When people think of Song Dynasty calligraphy, they will naturally think of Su Huang and Michai. There are two theories about who Cai refers to. One is that the treacherous minister Cai Jing tampered with Su Huangmi Cai's Cai Xiang and became Cai Jing. The other is that Su Huangmi Cai's Cai was originally Cai Jing. Because he was despised, later generations changed his name to Cai Xiang. In terms of age, Cai Xiang was the oldest and was mainly active in the Renzong Dynasty, followed by Su Shi and Huang Tingjian, who were mainly active in the Shenzong and Zhezong Dynasties. Mi Fu came later. In terms of artistic achievements, Cai Xiang is higher than others. So some people think that the ranking should be Caisu Huangmi. > Su, Huang, Mi and Cai were all imperial officials. Su, Huang, and Jinshi were unknown. Su Shi became a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy and an attendant, Huang Tingjian served as the director of Jixian School, Mi Fu served as a member of the Ministry of Rites, and Cai Xiang was promoted to a bachelor of Longtuge and knew Kaifeng Mansion. In this situation, they all have ambitions, but their circumstances are poor. However, the four people have different personalities. >Su Shi likes to dance, write, and ink. Not only poetry, but also calligraphy and painting. He has a temper and writes wherever he goes, but he is not serious. He writes as soon as he sees the paper, and he is not willing to write specially to give away. According to the research of contemporary calligraphers, he only used his thumb and index finger to hold the pen, which is similar to how we hold the pen today. It is difficult to lift his arm. He used a unique method to write some good calligraphy. However, the literary bookishness of the emphasis on the characters is too much. >Huang Tingjian, Zhang Lei, Chao Buzhi, and Qin Guan were the "Four Scholars of the Su School". Their knowledge was unique and did not rely on the Su family. When he learned calligraphy, he loved "Lanting Preface", but he learned about the two kings from "Qihe Ming" and Huai Su and Yan Zhenqing. People looked at his writing and said he didn't look like the Second King, but he laughed and said that this was the real Second King. What he meant was to use the pen to learn Er Wang's method, rather than simply tracing the shape of the characters. Huang Tingjian's handwriting is extremely cheerful, like spears and halberds radiating in all directions. He handled calligraphy based on the Zen concepts he admired, and what he wrote was like Zen talk about Ji Feng, but it lacked the implicitness of Ji Feng. >Mi Fu has some quirks. He would wear Tang Dynasty clothes and walk on the street. When he saw a good stone, he would bow down and call him "brother." He was also mysophobic and would not share items with others. His paintings are unique. Together with his son Mi Youren, he created "Mi's Cloud Mountain". The "Mi Dot Landscape" technique is unique in the history of painting, and the landscape after the rain he expresses is particularly charming. Mi Fu advocated that when practicing painting and calligraphy, you should look at the original paintings and not the rubbings. Perhaps for this reason, he loved collecting. His "Baozhang Waiting for Visits", "Book History" and "Painting History" are all essentials for identifying historical sites. Mi Fu was the most diligent in studying ancient Chinese characters, and some people even laughed at him for "collecting ancient Chinese characters". But after he became familiar with the brushwork of the ancients, he was able to expand it and use the brush in a variety of ways, and the compositions were also more graceful. Some people say that because he is too expert and loves to show off his magical powers, his writing is full of excitement and enthusiasm. And it may be related to his collecting habit. The shape of the characters is like an encyclopedia dictionary combined by people from the Jin and Tang Dynasties. There are so many patterns that are unparalleled. Mi Fu has a habit of practicing calligraphy and writing by hand, so his writing is very superficial. > Su Shi's literary approach to writing, Huang Tingjian's Zen-like and philosophical approach, and Mi Fu's deliberate synthesis of strokes in calligraphy are all heretical from a purely artistic perspective. Any art style is a unique artistic language, with its own special mechanism, context, and expression. The so-called art masters refer to those who can understand and master this special artistic language and use it naturally. Otherwise, if you replace it with another artistic language, the unique charm of this artistic language will be obscured, and there will be no need for its existence. Cai Xiang was the only one among the four members of the Song Dynasty who could understand the artistic language of calligraphy. >Cai Xiang's calligraphy was rated as the best in this dynasty at that time. Cai Xiang pursued the two kings again from the Tang Dynasty. Like a scholar doing scientific research, he carefully analyzed the legal principles of the two kings' calligraphy and had a very accurate grasp of their brushwork and structure. He was not an ancient scholar like Mi Fu. I get a lot of them, but I don’t understand the mechanism, making it a hodgepodge. When we chew Cai Xiang's calligraphy, we are savoring the text of calligraphy, so it is like drinking a cup of authentic Longjing tea, which is pure and authentic, not some flower tea. Su Shi once commented on Cai Shu, "It is too clear to declare, and it is too turbid to leave Taiwan. Since the founding of the country, Jun Mo should be the first" (Dong Shi: "Huang Song Shu Lu", middle chapter). It is not an exaggeration to say that he is on par with Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan, Ouyang Xun, Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang and Xue Ji of the Tang Dynasty. Pan Boying, a recent scholar, said when discussing Cai Shu that Cai's writing made people feel that his writing was meticulous. Because everything is beautiful, the more you look at it, the more fascinated you become.
