Take calligraphy as an example: not only is calligraphy itself important, that is, from the literary point of view, whether it is poetry or prose, the use of vocabulary, the narrative of deeds, the expression of thoughts and feelings, we can also see its style of the times. For example, the syntactic tone of Lu Ji's Ping Fu Tie did not exist in the syntax of Ming Dynasty. In terms of the format of letters, there have also been great changes from the Jin and Tang Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and even the names are different. Today, we use "eternity" as a mourning for the dead, but in the Ming Dynasty, it was used to show respect for strangers. The "so-and-so good friend and elegant genus" used in calligraphy and painting in the Qing Dynasty will not be written like this in the Ming Dynasty. Characters and strokes are different in different times. The new words created by Wu Zetian were impossible to appear in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Ancient writing engravings can be judged by taboo words, so this identification method is not suitable for calligraphy and painting. There are also the author's date of birth and death, the life system reflected in his works, etc. These are also directly or indirectly helpful to judge the times and distinguish authenticity.
Paintings of different times also have different styles. The operation mode of ancient painting creation is also different from that of literati desk painting after Yuan and Ming Dynasties. Before the Tang and Song Dynasties, murals prevailed, and painters painted standing, that is, at least on silk, hanging on frames and standing in a pile of paintings, just like painting oil paintings today. From about the Song Dynasty, the painting method of laying paper and silk on the table gradually rose. The drawing method of frame stretching is only used by later folk painters. This kind of vertical painting has different pen angle and arm strength from that of flat painting, and its effect is also different, just like the calligraphy effect mentioned above.
Painting has been serving politics since ancient times, with the aim of "educating and helping others" and "learning from the virtuous and learning from the foolish and inventing ways to control chaos". Therefore, firstly, it promoted the development of figure painting. Proverbs of Women's History and Biography of Women's History are all themes to promote feudal ethics. The depiction of early characters, such as "Spring Silkworm Spinning in unison", was followed by the re-introduction and heavy pressure similar to the pattern of orchid leaves, which marked the further development of pen use. The description of sharp decline and sharp decline did not become popular until the Southern Song Dynasty. Landscape painting didn't pay attention to scale from the beginning. "There are more people than mountains, and water can't be flooded" is its style of the times. When the painter knows that nature can be condensed into the frame in proportion, the so-called "three inches vertical, one thousands of feet high, several feet horizontal and hundreds of miles away" can't help but admire this "miracle". Under the influence of this concept, the early landscapes were mostly full-shaped, and it was not until Li Tang, Ma Yuan and Xia Gui in the Southern Song Dynasty cut off the slopes and foothills that framing developed into another trend. The trees and stones painted by Li Cheng and Guo in the Northern Song Dynasty are all the scenery of the Central Plains. It was only in the Southern Song Dynasty that there was a corner of water and sky, which was inseparable from the local security of the Song Dynasty and the southward movement of the political center. Literati painting in Yuan Dynasty emphasized brushwork and Mo Yun, not form, which changed the landscape.
Tang and Song painters pay attention to creating manuscripts, so they say "one mountain in ten days, one water in five days", which shows their deliberate management. After the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, the composition of some literati painters was often formed instantly. The flower-and-bird paintings in the Five Dynasties and the Northern Song Dynasty were mainly sketched, and then there were freehand paintings of "Four Gentlemen" (plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum), which were closely related to literature and painting. The above is just a brief mention of different times. The painter's thoughts, life, tools and methods will change, which will affect the painting style and make people see its characteristics of the times. These are just a few examples. As for the detailed analysis and narration, it is naturally not clear in a short time.
The works of the same dynasty, such as the calligraphers Su, Huang, Mi, Cai, Shan Shui Guo and Fan Kuanshu in Song Dynasty, have personal and regional differences, but they still have similarities in style, so that people can know at a glance that they are the words and paintings of Song people. Seeing the similarities and differences between the works of the same era and those of different eras, the paintings and calligraphy of Lin Ding, a predecessor, often talk about "the weather of dynasties". In fact, what they feel is what we call the style of the times.
Personal style is more specific and elusive than the style of the times. Painters and painters have different ideas, different personalities, different aesthetics and different artistic styles, which is an important basis for us to judge the authenticity of paintings and calligraphy. Taking Wu Daozi's paintings as an example, his pen and ink techniques mainly have three characteristics: he is not very skilled in depicting objects, and the so-called "everyone is close to the horizon, but I am far from painting." Everyone wants to be like an elephant, and I will get rid of its vulgarity "; His works are not colorful, and they are called "Wu Zhuang" without color, or even "white paintings". Draw fine lines in the early years, and then use this line as a "water shield strip", which can show the trend of "high edge and deep inclination, folding and floating" It is a line with three-dimensional effect for the purpose of expressing the subtle perspective changes of objects such as height, side, depth and inclination. This kind of line can more keenly express the three-dimensional modeling of objective things than iron line drawing, and is closer to the cursive script in the book king. The lines used by Wu Daozi to form images have been paid special attention by critics because of their strong sense of movement and rhythm. The expression of his line patterns can be described as "free and easy", "vigorous handwriting" and "furious brushwork". Line patterns are a means of expression, and their own effects also help to form the painter's unique style.
People who write have different habits, such as height, erection, sideways inclination, cantilever, wide elbow, hanging wrist and lightness, heaviness, slowness and urgency when writing. These different habits will inevitably have different performances, showing different characteristics when the pen falls on the paper. The characteristics of brushwork form are generally eccentric, round, square, imaginary, real, smooth and inverse. Therefore, it is most important to identify the authenticity of calligraphy and painting according to the characteristics of brushwork. The brushwork is the most difficult for imitators to prove. Every calligraphy and painting writer, regardless of skill level, has gradually formed a set of brushwork characteristics after decades of practice. It is impossible for another person to accept it completely and become existing overnight. In addition to being neat and rigid, lines are easy to copy, and it is inevitable to indulge the technique of exposing the author's personality and deliberately copy. Take the general idea, but it can't be the same as the original. At the same time, the characteristics of brushwork used by forgers themselves are also easy to be exposed in copying. The opposite method features-simplicity and accuracy, stagnation and elegance, etc. It's unlikely to come from one person. If a forger tries to copy calligraphy and painting that is contrary to his usual brushwork, his failure is doomed. The brushwork is the most difficult for counterfeiters to break through, so when we identify calligraphy and painting, we put brushwork first.