First, politically. As a privileged class, the Jiupin Zheng Zhi system and the door-to-door politics have provided superior conditions for aristocratic families to engage in cultural activities. Among them, there are many knowledgeable scholars, covering books, paintings, literature, history and other fields ... because they are in the leisure class, they have enough time, energy and material foundation to concentrate on their studies, and many of them have succeeded. Mr. Mao Hanguang once pointed out that China attaches great importance to six social values: filial piety, literary talent, etiquette, appearance, etiquette, coping with speech and art, among which calligraphy is the most important category. [7] And Mr. Gong Pengcheng also thinks: "Calligraphy, in the Han, Wei, Southern and Northern Dynasties, was a new art category and the highest art at that time." [8] In ancient China, especially in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the scribes were respected by the society. If a person wants to rank among celebrities, he must have talents in poetry, calligraphy, piano, painting and chess, and become an important part of the spiritual life of literati, especially gentry. With the rise of metaphysics, literati's accomplishment and talent in literature and art are directly related to their status among popular people and things at that time, and then affect his official career, family reputation and so on. So it is not surprising that calligraphy is widely valued. During this period, although the aristocratic families dominated the situation and seized China's political power [9], their weakening of imperial power objectively weakened their political control over academics and art, and suppressed the emergence of "respecting others". In addition, their own attention to calligraphy undoubtedly provides conditions for the free development of calligraphy art.
Second, from the perspective of social atmosphere. There is a saying in the calligraphy culture of the Six Dynasties:
Liu Song Zhu Yi, shooting literature and history, juggling and acrobatics, playing games and calculating books, each has his own strengths. Shen Yue joked: "You are young, why not cheap?" Zhu Yi didn't understand Shen Yue. Shen Yue said: "There is only a literary chess score in the world. It's not cheap to go for a while." [10] Liu Yue: "There is nothing in the world, and scholars take literature and meaning as their profession." Zong Bing has always had a high moral integrity, and he also came to learn from the teacher in the evening, but Zong Yi was arrogant and martial, and was not praised by the villagers. [1 1] There was another person named Zhang Xintai at that time. He is not interested in military affairs and likes "official books". He reads books of various schools of thought. When he was a teenager, he went to visit Chu Yan Hui, the official department minister at that time. ChuYan asked his riding and shooting skills. Zhang Xintai replied that he was timid, afraid of horses and could not bow and shoot arrows. Hearing this, Yan Hui was very surprised. [12] It can be seen that it is not an individual phenomenon to respect literature over martial arts. Yan Zhitui, who has experienced many dynasties and troubled times, knows the importance of force. He warned the younger generation that the former dynasty attached importance to force and used it as a criterion for selecting and employing people. But, he added, even so, I don't want you to ride a horse to hunt. He thinks that "Confucian scholars in the south of the Yangtze River are not used to it" (Yan Jiaxun's Essays). It is undoubtedly based on the example of the southern gentry. He also warned his family that even the royal family for thousands of years should engage in farming and raising horses if they were not familiar with written records. In this way, if you can have hundreds of books all the time, you won't be a villain for thousands of years (Mianxue Chapter of Yan Family Instructions), from which we can see that Yan Zhitui pays more attention to the cultural and artistic accomplishment of the family.
As can be seen from the above materials, from the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the Southern and Northern Dynasties, although the times were more frequent, the world style was inherited in many places, and the social atmosphere of advocating literature and art remained unchanged. Because of this, a large number of calligraphers in the upper class appeared. At the same time, in order to enter the upper class, civilians also pay attention to the cultivation of literature and art. A person must have some talents in order to be recognized by the society, and good books are often one of the most indispensable talents. Quotations from Calligraphy and Culture in Six Dynasties;
Wang Sengqian's son Wang Binshan is as famous as his brother Wang Zhi. At that time, people praised him as "three truths and six grasses, which are treasures on earth". Contemporary Liu Ling, who read widely and devoted himself to seal script, was handsome and won the favor of Rong Zhi. [13] ... This is the case in the south, and the north is no exception. Pei Jingxian of Hedong has a gentle temperament and has never been eclipsed by others. He works in Cao Li, performing five-character songs. He is good at timing and has a high reputation. The younger generation admires him. [ 14]
It can be seen that calligraphy has become an important part of the quality and cultivation recognized by the society in both the south and the north.
