Due to the advocacy of the former seven philosophers and the latter seven philosophers, there was an archaize trend in the poetry circle of Ming Dynasty. Although they all have their own undeniable achievements, this tendency of imitating the past obviously hindered the development of poetry art, and Xu Wei was deeply dissatisfied with this and made sharp criticism. He said: "Birds learn from human speech and are naturally birds; If you write poetry to imitate your predecessors, it is just birds and flowers, and it has no real value. " His own poetry creation pays attention to expressing personal actual feelings about social life, and his style is slightly close to Li He's, asking about learning and prospering the Tang Dynasty, and taking the Southern Dynasties in and out of the Song and Yuan Dynasties without losing himself. This tendency was inherited by the public security school, which advocated the expression of spirit in the later period, and it was of great significance to the change of poetic style in the late Ming Dynasty. Yuan Hongdao, a representative of the Public Security School, made a wonderful evaluation of Xu Wei's poems: "A long man is not determined to have a teacher, so he is a savage and enjoys the scenery ... What he sees is a mountain rushing to the sea. Like a widow's cry at night, it is chilling. It will be thousands of miles away when it is released; Occasionally it is deep and steep, and there is a ghost anger in autumn. " Xu Wei's prose is the most outstanding one, which is his epitaph. In addition, many letters are also very distinctive, pungent and humorous, and their writing style is far from first-class by Jin Shengtan, but overall, their achievements are not as good as poetry. Xu Wei's drama creations include Zaju Collection and Four Sounds Ape, including four independent dramas: Crazy Drum History, Cui Xiang's Dream, Female Mulan and Female Champion. "The History of Crazy Drum" is about the feeling that Yan Song killed Shen Lian, showing the arrogant spirit of resistance. The latter two stories are all about women disguised as men and making great achievements, which embodies his view on women and has certain anti-feudal significance. These works broke the fixed format of zaju and opened the door for the diversification of drama forms.
In the aspect of drama theory, Xu Wei advocates "true colors", that is, the drama language should conform to the identity of the characters, and the authenticity of the characters should be guaranteed by spoken language and common sayings, while opposing elegant parallel language and excessive modification. These views are quite insightful.
In addition, Xu Wei also wrote Narrative of Southern Opera, which is the first monograph on the theory of Southern Opera in China and is of great significance in the history of drama. It is said that Xu Wei also wrote a zaju and novel "Strange Cases of Yunhe" for Xiao. The contrast between Xu Wei's calligraphy and the depressed atmosphere in the early Ming Dynasty is particularly prominent. What he is best at is the magnificent Wild Grass, but it is difficult for ordinary people to understand and his pen is messy. He likes his calligraphy very much and thinks that "calligraphy is the first, poetry is the second, writing is the third and painting is the fourth".
Xu Wei surpassed the times, initiated and led the calligraphy style of "Shangtai" in the late Ming Dynasty, and led the calligraphy of the Ming Dynasty to a new peak. Tao Wangling once said that his calligraphy "can be called a miracle, which means that there is a person with a bright future". Yuan Hongdao said, "You can't write a book, but it is absurd to say that a long book is above Wang Yayi and Wen. Let's not talk about calligraphy, let's talk about the book god. A gentleman is sincere in the eight laws, and a chivalrous man is in the forest of words! "
The appearance of Xu Wei's calligraphy and calligraphy view is consistent with the great changes of the whole thought, culture and aesthetic concept in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. Wei Wei's calligraphy also started from the rebellion of Wumen Calligraphy School advocating the Tang Dynasty, and then absorbed the positive factors of Su, Huang and Mi pursuing artistic individualization in the Northern Song Dynasty. Xu Wei's Aesthetic Spirit of "Always Showing the Meaning of Writing" in Preface to Lanting Collected by Ji Shu. His exact words were: "This is not a special word. There are many things in the world. If you copy it and send it directly to your ear, you can compare it with each other. Is it true? " There are many people who copy Lanting, but they always show their intentions. They are called masters. If you want to read this manuscript, you can't know who it is, but if you read it, you must be an expert You Meng is like Sun Shuaio, like a man's torso? I am from the heart, too. "
If Xu Wei's running script has changed the traditional "arbitrary" brushwork, then the biggest change is the main hall running script with its head held high. In the past, it was said that "Dong Qichang destroyed Mohism", and here it is said that "Xu Wei destroyed brushwork". Xu Wei realized the change of brushwork in his works during the change from voluminous calligraphy to aesthetic display in the classroom. His representative works include Dai Ying's brave Cao Jian Shu Axis and Dai Ying's brave Cao Mo Shu Axis. Xu Wei's drawing lessons from the stippling method of painting is a creative destruction of the brushwork in Jin and Tang Dynasties. The change of artistic tendency of calligraphy in China in the Ming Dynasty, art was in a special stage of learning from the ancients and colliding with innovation. Ink freehand brushwork has developed rapidly, and the splash-ink freehand brushwork represented by Xu Wei is very popular. Many famous artists have appeared, and their skills are constantly updated. With his unique talent, Xu Wei became the most accomplished master of freehand brushwork at that time. His freehand ink-and-wash flower-and-bird paintings are unrestrained, informal, concise, with more ink and less splash, less color, distinct layers, and the reality and the reality are vivid. He also integrated vigorous brushwork into his paintings, which brought out the best in each other and gave people rich imagination.
