This poem is the first of the "Four Unique Volumes of Conscience Poems" by Wang Yangming, a master of psychology. It was written in the seventh year of Jiajing (1528). The calligraphy work is now in the Hubei Provincial Museum.
As a thinker, Mr. Yangming left us many precious classics, but his ink and letters are very few. From now until February 28, in Wang Yangming's solo exhibition "The Way of the Sages - The Story of Yangming" held at the Shaoxing Museum, we can see an unprecedented collection of his calligraphy. According to the curator Shen Yiping, this exhibition is an original special exhibition of the Shaoxing Museum. It displays more than 50 pieces (sets) of Mr. Yangming's calligraphy works, rubbings and writings, including nearly 10 first-class cultural relics. The Palace Museum loaned 6 precious cultural relics from its collection for this exhibition. It is worth mentioning that the "Farewell Poems of Longjiang Collection" collected by the Palace Museum, the "Poems Narrating the Return of Horses to the Dynasty" collected by the Guangdong Provincial Museum, the "Four Unique Poems of Conscience" collected by the Hubei Provincial Museum, and the "Feng Xiang" collected by the Zhejiang Provincial Museum. Famous works such as "The Poetry Volume of Mr. Shou Nishioka Luo" are all exposed to the audience for the first time.
Xu Wei once commented: "Wang Xizhi used his books to cover up his people, while Wang Shouren (Yangming) used people to cover up his books." Therefore, its rhyme is high and dark." Wang Yangming believes that you can learn in your heart at any time and at any time.
Starting from the heart, what kind of revelation can his words and thoughts give us?
Wang Yangming’s calligraphy is like his own person
The calligraphy of the Ming Dynasty advocated the study of calligraphy and often resembled cursive lines. Excellent people can catch up with the Jin and Tang Dynasties, and are especially good at the beauty of bamboo slips, almost surpassing the Tang and Song Dynasties. The most famous ones in the early period should be regarded as the Three Song Dynasties (Song Ke, Song Can, Song Guang) and the Second Shen (Shen Du, Shen Can). In the middle period, famous Wumen sects such as Zhu Yunming, Wen Zhengming, and Wang Chong appeared, leading the group with their superb calligraphy skills. They were unique for a while and had far-reaching influence. During the same period, there were also a group of famous Confucian scholars who regarded calligraphy as a spare skill and had no intention of becoming famous calligraphers. They are all famous for their moral articles and loyal Neo-Confucianism, and their calligraphy often reveals their own temperament and academic accomplishments. They indeed have distinctive personalities in their calligraphy skills. Among them, Wang Yangming is an outstanding representative.
Wang Yangming’s calligraphy was praised by knowledgeable people at that time. Xu Wei, a famous calligrapher and painter in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, said about Yangming’s calligraphy: “The ancients said that the right army used books to hide his people. Mr. Xinjian (Yangming) Otherwise, if you use a person to cover the calligraphy and look at the ink marks, it will look like a phoenix or a dragon. If the person is less than the calligraphy, then the calligraphy has been passed down. "It is clear that Wang Yangming's calligraphy is extraordinary. It is precisely because of his various aspects of academic accomplishment and lofty moral prestige that the truth of his book's title is obscured. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a famous scholar returned to Zhuangzhuang, and he was even more fascinated by Wang Yangming's calligraphy. He said: "Mr. Yangming was a Confucian of his generation, and he also specialized in calligraphy. Doesn't it mean that art is the way? I failed to learn the way, so I was wrong to get the name of the book. I am ashamed to be a man of art, but I dare not push him!" This shows his admiration for Yangming's calligraphy art at that time. According to the "Annals of Wang Wenchenggong", when Wang Yangming was 17 years old, he collected paper and counted boxes from his maternal uncle's official tour in Hongdu. The next day, he took the study books and compared them. The boxes were all empty, and his calligraphy greatly improved. Yang Mingchang told his scholars: "I began to learn calligraphy. I imitated ancient calligraphy to get the shape of the characters. Then I raised the pen and didn't drop the paper lightly. I meditated quietly and imitated the shapes in my heart. After a long time, I began to understand the method.