Gu Mo's Art View —— Reading Xu Wenchang's Ink Grapes —— Only those who are down and out can produce pearls.

"Half-life has become an old man, self-study whistling in the evening breeze, and the pearl at the bottom of the pen has nowhere to sell and is left in the wild vine." An old man who has been through many vicissitudes and unkempt is chanting. Just released from a cold, dark and humid prison yesterday, tonight, the villagers brought old wine that has been stored for more than ten years. Feel the enthusiasm of the villagers, experienced countless times of wind and frost, countless times of ideological suffering, without the madness of the past. He is weak and falters. In order to thank relatives and friends who came to visit, he spread a large piece of rice paper on the floor, holding wine in one hand and splashing ink in the other, writing casually and taking it with him. Leaves without veins, branches without branches, follow one's inclinations, ink grapes are not deliberate, just like nature.

"Ink Grape Map" seems bold and unrestrained in brushwork, but the picture also contains the careful management of Tianchi old man. A folded branch stretches out from the upper right corner of the picture, divides the picture into upper and lower parts, draws it below and has an inscription on it, forming an inscription poem that integrates poetry, painting and books. This is the first stage of composition. Curved branches move to the left and down, leading to branches and leaves, which is the stage of "inheritance" in Chinese painting composition; A large area of grape ink leaves, very lush, is the stage of "opening"; The lateral branches of the main branch are in the shape of "S" in the lower left corner, and the grapes in the lower right corner echo the inscriptions in the upper left corner to achieve balance and the picture should be unified. This is the final stage of the picture.

At the moment of writing, the villagers were full of praise and ecstatic, but the heart of Ivy was lonely, surging and sad. Looking at the water grape and his barefoot sandals, he never imagined that this painting was so precious today after more than 500 years. This is the greatness of an artist. Only a real artist with bone method can create immortal and meaningful masterpieces and treasures, and inherit and carry forward the excellent Chinese traditional culture.

April 26th, 1965 438+09

Li Meng writes for Gu Mo College in Changsha, Hunan.

(Li Meng, a native of Runan, Henan, now lives in Changsha. Vice President of Gu Mo College and Senior Tutor of calligraphy theory; Lecturer and doctor of Central South University of Forestry and Technology; Member of Hunan Calligraphers Association. He won the highest prize in the 6th Newcomer Exhibition in Hunan Province, the first prize in the 19th Calligraphy Exhibition in Tianxin District, and the first prize in the Calligraphy Competition of Tianxin District Commission for Discipline Inspection. His works have won many awards in national and provincial calligraphy competitions. )