The Qing Dynasty lasted for 268 years, and as far as calligraphy art is concerned, it was an era of flourishing calligraphy. In the Qing dynasty, the compilation of ancient book theories and famous posts, the collection of famous handwriting and inscriptions made outstanding achievements and the scale was unprecedented. The emperor advocated and respected, officials learned books, and calligraphers came forth in large numbers. Judging from the calligraphy of the whole Qing Dynasty, Jiaqing and Daoguang used to be the names of issuing documents, and later they were the names of inscriptions. Iron studies mainly advocate the calligraphy of Zhao Mengfu and Dong Qichang.
Cai Xin lived in a time when iron and blood were popular. From an early age, Cai Xin entered the "Lianglu Reading Room" of Xiabu Village School founded by his uncle Cai Shiyuan to study and practice calligraphy, received the education of Neo-Confucianism, devoted himself to the study of Confucian nature, and carefully copied and studied the books of famous calligraphers in past dynasties. Cai Shiyuan (168 1- 1734), nicknamed Liangshan, was called "Mr. Liangshan" by scholars. In the forty-ninth year of Kangxi (17 10), imperial academy and Jishi Shu were selected. He once presided over Aofeng Academy in Fuzhou and was called to Beijing in the first year of Yongzheng. He was awarded the editor of imperial academy and went straight to the study to serve the vassals. He is the master of Emperor Qianlong. He has served as a bachelor of lectures, a junior James, a bachelor of cabinet, and an assistant minister of rites, ranking among the nine ministers. He is knowledgeable, especially good at sex theory research and calligraphy. Cai Xin not only inherited Cai Shiyuan's excellent moral character of honesty, integrity, modesty and prudence, but also respected the Confucian theory of "observing integrity, teaching by example" and abiding by Cai Shiyuan's family law. Moreover, he was deeply influenced by his uncle in calligraphy style, which can be demonstrated from Cai Shiyuan's poems and calligraphy inscriptions and Zhangzhou Hu Wenshan's existing calligraphy works. What is the relationship between calligraphy and being an official in Qing Dynasty? Qing Dynasty was a feudal dynasty established by Manchu. If the emperor wants to rule the Han nationality and settle down, he must first integrate himself into the Chinese culture. Calligraphy is a good way of communication. Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty liked calligraphy very much. He usually liked to write poems and exhibit papers. Although it is hot in summer and deep in winter, every night goes on. He admired Dong Qichang's calligraphy, initiated the calligraphy style in the early Qing Dynasty, and made Dong Qichang's calligraphy worth a hundred times. Shu Dong regards sparsity as a pattern, but it will inevitably disappear. In the Qianlong period, the exquisite Dong characters could not adapt to the long-term peace climate. In addition, Emperor Qianlong advocated Zhao Mengfu's calligraphy, which changed the style of calligraphy and made it rich, sweet and popular. Because Kanggan advocated Zhao,, and if you want to get ahead, you must write well. If students can't write "Guan Ge Ti", the exam will be affected. My deputies also go their own way, pursuing the shape of words without paying attention to brushwork, and pursuing "black and generous light." Writing the characters square and uniform, and using thick ink to brighten black, forms a "cabinet style" with thousands of faces and different glyphs, which makes calligraphy develop to the scope of "imperial use". From today's point of view, it is the loss of calligraphy artistry. Cai Xin was the master of Emperor Jiaqing. He can study China culture and calligraphy in the upper study room, which is a very glorious position. In the Qing dynasty, all previous dynasties took learned Chinese ministers as teachers for the Pope's sons and grandchildren to learn. Only first-class knowledge, character and calligraphy can be appreciated and reused by the emperor and selected as a master of the study.
Judging from the existing Cai Xin regular script "A Brief Introduction to the Reconstruction of Hongdai Ancestral Temple" (Figure 1), the regular script "Look around? The calligraphy analysis of couplets (Figure 2), running script "Eight Friends of the Garden in the City" (Figure 3) and some plaques, epitaphs and letters inscribed by Cai Xin (Figure 4) has the following calligraphy characteristics:
Use a pen. Cai Xin's calligraphy is round and elegant, which has won him a good reputation as a calligrapher. He attaches great importance to lines, emphasizes "pen in the center" and pays attention to pen rotation. Where you put your pen, try to keep it straight and round. The outstanding feature of his regular script pen is that at the turning point, it has a distinct starting point and a strong Yan Shu flavor, while the pen and line in the center are reversed and recycled, and the turning point is dark, which belongs to the category of "circle". The round pen is restrained, weak in impact, stable in mood, elegant and subtle, elegant and elegant, which is similar to Cai Xin's character and cultivation. Cai Xin's regular script has the choice of Yan Zhenqing font, which is generous and superior. Zhao Mengfu's fonts have benefited me a lot, and I have gained elegance and abandoned its potential. You just abandon danger, and the whole appears harmonious and stable.
