Bai Jiao claimed that poetry was the first, calligraphy was the second and painting was the third, and his traditional literary accomplishment was quite comprehensive. He is good at painting orchids. In the 193s and 194s, he, Xu Beihong and Deng Sanmu were called "three outstanding artists in the art world", and they had the reputation of "Bai Jiao Orchid, (Shen) Shi Jiazhu and (Gao) Ye Houmei". Bai Jiao's painting was brilliant, but he was insightful. At that time, people spoke highly of it. Xie Zhiliu said: "Bai Jiao's writing of orchids in the clouds is not only wonderful with pen and ink, but also vivid for flowers, especially by previous writers." "Writing orchids in calligraphy, pink butterflies and green lotus, is not a stroke of predecessors." Shen Yuzhong said: "(Bai Jiao) calligraphy forces two kings, and painting orchids is invincible." Tang Yun said: "Wan Pai returned to the Sect to pour wine ladle, who can talk about drunken nights? With his pen, he turned to the east wind and surprised Yangzhou Zheng Banqiao." Bai Jiao's orchids are all tasteful in painting, so I have written my own orchids many times in my life.
among all the arts of Bai Jiao, calligraphy is the highest. Generally speaking, he mainly studied hard during Wei, Jin, Tang and Song Dynasties, especially devoted himself to Jin people. However, according to the data, he was also influenced by Japanese Fujiwara in his later years. Judging from his representative works, Long Volume with Lan Titles, Old Sentences with Lan Titles in Miscellaneous Books, and Self-written Poems, his calligraphy has really gained the essence of the Jin people. As a representative calligrapher in the 2th century, Shen Yinmo grew up in various styles, Wu Yuru grew up in ups and downs, and Bai Jiao grew up in Xiao San. Sun Zhenghe, a student in Bai Jiao, once said, "Mr. Shen Yinmo's style of spreading the book of Xi is as clear as that of Jianhu. The style of Ma Gongyu's biography of Xi is like the wine that will be recorded, and it is fragrant and mellow. Mr. Deng Sanmu's calligraphy style of spreading Xi is like the platform of the King of Yue, which is severe and towering. Mr. Bai Jiao's book style is like the bamboo of Lanting, which is chic and refined. " This is very insightful. Bai Jiao's calligraphy basically experienced the process of "regular script-running script-running script-cursive script" from the early years to the later years. In the early days, regular script and running script with independent characters were mostly used. The later, the more cursive script, the more pure cursive works were produced in the later years. Moreover, his calligraphy, one step at a time, is also "wonderful in old age", and it was not until 1961 that it reached its peak, which was unattainable. Bai Jiao's regular script, learning Ou Yangxun, Yu Shinan, Zhong You's "Recommended Season Straight Table", "Announcement Post" and two kings. According to historical data, Bai Jiao's Inscription on Liquan in Jiucheng Palace, near Ou Yangxun, compared the characters in Linben with those in Song Tuoben in the sun, and they could overlap, which was a beautiful talk for a while. This is enough to show that Bai Jiao's regular script has accumulated great achievements. Bai Jiao cursive, stick to the "writing" of Tiexue, the most bookish. However, when it comes to simplicity, I'm afraid it will be after writing "Out of Shu Banners and Self-composed Poems" in 1947, or a little later, such as a letter to Weng Shiyuan in 1955. Most of Bai Jiao's early works are running scripts that have just dissolved the kaifa method, or the calligraphy of the two kings that has not changed much. For example, in 194, he wrote The Peach Blossom Garden, which is independent in words and vertical in words. On the one hand, it comes from Ou and Yu's kaishu, on the other hand, it comes from Wang Xizhi's preface to the holy teachings, and there are few "egos", such as "The grass is delicious and the English is colorful" The word "chaos", the word "this person has words one by one", and the words "Lin", "Shu" and "Bai" in the peach blossom forest are basically the same as Wang's words. Bai Jiao at this time, although not get rid of the predecessors, but in terms of "with the ancients", has done very well. By 1955 or so, Bai Jiao's works had truly found his "self", such as Letters to Weng Shi (I, II and III) written in 1955 and Poems from Books written to writer and translator Zhou Xuliang on June 3, 1956. His personal appearance has been very prominent, especially Mo Yun's wonderful change, which is never under Lin Sanzhi. By 1961, Bai Jiao had made a thorough study of the history of tiexue, and his works, such as Long Volume of Lan Titles Miscellaneous (written in 1963) and Miscellaneous Books on Lan Old Sentences, all reached a perfect artistic realm. Hu Chuanhaiyun: "(Lan Ti Miscellaneous Storage) adopts the peaceful and comfortable layout method of Ping An He Ru Feng Ju Tie;" The fluency shows the transfer skills of De Shi Tie and Ya Tou Wan Tie. The ups and downs of "Two Thank-you-Notes" are a personal biography of the pen-writing style. Elegance has received the closing way of the opening of "Mourning Post". " He also said: "Bai Jiao does not blindly reproduce the appearance of the two kings. The difference can still be seen through careful taste: Bai Jiao pursues the ups and downs without traces, and the folding of pens is relatively reduced; Conclude words and seek simplicity; The writing speed is faster; The arrangement of word spacing also strives to change. It can be said that Bai Jiao also used some modern pen skills on the basis of the two kings. Thus avoiding the suspicion that his works blindly worship the past. ..... Bai Jiao takes the meaning of the letter in his writing or in his line, and his behavior