Third, in terms of people's understanding of art, it has been called the beginning of human consciousness and artistic consciousness since the Han and Wei Dynasties. Wei Jin people began to study the value of life, paying attention to the beauty of form and spirit and the beauty of form and quality. The beauty of form and spirit refers to people's appearance and demeanor, while the beauty of form and spirit refers to people's cultural quality and moral cultivation, which are all qualities that a scholar should have and are also the indispensable basic expression of gentry identity. Cai Yong, a calligrapher in the Eastern Han Dynasty, put forward the famous conclusion that "a calligrapher is scattered" in On Pen [15], and discussed the artistic essence of lyricism in calligraphy and the mental state that a calligrapher should have when creating. Then it discusses that calligraphy works should adopt the method of expressing all kinds of vivid and beautiful images in nature, and emphasizes that calligraphy art should emphasize the beauty of images. In another article "Nine Potential", he first proposed that "books come from nature, stand naturally, and are born of yin and yang; The important thought [16] of "Yin and Yang are born, and the potential emerges" reveals the philosophical basis of the beauty of calligraphy and expounds the aesthetic factors contained in the structure of Chinese characters. At this point, calligraphy gradually entered the art era. Therefore, with the continuous improvement of people's aesthetic concept, calligraphy, as an art form, has the strongest foundation for its development-public recognition.
Fourth, from the influence of religious culture on calligraphy. Buddhism was introduced into China in the late Western Han Dynasty, and reached its peak in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. In the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the development of Buddhism reached an unprecedented scale. Whether in the north or the south, the number of temples and monks and nuns is almost unimaginable. Taoism came into being in the Eastern Han Dynasty and spread all over the world in the Jin Dynasty. Because Taoism is idolatry in a sense, it is inevitable to develop and build temples, so in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it can be said that temples were everywhere. As we all know, general religions have the need to expound the classics on which their teachings are based, and Taoism and Buddhism are not excluded. Let's start with Taoism. Before the invention of printing, Taoist propaganda was not only spread orally, but also copied by pen and ink. Copying Taoist scriptures is considered as an act of accumulating public morality. The Taoist classic "Cloud Seven Signs" (Volume 380) and "Good Words and Careful Actions" say: "It is wise and knowledgeable to advise you to write the scriptures." In addition, "exquisite writing. Paper and ink are shining, tapestries are decorated, incense is burned and worshipped, and it is incredible to be robbed forever. " [17] So copying classics is strongly advocated by Taoism. However, Taoist scriptures are the image of saints, the basis for all beings to realize Taoism, and the path of "reaching Taoism". Scriptures can enable them to surpass the five turbid waters and wait for six degrees of shore all their lives. So copying classics is a very serious matter. Not only does the environment of copying classics require quietness, but also people who copy classics can write. The Taoist classic [18] once said that if calligraphy is too slow and unclear to copy classics, the rich can hire people with gold and silk, and the poor can sell their labor and ask people to help copy classics. Therefore, it has become a trend to hire people who are good at copying classics. With the spread and influence of Taoism, the demand for copying classics is increasing, so that more and more people are engaged in copying classics, and the art of calligraphy has also expanded its influence. The spread of Buddhism, like Taoism, also requires a large number of people with good books to copy Buddhist scriptures to meet the needs of society. As far as the number of Buddhist temples is concerned, "in the Eastern Jin Dynasty 140 years, the number of temples 1768 was luxurious", while "from Song Dynasty to Liang Dynasty, algebra increased. There are 2,846 temples in the Liang River, but there are more than 700 in the summer "[19]. "The number of Buddhist temples in the Northern Wei Dynasty also reached 3,000, nearly 4,000. These are big temples. As for private Lan Ruo, there are countless more. " [20] And many temples need to read Buddhist scriptures. In this context, it is not surprising that a large number of people are good at reading. In addition, the influence of Buddhism on calligraphy is also different from that of Taoism, because the two national movements of Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty and Emperor Wudi of the Northern Zhou Dynasty have caused great damage to Buddhist books, scriptures, temples and Buddha statues. In Daoxuan's Biography of the Continued Monk, it is recorded that the monk Hui Si said, "My Buddha should be extinct soon. Where can I avoid this difficulty? " [2 1] "This shows that in order to prevent being robbed again and make Buddhism last forever, there has been a corresponding movement to protect Buddhism. So the Book of Songs came into being. It can be said that the demise of Buddhism objectively stimulated the new combination of calligraphy and Buddhism, making Buddhist calligraphy no longer just a handwritten book on paper, but out of the room and towards a natural and solemn ontology. As the saying goes, "the development of art is mostly influenced by religion, and the spread of religion also depends on art". [22]
