Throughout the ages, many people regard painting as a very serious matter. Before painting, they need to bathe and light incense, which is very grand. This is understandable, but Mi Fei, a painter and painter in the Northern Song Dynasty, prefers to call his painting state "ink play". Why did a generation of people regard painting as a game for entertainment?
Zhuangzi once told a story about painting: Song Yuanjun invited people to paint, and some painters bowed and licked pens and ink, all of which were eager to apply. Only one person unbuttoned his clothes and stood proudly under the court, which was very imposing.
Song Yuanjun saw it and said, "This is the real painter." Later, people used "undressing" to describe the "casual" and "natural" state of painting, which is like a "game". Wang Xizhi, a great calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, didn't sit in danger like everyone else when Qiu came to his house to choose a son-in-law, but lay flat on the east bed. This "unrestrained" state finally made Wang Xizhi the winner. It turned out that what Qiu took a fancy to was Wang Xizhi's "casual" and "natural" game mentality. This is the realm of "undressing". In western art theory, there is a saying that the origin of art is attributed to "game".
"Game Theory" holds that artistic creation is "super-utilitarian". In "game", people's spirit is free and liberated, and their psychology is happy and satisfied. Painting needs such a state. If you want to accomplish a certain task deliberately, but in the state of "caution", the creativity of the painter will often be limited; On the contrary, in the state of "freedom at will", you can display your talents instead. Summary:
It was through the pen and ink that Mi Fei got emotional catharsis. Many literati painters don't make a living by selling paintings. They are keen on the "game" state when painting. "Game" provides a channel for painters to express their feelings with pen and ink, which is beyond the reach of "sitting in danger".
his running script and cursive script are all of their own. His view of calligraphy art advocates developing and creating on the basis of inheriting tradition, neither sticking to the rules nor denying tradition.