is full of attention; Or do the grass-melting method, and hurry without losing your attitude. This shows that Bai Jiao is really a master of a generation. " (Hu Chuanhai's "Wandering in Wei and Jin Dynasties", Postscript of's "Bai Jiao Lan Ti Miscellaneous Stories" in March, 1999) Sha Menghai's "Bai Jiao Lan Ti Miscellaneous Stories Volume Postscript": "Mr. Bai Jiao's essays on Lan Miscellaneous Stories are long and long, with alternating grass and grass, sleeping in the mountains, and seeing kung fu deeply. Expect to be turbulent, and you will not lose your style. There are only a few people who can do this for 3 years. " This work was completed by Bai Jiao in several stages. Every time I feel something, I need to make up for it. However, there is a great harmony in the difference. The overall style is very unified, chic and scattered, and its Mo Yun ink changes wonderfully, which is amazing. This is exactly where Bai Jiao surpassed Shen Yinmo, Pan Boying, Wu Yuru, Ma Gongyu and Deng Sanmu. His book originated from the two kings, but it has been greatly ingenious. At this time, he has turned the artistic language of the two kings into his own flesh and blood. Like using "new words invented by himself", he used the language of the ancients to tell his own feelings, blending "Jin Yun" with the "meaning" and "state" of the Song and Ming Dynasties in one furnace, which is full of vitality, skillful and distinctive. What's more commendable is that his works are full of ups and downs, which is rare in Bai Jiao's other works. Not only at that time, it was placed among the 3-year-old calligraphy, but also a rare excellent work. In his later years, Bai Shu seems to have a big variation, such as two kinds of cursive script, Xin Qiji's Ci and Shui Long Yin (about books from 1964 to 1966 before the Cultural Revolution). By this time, Bai Jiao's calligraphy seems to be less elegant, and his mood seems to be a bit chaotic. Bai Jiao seems to have forgotten the "technique", and all the pen and ink seem to "flow out of his head". Therefore, Bai Jiao's works at this time, in contrast to the grief after suffering and the anxiety of impending disaster, have truly become a record of his own vicissitudes of life. As Zhou Shidao, who was studying in Germany, said: This work is "an old pen" and "close to Song and Ming Dynasties in meteorology, with gloomy feelings. When it was written in Lin Biao in 1964 and at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, it wrote the premonition and anxiety of people of insight at that time about the impending disaster, which was an unprecedented masterpiece of calligraphy in the times." At this time, Bai Jiao had the conditions to create more great works. Unfortunately, the Cultural Revolution, which began in 1966, finally took Bai Jiao's life, so history left only a big exclamation point. Bai Jiao's calligraphy is mainly cursive script. In order to meet the requirements of smooth and tactful cursive script, "arc inside white" and "arc outside white" are widely used. In our opinion, this is a very different feature between cursive script and regular script: that is, what Sun Guoting called "grass turns into shape" and "turning" is an extremely important dynamic factor in cursive script, and the components of arc inner white and arc outer white increase, which is the reason why there are more "turning" than "folding" in brushwork. Regular script, on the other hand, is square and triangular with white inside and white outside, so the font is "square", which has stable characteristics. Bai Jiao's regular script adopts Ou Yangxun and Yu Shinan, which are square characters with the south facing the north. Its white inside and white outside are square and triangular, and it looks like an ancient Buddha. The black-and-white treatment of Bai Jiao's early running script Peach Blossom Garden was mostly square and triangular, which was not very fluid and was more interesting than lyrical. However, in Lan Ti Miscellaneous Stories, the white inside and outside of the arc increased, and the mobility was enhanced, especially in Xin Qiji's Ci "Shui Long Yin", which was the most irritating in the white book and was good at "keeping the secret secret" and drawing several pictures. The dense place is more dense, and the natural sparse place is more sparse, so the weight and rhythm have changed, and the effect of the old pen is arbitrary. As a calligrapher, Bai Jiao studied Wei, Jin, Tang and Song, but Wei, Jin, Tang and Song could not be caged. On the contrary, in his creation, he showed a high degree of freedom. His calligraphy, no matter how he writes, uses pen or ink, shows a comprehensive ability. Therefore, although his calligraphy is "full of potential", it is not blindly entangled, but a pen that breaks when it comes, so there are dignified, ups and downs and setbacks in the flow.
As an outstanding painter, Bai Jiao's calligraphy uses ink successfully, drawing lessons from the composition of painting. He is especially good at using the stain method and light ink, which are dry and moist, mixed with light and dark, and dares to use the stain method and let it seep, so his works are dripping with water. For the use of light ink in calligraphy, the world praises Mr. Lin Sanzhi, and regards it as Lin Lao's unique creation. In fact, Bai Jiao's "Long Volume with Mixed Topics on Lan", the creation of ink method does not give way to Lin Lao at all, and the 1956 "Self-written Poem Volume" is even more above Lin Lao. Bai Jiao's calligraphy and painting were very influential before the founding of the People's Republic of China. In the 194s, he held many exhibitions of personal calligraphy and painting in Shanghai, which made him famous for a while. Some people think that his writing of Wang Zi is the first in the world.