The reason why calligraphy has gradually evolved from a practical writing activity to a special art form is that besides the unique structure of Chinese characters and the traditional tools and materials such as paper, ink and pen in China, an important condition is that the handwriting written after certain skill training can reflect the calligrapher's conscious aesthetic pursuit and temperament. And a person's personality characteristics and aesthetic orientation are the result of his living environment, experience, education and edification. In this sense, the style and value of calligraphy works are, in the final analysis, the embodiment of the author's spirit and personality.
Ma Shixiao began to learn calligraphy when he was young. Although it was only a "calligraphy practice" in primary education at that time, this experience undoubtedly laid the foundation for his later calligraphy practice and established confidence. Qian Qian studied calligraphy as a child and rarely became a calligrapher when he grew up. However, when every famous calligrapher recalls his artistic career, most of them trace the starting point back to the experience of learning calligraphy as a teenager. There is a simple reason. As a teenager, the experience of writing activities, the mastery of pen and ink effects, and the shaping and understanding of stippling glyphs have allowed their talents and abilities to be recognized and displayed, thus discovering their own strengths. When there is an opportunity in the future, childhood interests can develop into lifelong careers. Mr. Ma Shixiao is like this.
Ma Shixiao really studied calligraphy during the Cultural Revolution when his life was difficult and he was depressed. So for him, the art of calligraphy is really the only sustenance or expression of feelings and ideals. He chose cursive script as the main object, which is one of the most emotional books and can best express the author's temperament and mood changes. The cursive scripts of past dynasties are all combined with dramatic and changeable pen and ink images and personal unique life feelings, which confirm and reflect each other and form their own style. In this sense, Mr. Ma Shixiao's choice of cursive script is just right. He found the best sustenance and destination for his talent and his feelings.
Although the art of calligraphy developed from practical writing, it has formed a set of special rules and standards after entering a mature stage. This standard is gradually summarized and fixed through the practice and exploration of calligraphers from generation to generation. Therefore, in learning calligraphy, future generations should first train and master skills according to the standards of the previous generation, improve their appreciation level and rest and accumulate. The initial method and the mode of temporary learning have a decisive influence. Ma Shixiao began to write cursive script in Wang Duo, and later fell in love with Zhang Zhi's No.1 post in Ge Tie, from which he set foot in famous artists of past dynasties. At the same time, he was taught and edified by Lin Sanzhi, Sha Menghai and other older masters. It can be said that he took a correct artistic path and had a unique environment of teachers and friends, which laid a solid foundation for his success in calligraphy. In summing up his experience, Ma Shixiao said: "Nothing is more important to calligraphers than diving. Indulge in calligraphy classics and study hard. Go deep in diving, accumulate in diving and' melt' in diving. I firmly believe that persistent diving can make a person's artistic personality gradually strengthen, distinct, gradually develop and enrich, constantly surpass and improve, and write works that please oneself and entertain others. " Indeed, Mr. Ma Shixiao is quiet and steady, doing things quietly and quietly. His beautiful and wonderful cursive style is the result of his persistent hard practice and serious thinking for many years. Once accumulated in generate for a long time, it becomes a mighty torrent. The word "Shen Qian" that he extracted is not only a high summary of his calligraphy career and achievements, but also a golden lily dedicated to the later scholars in today's book world!
In the colorful calligraphy family, cursive script has a special position and significance. On the one hand, cursive script was first formed from the rapid writing of official script, which has its own set of special rules and technical requirements; On the other hand, cursive script gradually distanced itself from the standard fonts of social peers in the process of its own development and became a special art form. Therefore, cursive learners need to master the brushwork skills of cursive structure through special study and training, and then on the basis of skilled application, they can give full play to their personal temperament, so as to achieve the purpose of lyrical expression. Throughout Ma Shixiao's cursive achievements, it is in the above two aspects that he has reached a considerable height. Ma Shixiao's cursive script is based on the wild grass of Zhang Xu and Huai Su in Tang Dynasty. He used to tick off and erase the whole story of Huai Su, so as to get familiar with cursive calligraphy and brushwork. At the same time, he extensively dabbled in the works of famous cursive writers such as Huang Tingjian, Zhu Yunming and Wang Duo, and obtained information from many sources, which laid a solid foundation for the basic techniques of cursive writing. With regard to the beauty of cursive script, people always pay attention to the smooth breath of cursive script and the exotic interest that appears at will, thus producing the charm of the work. But to achieve this effect, you need to be proficient in cursive script and brushwork, and only when you are proficient in brushwork can you play it. After years of deep diving, Ma Shixiao has a deep understanding of cursive brushwork, not only mastering it skillfully, but also having a deep understanding and understanding of the value of brushwork. Starting with Wang Duo's cursive pen, he grasped the basic principles of quickness, continuity and fluency, and at the same time emphasized the change of strength and reality. Therefore, in his cursive script, stippling is not only continuous, scattered, round and dancing, but also different treatment methods such as stopping, square folding and intermission, which is not only good at strength, but also full of energy. The realization of this realm is rooted in his full attention to the use of pens, in-depth understanding and hard training. Since ancient times, calligraphers have mainly used brushwork, but not many people can really get its true meaning. People who have no purpose often indulge and entangle blindly, so they are called cursive scripts. The reason why Mr. Ma Shixiao's cursive script has been widely praised by contemporary book circles is that he not only paid full attention to and thought about the brushwork, which is the core of calligraphy, but also cultivated extraordinary skills, thus laying the foundation for his success.
