When writing couplets, you can't just stamp them.
Talking about the development history of couplet calligraphy, Liu Yiwen said that the main period of its appearance and development was the Qing Dynasty. Because of the literary inquisition, many scholars who originally studied other fields turned to study writing and primary schools, and these people who originally studied writing gradually became interested in the beauty of writing itself. Couplets are unique in form and practical in decoration, and gradually become a favorite creative form of literati.
The origin of couplets can be traced back to "Fu Tao" used to exorcise ghosts in Qin and Han Dynasties. Bao Xianlun believes that from the literature, at least people in the Ming Taizu period wrote and posted couplets. Now there are some objects from the Ming Dynasty, but mainly from the Qing Dynasty. From Fu Tao to the development of couplets, we can also see that the folk factors carried by couplets are gradually refined by literati, and in this process, the practice of literati has played a great role.
The couplets look simple, but the creation requirements are very high. Liu Yiwen's interest in the creation of couplets began in 1970s. "At that time, the Workers' Cultural Palace held an exhibition for soliciting contributions, and I only wrote poems by Mao Zedong and Lu Xun. I'm going to write Chairman Mao's poem,' The tiger stands on the dragon's back and wins the past, turns the dry Kun upside down and is magnanimous'. I found that the following word was not well written, but I felt it was better than the first part, so I rewrote it repeatedly, finished all the papers at home, and specially went to Duoyunxuan to buy three pieces of rice paper to write, but I still felt dissatisfied in the end. After that, I decided to write couplets well. "
From then on, Liu Yiwen began to pay attention to how the calligraphers in Shanghai wrote couplets and how the old gentleman folded paper and used a pen. Liu Yiwen also revealed a trick of writing couplets: he went to Pan Xuegu's house to watch him write. At that time, the old gentlemen were not rich at home, and there were few cases of writing. Besides, in this case, they must eat and iron clothes, and they can't write until everything is finished. Because the case is small, every time Pan Xuegu writes a couplet, two pieces of paper are stacked and written. At that time, the case was not big, and he also borrowed from Mr. Pan's creative method. This habit has been preserved to this day. "This has an advantage. In the process of writing, you can consider the echo of the brushwork in the couplet. "
Liu Yiwen's works
In Bao Xianlun's view, writing couplets is the easiest way to learn the artistic creation of calligraphy. "There are many styles of couplets now, but I think the most convenient style for writing couplets is official script, that is, seal script, official script, official script, and cursive script is the most troublesome. Because the size and spacing of couplets are exquisite, the two sides are too good, and the right side is not good and awkward. In contrast, positive books are easier to grasp, but in positive cases, we should also explore the' boundary' and find a sense of movement in writing. "
Bao Xianlun's works
When it comes to the problems existing in today's couplet calligraphy, both calligraphers feel that the problem of "seal" is the most common. "When I participated in the national calligraphy selection activities, I often saw a work with a seal. For such a work, my heart is rejected. People who really understand will not do this. " Liu Yiwen told a story. Once, when he was at Xie's house, a guest came to visit with a painting and said that this man's work was very famous. Xie Tao: "Open it and have a look." Unexpectedly, he opened a corner of the painting, immediately rolled it up and told the guests that they could take it away. The guests are curious about the reason. Xie Tao: "How can you draw well if you can't use printing?" It can be seen that it is difficult to print seals. "I asked Mr. Xie how to seal it properly. He said it depends. The most taboo is to seal it when you have time. Just like playing chess, one player can get by, and the whole game will live. If you cover enough one, you won't want a second one. If there are enough to cover two or three, you can continue to cover the fourth and fifth. Improper cover ruined the picture. " Liu Yiwen said.
I can't write couplets, but prefer to write "good couplets" of the ancients.
Couplets moved from folk custom to study, and gradually expanded with the prosperity of calligraphy art. Liu Yiwen's and Bao Xianlun's couplet calligraphy belongs to the "literati character" with individuality, and their works have different pursuits and interests in composition, font modeling and even the selection of literary content. Liu Heng, the academic host of this dialogue, pointed out that the humanistic elegance contained in couplets should not be lost, which needs to be reflected by the author's cultural literacy. The complete appreciation of couplets can only be achieved by reading the calligraphy art of couplets together with the contents of literary characters.
However, the separation between "Wen" and "Shu" in couplets is very serious now. Bao Xianlun pointed out that the relationship between "Wen" and "Shu" involves the existing state of traditional calligraphy, although it is a desire to return to the state of "literature integration" to advocate calligraphers to write their own poems and make their own couplets. However, it is not easy to become an excellent article and poet. Many "self-composed poems" and "self-composed couplets" are full of mistakes and omissions, and their words are poor, which damages the original aesthetic feeling of calligraphy. "I think it is very good for calligraphers to learn to write poems, but unless they write really well, don't put pen to paper easily. In fact, it is better to make some ancient sentences and choose your favorite sentences to write, which not only reflects your own calligraphy characteristics, but also expresses your personal pursuit of interest. "
Liu Yiwen also thinks that it is really difficult to unify the form and content, and it is not taken for granted to "create my own couplets". "I can't do couplets, I would rather find a good couplet of the ancients. Some sentences in the Ming Dynasty are just like vernacular Chinese, so they are friendly and easy for everyone to understand. Like' sometimes I miss visitors, or I don't look at flowers at home', you can find your favorite sentence as long as you pay attention. "