Cai Xiang Cai Xiang, courtesy name Junmo. He was originally from Guangzhou, lived in Xianyou (now part of Fujian Province), and moved to Futian. He became a bachelor in Duanming Palace and knew Hangzhou. He was given the posthumous title Zhonghui. Gong Zheng, Xing, Cao, Li Shu, and can also fly white script. He tried to use loose brush to make cursive script, which is called "San Cao" or "Fei Cao". The world ranks Cai Xiang first in running script, second in small regular script, and third in cursive script.
In the history of calligraphy, when it comes to calligraphy in the Song Dynasty, there are four major calligraphers: Su, Huang, Mi and Cai. The four of them are considered to be typical representatives of the calligraphy style of the Song Dynasty. Among the "Four Song Schools", the first three refer to Su Shi (Dongpo), Huang Tingjian (Fu Weng) and Mi Fu (Xiangyang Manshi). From the perspective of calligraphy style, Su Wu is plump and innocent; Huang Tingjian is vertical and horizontal, high-spirited and hidden; Mi Fu is handsome, bold, calm and cheerful. They were all good at learning from the ancients and full of innovative spirit. Their calligraphy style was unique and highly praised by people at that time. They were listed among the four schools without any objection. Only "Cai", who is listed at the bottom of the four families, who exactly refers to it has always been controversial.
It is generally believed that the so-called Cai refers to Cai Xiang (Jun Mo). His calligraphy is based on the Jin and Tang Dynasties, and pays attention to ancient meanings and laws. Its regular script is dignified and calm, its running script is pure and graceful, and its cursive script uses the Feibai method, which is called "scattered grass". It is self-contained and very exquisite. Hong Renzong especially loved his calligraphy. He once "made the inscription on the stele of his uncle Yuan Dynasty, the King of Longxi, and ordered it to be written on it", and "had the calligraphy warmed up to become the stele of his father-in-law" ("History of Song Dynasty: Biography of Cai Xiang"). Cai Xiang's calligraphy art was also valued by literati at that time. Huang Tingjian once said: "Su Zimei and Cai Junmo are both heroes of calligraphy." ("Valley Collection") Ouyang Xiu said: "Junmo is alone in the world, but he is humble and refuses to lead an alliance." ( "Ouyang Wenzhong Gongji") Su Wu pointed out in "Dongpo Inscriptions and Postscripts": "Ducai Junmo is highly talented, has profound knowledge, has a good mind and hand, and has endless perversions, so he is the first in this dynasty." Since he is "the first in this dynasty." "One", since his calligraphy can "lead the alliance", then it is well deserved to be listed among the four. However, since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there has been another theory: judging from the order of the four families and the characteristics of the calligraphy style of the times, "Cai" originally referred to Cai Jing, but later generations disliked him as a person, so they replaced him with Cai Xiang. he. Zhang Chou, a connoisseur of calligraphy and painting in the Ming Dynasty, said in "Qinghe Painting and Calligraphy Boat": "Those who were called Su, Huang, Mi, and Cai in Song Dynasty books were also from Wei Jing. Later generations hated his behavior, so they went to the palace and went to Jun Mo Shu'er. Jun Mo was in front of Su and Huang, and should not be listed after Yuan Zhang. He is undoubtedly the capital of Beijing. Jun Mo, then the predecessors are upside down..." ("Calligraphy and Painting Postscript") An Shifeng's "Mo Lin Kuai Shi" further defended Cai Jing's injustice by saying that the title of his book was concealed, saying: Cai Bian is better than Cai Jing, and Cai Jing is better than Cai Xiang, "Today's Knowing that there is a ban but not knowing that there is another Cai, it is called luck and misfortune." "Su Huangmi, Cai Fei, and Cai Xiang" was also cited as an example of "human corruption" in "The Sequel to the Corruption Series" written by Hang Shijun of the Qing Dynasty. It can be seen that "Cai Jing's Theory" had great influence during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. To be fair, the proposal of "Cai Jing's theory" does have some truth. Cai Jing's calligraphy art is characterized by grace, boldness, joy and calmness. Compared with Cai Xiang, who preserved more "ancient methods", Cai Jing's calligraphy seems to be more innovative and better reflects the "Shangyi" calligraphy of the Song Dynasty. Aesthetic appeal. Therefore, he already enjoyed a high reputation at that time, and many people in the government and the public studied his calligraphy. The "Shu Shi Hui Yao" of the Yuan Tao Jiayi once quoted a commentator at the time as saying: "His writing is strict but not formal, and it is relaxed but not formal. The formal writing is like a gentleman with a crown and sword, discussing in the temple; the running writing is like a noble prince, high-spirited and high-spirited. The brilliance is striking; the large-character crown is the most popular today, and there are few couples." It reflects Cai Jing's status in the art of calligraphy at that time. Secondly, Cai Xiang's calligraphy was regarded as "the best in this dynasty" in the early Northern Song Dynasty. However, since the new style of Song Dynasty calligraphy was formed in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, people gradually criticized Cai Xiang's calligraphy. In "Dongpo's Inscriptions and Postscripts", Su Dongpo mentioned many times that "those who comment on Jun Mo's calligraphy in recent years have quite different opinions" and "I regard Jun Mo as the best in the world, but some commentators may not think so." Although Su Shi always insisted that Cai Xiang was the first, at least in the middle and late Northern Song Dynasty, people's evaluation of Cai Xiang was no longer so consistent. Thirdly, from the perspective of the ranking order, there is an obvious age order among the three families of Su, Huang and Mi. Cai Xiang was from Renzong's time and was the oldest. He was listed after Mi Fu who was under Zhezong and Huizong. There are indeed some doubts.
In this regard, those who insist on "Cai Xiang's theory" refute, arguing that although the theory of "Four Schools of Song Dynasty" has not been found in Song literature so far, Wang Cun, a survivor of the Southern Song Dynasty and a native of the Yuan Dynasty, has clearly put forward the theory of "Four Schools". In his ink ink "Postscript of Cai Xiang Tao River Stone Inscription", he said that Cai Xiang's calligraphy was "sparse and self-contained. It was one of the four calligraphers at that time." After tasting and commenting, Dongpo Hunhao has the strongest look, while Fu Weng is thin and hard. Through the mind, Xiangyang changes vertically and horizontally, but it is better to put the pen down. If you do it indifferently and hold the rope and ruler, even if you are free to look at the three schools, you will not rely on Zhongzheng." It can be seen that Wang Cun not only pointed out that there were four schools at that time, but also that the four schools were unmistakably Su, Huang, Mi, and Cai. In addition, in the history of calligraphy, Cai Xiang is famous for his comprehensive achievements in calligraphy. He is unique in regular script, running script and cursive script. He also abandoned calligraphy and contributed to the revitalization of calligraphy style. Therefore, overall, his achievements obviously surpass Cai Jing's. . As for the order of arrangement, Zhang Boju, a recent scholar, once pointed out in the article "Song Family Letters" that "the order should be Cai, Su, Mi, Huang, and the general reading is Su, Huang, Mi, Cai, with Yin and Yang going up to the sun, It becomes a habit." This shows that this arrangement is only formed by the smooth pronunciation and has nothing to do with the seniority of the four families. It seems that "Cai Jing's theory" is not nonsense, and "Cai Xiang's theory" is also reasonable and well-founded. Since Cai Jing is one of the "six thieves", it is difficult for people to accept him emotionally, so people tend to lean towards Cai Xiang's theory. However, the final conclusion on this issue seems to await confirmation from Song Dynasty documents.