Cai Xin's peaceful and leisurely attitude stems from his smooth career and dull life experience. Cai Xin won the favor of Emperor Qianlong and held a prominent political position all his life. He successfully completed his official career, and because of his profound academic background, he served as the president of Sikuquanshu, presided over the compilation for more than ten years, with outstanding knowledge, profound experience, profound knowledge and brilliant talent. He can fully express his leisurely state of mind, take plain, harmonious and natural interest as his aesthetic ideal, and calmly express the artistic realm of plain and harmonious. At the same time, due to the limitations of the times and the influence of the emperor's preferences, he has the responsibility to teach the prince and grandson well, and he can only write his own cabinet style according to the rules. Therefore, his calligraphy has not yet got rid of the soft and sweet style of calligraphy at that time, lacking heroism. Use ink. By analyzing Cai Xin's books, such as Awakening in the Rain, Sitting Alone on an Autumn Night, and Inscription of Eight Friends in Chenghuaiyuan, we can see that Cai Xin is good at using light ink, and the whole article is full of charm. This is the result of applying pen and ink skills in painting to calligraphy works. In calligraphy creation, the combination of strong and weak ink can better express charm and interest. This is a spiritual portrayal of Cai's indulgence in literati life and his keen interest in pleasure and entertainment. And can give people a beautiful and quiet visual experience. Cai Xin entered Chenghuai Garden to teach the Prince. This is the residence that Emperor Qianlong gave to Shangshufang. It is located in the southeast corner of Yuanmingyuan, which is a beautiful and quiet garden place. Cai Xin and seven other people who live in Shangshufang "talk about the present and the past, and sing for each other". Live a comfortable life as a "teacher". As Jin Deying praised in his poem: "Fish and birds in Quchi are the guests of honor, lights in other hospitals shine on the windows, flowers are forbidden, lotus roots are seen in Xia Feng, cars and horses on the roadside are noisy, and dust can't fly to Wanliu." In this intoxicating city garden, where the nymph wins, he can "write poems in the garden and forget his fatigue", and even show off his paper and express his chest directly.
Knot words. Zhao Mengfu has a famous assertion in calligraphy that "it is not easy to use a pen through the ages, but it is appropriate to write at the right time". Cai Xin's calligraphy embodies the characteristics of Erwang, Yan Zhenqing, Zhao Mengfu and Dong Qichang. Since the Tang Dynasty. In particular, he has a deep understanding of Zhao Shu's exquisite and skillful brushwork and structure, which makes him present a mellow and beautiful style. Cai Xin's calligraphy is soft in brushwork, stable in structure, not exaggerated and weird, not pretending to be crazy, pursuing tolerance and harmony, and showing the aesthetic ideal of "balance". This balance is by no means an operator's balance, but through the alternation of strokes, the change of vertical pen and oblique pen, the change of size and length, the internal center of gravity of the whole word is adjusted to achieve the visual "balance" effect. It is a quiet and restrained beauty, more elegant and harmonious to combine the singularity in the plain with the truth in the singularity. This is consistent with Cai Xin's excellent moral character of being an official without publicity, being honest and clean, generous, modest and generous, caring for the villagers, and being well-behaved.
Rules. The calligraphy banner of Cai Xin's poem Sitting Alone on an Autumn Night is a representative running script style. The whole picture is ethereal and natural. In composition, the spacing between words is slightly dense and the spacing between lines is sparse. The whole story is simple and far-reaching, and it is permeated with a strong "bookish spirit", which is a typical calligraphy feature of literati and calligraphers. Cai Xin served as five ministers, the master of the study room and the president of Sikuquanshu. Fifty years as an official, proficient in Neo-Confucianism and infused with calligraphy. All these have made him wander in traditional culture for many years, pursuing the style of "stopping on all sides, preparing on all sides, combining length with length and carefully compromising", emphasizing the concept of harmony, and gradually forming a fresh, beautiful and harmonious style. Although Cai Xin's calligraphy style is not as dazzling as Liu Yong, prime minister of thick ink, and Wang Wenzhi, prime minister of light ink, it also embodies the aesthetic ideal of "neutralization" in his calligraphy.
There are still many calligraphy, letters, calligraphy ink, woodcut plaques, inscriptions, poems, etc. lost among the people in Cai Xin, and we need to collect them. Cai Xin's hometown includes Yongqingbao Tulou, Cai Xin's former residence, Cai Xin Xiangfu, Cai Xin Memorial Hall and other cultural relics. We need to dig, protect and develop. Its calligraphy style with the beauty of neutralization is also worthy of our study, research, reference and promotion.