Compared with other calligraphy styles, cursive script has its own structural system, namely cursive script. For everyone who learns cursive script, mastering cursive script is an essential lesson. More importantly, we should be able to improvise and shape the existing cursive script according to the specific needs in the writing process, and express the author's aesthetic pursuit through this play and shaping, which is the artistic value of cursive script. Mr. Ma Shixiao also showed his unique accomplishments in this respect.
Ma Shixiao's early cursive script was obviously influenced by Wang Duo, and it tended to be vertical in shape besides brushwork. With the continuous enrichment of its techniques and the gradual maturity of its style, it is more colorful and personalized in dealing with the changes of font style and grass method. In his mature works, the glyph posture is very rich, especially breaking through the traditional laws of founder and vertical length. Look at the horizontal diffusion and staggered swing, and the atmosphere is more turbulent and integrated. It can be seen that it is obvious to inherit and draw lessons from the styles of Huai Su and Zhang Xu, and it is more sincere and interesting like Chuanshan. Its novice strokes and strokes have both, and each glyph is no longer an independent symbol, but is connected with each other, looking forward to each other, reflecting each other, blending with each other, following one's inclinations without losing the rules, full of strangeness and integration. For every successful calligrapher, the law of word formation is the basic feature of everyone's style, just like people's facial expressions. It is through the clever grasp and play of the grass method that Mr. Ma Shixiao formed his own distinctive style and found his own artistic language.
Every era has its own general trend of calligraphy, and the representative painters of each era have their own new contributions to history and the times. In the past 30 years, the art of calligraphy has gradually developed from learning and imitating the ancients to the contemporary style, which is marked by the representative painters and their artistic styles that have a wide influence in various calligraphy styles. As a recognized master of cursive script in contemporary book circles, Ma Shixiao's practical exploration and achievements have also made irreplaceable contributions to the development of contemporary cursive script.
When it comes to Ma Shixiao's achievements and contributions in cursive art, we can't help but talk about his research and understanding of Chunhua Daguan Carved No.1 Post. Although there are still different views on the age and author's ownership of the champion Tie, its artistic value and position in the development history of cursive script are unanimously recognized by the calligraphy circle. Mr. Ma Shixiao's early cursive script was immersed in the works of Huai Su, Wang Duo and others. When he saw the champion post, he was immediately deeply attracted and impressed. The flying stippling, changeable glyphs and colorful overall momentum of Champion Post are typical and concrete interpretations of the spirit of Weeds. Facing this post, Mr. Ma Shixiao's understanding of cursive spirit has been greatly improved. He devoted his years of thinking and experience to the study of the top scholar's post, wrote and published the book "A Book by Zhang Zhi", and at the same time his cursive practice entered a new and higher realm.
A prominent feature of Ma Shixiao's mature cursive style is his understanding and grasp of the relationship between form and qi. Any book style is based on stippling and glyph, and the skills of stippling and glyph determine the level and quality of the work; But for excellent calligraphy works, we pay more attention to the competition of breath and style, especially for cursive script. Mr. Ma Shixiao has accumulated decades of skill and skill, and his profound understanding and thinking of cursive script has made him pay special attention to grasping and creating the overall atmosphere. In his works, both the length and the vertical axis of the novel can be taken care of as a whole. Although it is composed of one stroke and one word, it has gone beyond the traditional concepts of writing, qi and even composition, from the sudden succession of strokes, the opening and closing of glyphs, the echo between glyphs to the boring of pen and ink, and the alternating combination of various techniques, and finally formed a rich variety and rhythm. Therefore, its unique cursive style is heroic, brilliant and old-fashioned, and its pursuit of charm and spirit sets a standard reference for contemporary cursive art.
Ma Shixiao's calligraphy emphasizes brushwork, but dares to stick to one pattern. These specific skills, such as the wing of the center, lifting and pressing, are no longer a problem for him to use, and can be said to be arbitrary in application. Thick ink is used to get the spirit, dry ink is used to wipe the pen to see the rhyme, improvisation, each with its own miraculous effect. The knot echoes up and down, opening and closing left and right, especially the horizontal direction of the knot, which has been seen in Huai Su's cursive script, and Ma Shixiao has strengthened his play, often breaking the boundaries between words and lines and wandering around, showing extraordinary courage and self-confidence, thus forming a shocking effect.
Ma Shixiao has been diving for many years. In art, he is persistent in studying and transcends the ancients traditionally; In life, he is modest and low-key, and treats people sincerely. He devoted all his energy to calligraphy, and his style achievement is also a reflection of his life. In today's complicated book world, his artistic path and his success reflect his sincere pursuit of calligraphy, which transcends his works.