Fifth, from the relationship between the rise of cold people and calligraphy. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, while the gentry mastered the state power, the civilians with relatively humble origins also rose quietly, which was most obvious in the Southern Dynasties. Because calligraphy represents its facade, people attach great importance to it. Among the lucky people in the Southern Dynasties, there are many examples of answering questions for the emperor's signature. In the book Calligraphy and Culture in the Six Dynasties, there is such a description:
When he was in charge, "Monk Ji really learned the following words, even the sparse words of Monk Xie. He paid him money, looked at it, and smiled and said,' I can't stay any longer' and' Monk Ji is really the most favored among the public'. There are many reasons for this, such as being good at improvising,' being graceful and graceful'. Monk Ji's first appreciation was in Huaiyin, where he "took idle books as the topic to make his answers sparse", so he "joined the army and served as the main book from the cold official calendar to the Taizu Zhuangyuan mansion". [23]
It can be seen that without this specialty, he has no chance of promotion. There was a similar situation in the Northern Dynasties. Mr. Wang said: "Master Lu can't write, and calligraphers can write for him" [24]. So cold people can serve around, and then their status will be improved. However, there are also many examples that those who have no family background set foot on the official career in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties just because of "good books". Therefore, calligraphy has become a stepping stone to the career of the middle and lower classes, and many poor people study hard. Therefore, the art of calligraphy gradually spread among the people, and the social foundation of calligraphy gradually expanded.
Sixth, from the perspective of social conditions. Sociology of art holds that "social conditions provide opportunities for artistic creation, which cannot be the inevitable reason." Opportunities and social conditions are organically linked. Social phenomena and artistic phenomena overlap, but this cannot explain their causal relationship. " [25] Indeed, such brilliant calligraphy achievements still occurred in the depression and chaos of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, which is a good illustration. However, this does not mean that there is no absolute causal relationship between art and social conditions, especially the development of material conditions directly related to the development of art, because the development of material conditions can enrich artistic expression techniques and thus broaden the field of artistic expression. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, various material elements closely related to the development of calligraphy were gradually enriched, among which Four Treasures of the Study's exquisite production and wide application in calligraphy were a very important joint point in the development of calligraphy. Without this material foundation, calligraphy can't develop greatly. Wei and Jin dynasties inherited the pen-making technology of Han dynasty, and many calligraphers have their own opinions on pen-making, and even made their own pens. In Wang Xizhi's letters, he once talked about the requirements for pens. He said: "when you return to Jun, you will get a lot from Zeus." And the evil pen does not mean anything. " [26] The diversity of paper varieties in this period also provided sufficient space for the performance of calligraphy. Calligraphy and Culture in the Six Dynasties lists many kinds of paper, such as hemp paper, fish egg paper, purple paper, cocoon paper, honey paper, Liuhe paper, edge paper, rattan paper, Zhang Yong paper, yellow paper in the Southern Dynasties, peach paper and so on. The extensive use of paper provided good external conditions for the development of calligraphy in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, which not only facilitated the spread, but also promoted the production of calligraphy works in the true sense, because the multi-faceted performance of paper contributed to the process of calligraphy artistry. At the same time, the application of paper in calligraphy also makes the exchange and collection of calligraphy much easier, which is of great significance to the spread and inheritance of the whole calligraphy style.