Between similarity and dissimilarity
Xu Wei's ink-splashing freehand brushwork of flowers and birds is unique. His flower-and-bird paintings are not influenced by different schools, and they are bold and creative. His freehand brushwork, whether flowers or flowers and birds, is a painting, and everything is between similarity and dissimilarity. For the flowers and trees of the four seasons in the works, the painter uses various forms of pen and ink such as hook, dot, splash and orchid to depict graceful peony, beautiful crape myrtle, sparse bamboo, aloof frost chrysanthemum and beautiful cold plum charm, stretching nine feet and five feet respectively. His ink grapes, with strings of fruits hanging upside down, are fresh and tender and vivid. The lush leaves are made of large pieces of ink and wash, and the style is sparse and elegant, which represents the style of Xu Wei's freehand flowers. The movement track is rich, and the strokes are different in light and shade, brush strokes, size, dryness and wetness, and density. Mo Yun has improvisation and non-repetition, which shows the strongest abstract expressionism in China's paintings. This is not a general description of the object, but an artistic process, which makes it contain some internal temperament and spirit, and then makes the viewer feel immersive. The pumpkins and chrysanthemums in Xu Wei's paintings, in one go, drive away ink like clouds, with great momentum, and at the same time control the pen and ink properly, with great changes in light and shade, density and dryness. In the ink method, there are both randomly infiltrated ink halos and properly controlled shades. Although Xu Wei claimed to be a "play brush", he vividly conveyed the different nature and charm of flowers and fruits with freehand brushwork. Only a small part of its picture of the phoenix tree is painted in ink, which is reminiscent of the towering phoenix tree. As Weng Fanggang said: "The paper is only one foot, and the tree is only a hundred feet. Why are you wearing this green forest? " . I'm afraid I'll be so arrogant that I'll be booed by wine songs in the middle of the night With his delicate brushwork, Xu Wei created an open aesthetic world for the appreciator between similarity and dissimilarity.
There are pictures in the book, and there are books in the picture.
Xu Wei is a calligrapher. In painting, he integrated his calligraphy skills and brushwork into his paintings, which made people feel that his splash-ink freehand brushwork was simply a kind of bold and vigorous calligraphy. As Zhang Dai said: "Today's Ivy paintings are bizarre, full of vigor and charm, and have the same effect as their calligraphy." People used to call rubbings poems, including paintings, rubbings and poems in paintings. I mean ivy league books, which contain paintings, ivy league paintings, and books in the paintings. "In his" Ink Grape Map ",the shade of ink shows the texture of leaves, the font structure and line spacing of poems are irregular, and they extend freely in the air like vines, and calligraphy and painting are integrated. Xu Wei's calligraphy attainments are very high, and the ups and downs of brushwork have contributed to the ingenious changes in painting art, such as painting Mo Lian and grapes, which is unrestrained and difficult to achieve without a deep calligraphy foundation. Xu Wei once made a picture of plum blossom and banana leaves, put plum blossom and banana together, and wrote on the picture: "Banana with plum blossom, this is Wang Wei's painting", which shows the relationship between Xu Wei and Wang Wei in some compositions. Of course, Wang Wei's Picture of Banana in the Snow highlights a Zen machine, that is, the cold snow and the ethereal banana constitute the religious details of the picture, while Xu Wei's combination of such pictures highlights a kind of subject liberation that transcends time and space. Xu Wei's calligraphy and painting methods are extremely skillful and profound, and his inscriptions are like splashing ink and freehand brushwork, which is bold and vivid; His splash-ink freehand brushwork, which combines the brushwork of pen and ink, is full of fun.
