been the most valued etiquette and talents of aristocratic families since the pre-Qin period. This "book" in the six arts of a gentleman refers to calligraphy. Ancient literati should not only look at the content, but also look at the level of calligraphy when writing articles. Good calligraphy can often go beyond the work itself.
There are many kinds of calligraphy in China, including regular script, running script and running script, but the most ornamental one must be cursive script. There is a small class in cursive script called Cao Zhang, which originated from Quyuan's Chu Huaiwang Constitution and official script. This is the simplest way of writing in China.
By the way, the font of calligraphy is different from the block letters we usually use, especially cursive, and many words are simplified characters. It can be said that many simplified characters we use today are inspired by cursive script, which is also the reason why many people can't understand when reading cursive script works.
Today, we are going to talk about Kang Sheng, a leading figure in modern Cao Zhang calligraphy. His Cao Zhang is a unique vein, which is called "leisure". Chen Shutong, editor of the Hanlin Academy in the late Qing Dynasty, bluntly said that there are four great calligraphers in contemporary China, namely: "Kang Sheng, Guo Moruo, Qi Yanming and Shen."
But as the four great calligraphers, Kang Sheng didn't respect Guo Moruo very much. He once bluntly said, "Is Guo Moruo also called calligraphy? I can write better with a stick! " Who is Guo Moruo? Kang Sheng is a famous poet, scholar, archaeologist and historian in modern times. He is crazy, but I have to say that Kang Sheng is indeed more elegant than Guo Moruo's calligraphy.
Xu Wei, a painter and calligrapher in the Ming Dynasty, once said, "A high book is not vulgar, but a vulgar eye is not high." Kang Sheng's calligraphy belongs to "Shu Gao". It's a pity that although he is tall, his character is not noble. It can be seen that those words such as "the book is like a man" and "the heart is correct and the pen is correct" cannot be believed completely, otherwise it will be praised as "the running script is like the son of a noble, full of enthusiasm and radiant; Cai Jing, which ranks first in the world in Chinese characters, rarely has horses, so it will not become a great traitor.
Kang Sheng not only writes cursive script well, but also has a unique skill, that is, he writes plum blossom seal script with both hands; Such stunts undoubtedly made him more conceited about his achievements, and he often signed "Kang Sheng's left hand" to show his ability.
Speaking of this inscription, Kang Sheng's inscription on his paintings is even more intriguing. The inscription he painted is generally "Lu Chishui". What is the solution to this signature? Qilu land, Shandong direction; Red is red, corresponding to white; Water drops will penetrate the stone, but water can break it. Isn't it insinuating that his paintings are better than Qi Baishi, a famous painter in China?
Kang Sheng sees Guo Moruo's calligraphy as an eyesore and Qi Baishi's paintings from the right. He did make some achievements in calligraphy, but he looked down on Qi Baishi's paintings. Why would he? His own paintings are equally excellent. Kang Sheng's paintings don't contain much ink, but they can outline the charm of objects through a few strokes. For example, in Mo Ju and Imitation of Eight Lotus, both the elegance of Mo Ju and the different postures of lotus flowers are vividly described.
After reading Kang Sheng's works, you will understand why some people sigh: "Although his people are useless, his words are immortal and his paintings are circulated."