His regular script and running script really look like those of an aristocrat, but on that dignified, chubby face, there are a pair of light eyes and a pair of shallow dimples, which seem to smile at you so affectionately when others are not paying attention. . This is peerless elegance. But it cannot but be said to be a weakness. Mi Fu once commented that "Cai Xiang's calligraphy is like that of a young woman, with a delicate figure, a slow walk, and mostly decorated with lead." Although this is a bit harsh, it makes sense. This is Cai Xiang's problem. In terms of originality, Cai is also weak. However, the development of Chinese calligraphy was completed by the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and it is unlikely to move forward. It is not advisable to have too high demands on Cai Xiang. >Cai Xiang once said: "In ancient times, those who were good at calligraphy must first write in regular script, and gradually move to cursive writing, without departing from regular script. Zhang Zhi and Xu Bian are strange and unusual. They are out of the way of pen and ink, and they have more than enough spirit and ease. It’s different from Xiang and Xian. Xiang has only been able to understand its meaning in recent years, but he has been unable to do so. It’s a waste of time.” (Chen Shizeng: Wu Collection of Calligraphy and Painting in the Past Dynasties) I would like to recommend this passage to readers. According to my own many years of writing experience, to master the artistic language of calligraphy, it is basically to learn Kaifa, which is what the predecessors simply called the eight methods of "Yong". They are the basic elements of the artistic language of calligraphy. >Let’s talk about Cai Jing. Before Cai Jing ascended the throne, he "wanted to attach himself to the clan clan" with Cai Xiang and "claimed himself to be a clan brother", but the attempt failed. ("History of the Song Dynasty: Biography of Cai Xiang") Later, he became a Jinshi and was transferred to Cai Que, and he rose to prominence. Not long after Huizong came to the throne, Cai Jing colluded with Tong Guan and entertained him with ingenuity in calligraphy and painting. He rose to the rank of Grand Master and was granted the title of Duke of Lu. He became influential in both the government and the public for more than ten years. However, in the end, everyone rebelled against his relatives and became one of the "six thieves" in the Song Dynasty. ” the first. In the third year of Daguan (1109), Emperor Huizong ordered Cai Jing and others to compile a book with the ink of the imperial edict, and engraved it on stone in Taiqing Pavilion. It was called "Daguan Tie" or "Taiqing Pavilion Tie" in history. Cai Jing was in the prime position at this time, not only writing the title, but also waiting for the opportunity to add his own work. Cai Jingshu was not even a hundred years old, and was abandoned by his descendants like a piece of shit. Judging from the ink in "Daguan Tie", the writing is arbitrary and rough, the writing is biased towards the left hand, the legal principles are not prepared, and the carving is done by hand. Judging from the aforementioned praises from Su Shi and others, Cai Xiangdang was well-known during his lifetime, and Cai Jing was good at political affairs and had a very political climate for stealing the names of "Su Huang Mi Cai".