Draw like a man.
Xu Wei always leads a dissolute life and is not interested in power. When anyone in the present world wants to paint and needs Xu Wei's money shortage, if someone wants to paint, they can get it in an instant. If he is not short of money in his bag, then no matter how much you give, it is rare to get a painting. You are really a man of temperament. Xu Wei's loneliness can really be summarized by his own poem "Poetry on the Ink Grapes":
I became an elderly man for half my life, and my self-study roared in the evening breeze.
The pearls at the bottom of the pen have nowhere to sell, but they are thrown into wild vines.
Xu Wei's life was bumpy, and his old age was miserable and inseparable. He put his grief and resentment into the pen and created one famous ink painting after another that shocked the world. The ink bamboo in his works is light in branches and thick in leaves, easy to brush, vigorous in branches and affectionate in leaves. Although it is a bamboo branch, it is noble and refreshing. This is a brilliant portrayal of the painter's noble character and peerless independent personality. His splash-ink peony is not limited to the rich and elegant characteristics of peony, but is colorful. But he often paints with ink and wash, deliberately changing its nature. Its purpose is to endow peony with elegant and refined style and charm. The so-called "national color is not decorated, rouge is empty and charming."
The influence of later generations
Xu Wei's paintings have strong subjective feelings and bold brushstrokes, which pushes China's freehand brushwork flower-and-bird painting to the highest level of writing strong thoughts and emotions. By freely controlling brushstrokes on raw rice paper to express emotions, the techniques of freehand brushwork flower-and-bird painting have been raised to an unprecedented height. It became a milestone in the development of freehand brushwork flower-and-bird painting in China, initiated the China freehand brushwork school, and provided a broad space for the development of literati painting. His painting style had a far-reaching influence on Badashanren, Shi Tao and Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou in Qing Dynasty and Wu Changshuo and Qi Baishi in modern times.
Handed down paintings
There are many works that have been handed down to this day. Masterpieces handed down from generation to generation include the scroll of ink grapes, the scroll of flowers and birds with landscape figures (all collected in the Palace Museum), the scroll of peony and banana stones, and the nine volumes of ink flowers (now collected in the Palace Museum). Yuan Hongdao: (Xu Wei's calligraphy) bold brushwork, like his poems, full of vigor and charm. I can't write a book, but it would be ridiculous to say that (Xu)' s long book should definitely be above Wang Yayi (Wang Chong) and Wen (). Regardless of calligraphy, the book god: a gentleman, the sincerity of the eight laws, and the chivalrous man in the word forest.
Huang Zongxi: I don't know the article pricing, but it's a once-in-a-century experience. Midnight lights frighten ghosts and gods, that is, if there is no desire to surrender? ("Ivy League Song")
Qi Baishi: I am extremely convinced that the paintings of Qingteng (Xu Wei), Xuege (Badashanren) and Dadizi (Shi Tao) can be horizontal and vertical. I hate that I didn't live to be 300 years old, grinding ink and sorting paper for all kings. No, it's right outside the door. If you don't go if you are hungry, something will happen.
Shi Tao: The ink of the green vine is a treasure of the world, which has been gone for decades.
Wu Changshuo: The painting of the green vine is a saint, and the calligraphy surpasses that of Duke Lu.
Qian Jibo: Xu Wei's character is long, and Lang's character of Yuan Hongdao, a policeman, is carved with halal medicine, but it is inevitably slender, which is also the evil tone of Jianghu talents.
Huang: Xu Qingteng, Shaoxing, has a good pen and ink, and no one can catch up with him in 300 years.