Seventh, the demand from society. When it comes to the development of calligraphy, we have to mention the emergence of various fonts one after another. Obviously, calligraphy is a very practical thing, and its survival and development are controlled by social needs. Without practical writing, there would be no calligraphy. Calligraphy, as an art, appeared only after the appearance of practical calligraphy. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, few works were divorced from practicality, purely for appreciation. With the consciousness of art, calligraphy began to have its own value, slowly separated from philology and became an art with independent aesthetic value. This aesthetic value has different connotations with the development of calligraphy. The development of calligraphy art is accompanied by the evolution of calligraphy style, which is influenced and restricted by society besides the development of calligraphy itself with the development of the times. If different fonts are sorted according to the time when they appear, they generally follow the development law from complex to simple and from complex to simple. The emergence of this situation is largely for the sake of speed, and it is also an inevitable requirement for calligraphy as a tool to keep pace with the times. This is the case with the cursive script that appeared in the Han Dynasty. Cai Yong said: "In the past Qin Dynasty, governors fought for a long time. According to legend, I hope to go to the post ahead. Because the official seal is difficult to seal, I can't save the speed, so I wrote a book in a hurry and covered today's cursive script. " [27] During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, there were not many practical occasions of ancient fonts represented by seal script, and they were replaced by cursive scripts. Therefore, Li Simiao, a calligraphist in the Tang Dynasty, said: "Insect seal is the home of primary schools; Cao Liren, the scholar is still there. " [28] The ancient seal script has lost its practical value with the development of time, and finally it can only play a role in the decoration of the palace, which is more obvious in the Northern Dynasties. At that time, the ancient seal script became the book of the court title list. After the Northern Wei Dynasty moved the capital to Luoyang, the official script gradually replaced the ancient seal script. "Notes on Water Classics" says: "Most of the inscriptions on Luoyang Palace Gate are Da Zhuan. When the emperor moved to Los Angeles, he ordered China calligrapher Shen to write official script. In the south at this time, calligraphy became a tool to show their romantic personality in the hands of literati, so they used fluent modern styles, such as official script and cursive script. At the same time, other fonts were gradually abolished. In Zhang Huaiguan's Book of Broken Tang Dynasty, he said: "However, besides the ten books, there are books of turtles, snakes, forests, tigers, clouds, dragons, insects and birds, which are not important to the world and will not be taken away." [29] It is not difficult to see that fonts that have lost their practical value are gradually abolished, and it is generally the need of society to explore the reasons. Therefore, it can be said that social development and demand are real regulators, which interfere with the emergence and rise and fall of calligraphy and determine the inheritance and development of calligraphy in a certain sense.
Eighth, from the perspective of culture and education. Although Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties were troubled times, they attached great importance to cultural education. Even in a very remote ethnic minority gathering place, they "want to study if they get a little peace" [30]. In addition, with the development of official schools, private schools have also flourished. The Book of Jin, Biography of Seclusion, contains a biography of praying for Jia Botong, with more than 100 professors and students. On the other hand, Zhang Zhonghua has more than 2,000 employees. The above records show that although the war is endless, private schools continue. Although the prevalence of Buddhism and Taoism in the Northern Dynasties impacted the official school dominated by Confucianism, the rulers of minority regimes tried their best to imitate the Han system and admire Chinese culture, so their official school also had a considerable scale. However, because metaphysics was not suitable for the North, Confucianism and its laws prevailed in the Southern Dynasties, especially after the Northern Wei Dynasty unified the North. Thus, although the long-term division and chaos have seriously affected the development of culture and education, the tradition of China people attaching importance to culture and education is obvious. Although the forms and contents of education under different regimes are different, calligraphy teaching is generally attached importance to, and even calligraphy is listed as a compulsory course for children's cause. This plays an important role in the development and maturity of calligraphy art. To sum up, the special social background and cultural environment of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, as well as the collision and integration of various cultures, provided a broad development space for the dazzling development of calligraphy art, making it naturally develop into an irreplaceable monument in the history of calligraphy in China.
As we know, the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties were the times of great calligraphy harvest. Both north and south calligraphy are full of vitality. Obviously, the inheritance and development of an art cannot be a single line. Therefore, the integration of North-South communication and calligraphy is undoubtedly of great significance to the development of calligraphy. It has long been concluded that the separation of the north and the south leads to different cultures; However, the view that there is a distinction between north and south in calligraphy began in the Qing Dynasty. As mentioned in Calligraphy and Culture in the Six Dynasties, it was very popular in the Qing Dynasty that books were divided into north and south. There is a saying: "At the end of the Han Dynasty and Wei and Jin Dynasties, official books were divided into north and south, and the Eastern Jin, Song, Qi, Liang and School, Zhao, Yan, Wei, Qi, Zhou and Sui were the northern schools. ..... The two factions are like rivers, and the north and south clansmen are different. " [3 1] However, Wang Guowei questioned the theory that books are divided into north and south. His inscription on the statue of Liangsimei said, "Ruan Wenda's masterpiece.
Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties were the times when China's calligraphy made great achievements and made breakthrough development. Since then, calligraphy has been deeply rooted and flourished in China. Calligraphers in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties were all bright with stars. They inherited the fine traditions of the previous generation and created excellent works worthy of their predecessors, which created the necessary conditions for the prosperity of calligraphy in Sui and Tang Dynasties. The art of calligraphy advances with the development of the times. With its unique charm, it sets foot on the footsteps of history and sets off the social background and the voice of the times. Its development shows the needs of society to some extent, and the needs of society truly reflect the characteristics of all aspects of an era and people's subjective consciousness.