A brief discussion on "house leak marks"
In terms of calligraphy, the most outstanding contribution of Yan style calligraphy is the use of the center pen, which has changed the way of writing with the side edge since the Wei and Jin Dynasties. The edges, turning points and closing points are all hidden inside. The brush used is like "a cone drawing sand", like "house leak marks", the bones are strong and tough, and the muscles are plump and natural.
The so-called: "house leak marks" is a very vivid expression, just as the name suggests. This kind of scene was often seen in northern rural areas before the 1990s. (It is almost extinct now and is very rare to see, especially young people living in cities. They may not be able to imagine what it is like.) The houses with mud walls in the countryside have roofs covered with wheat straw. When it rains or snows, rainwater flows down the straw and onto the wall, forming naturally different traces of different sizes, which are called "house leakage marks".
Due to the erosion effect of rain on the earthen wall, this trace appears to be simple and natural, powerful and unpretentious. Refining and sublimating this natural phenomenon and applying it to the brushwork of calligraphy is actually a major contribution of Yan Shu. The written words will appear to be written through the back of the paper, penetrating into the wood, calm and concise. In fact, this is the same as Zhang Xu's theory of seeing Gongsun dancing with a sword and making great progress in cursive writing. Huai Su saw many strange peaks in the summer clouds, birds came out of the forest, frightened snakes into the grass and realized the cursive writing technique. They are of the same origin. They all vividly illustrate the calligrapher's The art of calligraphy is created based on the feelings of the physical and dynamic beauty of things obtained from the objective external world.
At the same time, let’s think about it from another angle: Did Yan Zhenqing realize this simple and mao brushwork based on the natural traces of leaks in the house, or did later generations observe that Yan’s calligraphy is as simple and mao as the traces of leaks in the house and attached it to it? Woolen cloth? This kind of attached description can often be seen in ancient calligraphy and commentaries. For example, Mrs. Wei pointed out in "Bi Zhen Tu": as horizontal as a thousand-mile formation of clouds, as dotted as falling rocks from a high mountain, and as vertical as a long-lived withered vine...
It doesn’t seem to make much sense to discuss this kind of question of who is responsible for whom. The key is to explain that art originates from objective things. At the same time, in order to better understand abstract art, objective things can be used to describe the ancients. Sayings such as "breaking hairpin strands", "cone scratching sand", "house leak mark". This all means that the pen is used carefully and the pen and ink effect is precise and powerful. Many calligraphers even believe that the natural "leak mark" is the highest state of calligraphy.
According to legend, during the Dali period of the Tang Dynasty, Yan Zhenqing and Huai Su discussed calligraphy in Luoyang. Lu Yu made the following record: Su said: "I see many strange peaks in Xia Yun, and I often learn from them. The pleasure is as follows The birds came out of the forest and the snakes entered the grass. They met the road one by one. Zhenqing said: "What's the leakage mark in the house?" Huai Su, when talking to Yan Gong about his experience in writing, used four metaphors: Xia Yun Qifeng, flying birds out of the forest, frightened snakes into the grass, and the road to the wall. However, Yan Gong disagreed and asked : "What are the leakage marks on the house?" After hearing this, Huaisu suddenly became enlightened, shook hands and exclaimed, "I got it!" methods and artistic effects. When writing, the pen should not be exhausted. The barrel of the pen should be poured out together. The strokes of the pen should move left and right, and move in and out, just like the water droplets from the leakage slowly dripping down the mud wall, meandering down, forming a bulging semicircular line. The strokes are round, solid and full, with a sense of three-dimensionality, thickness and flow.
The calligraphy theory of "house leak marks" is Yan Zhenqing's personal understanding of the beauty of calligraphy lines and a concentrated reflection of his personal calligraphy creation practice. The lines of calligraphy created using the principle of "house leak marks" reveal the beauty of roundness, richness, solemnity, calmness and broadness.
I have two monographs on Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy art at hand, one is "An Introduction to the Art of Yan Zhenqing's Calligraphy" by Yu Jianhua and Lu Cuixu, and the other is "An Introduction to the Art of Yan Zhenqing's Calligraphy" by Bai He. The first book gives a detailed introduction to Yan Zhenqing's life, the origins and characteristics of his calligraphy, and his influence on later generations. It also provides an appreciation of several famous inscriptions of the Yan family. The later book gives a comprehensive description of the similarities and differences of regular script, the basic principles of brush use, as well as brushwork, brushwork structure and calligraphy, ink techniques, and composition. It also comments on the inheritance and development of Yan style by more than a dozen masters.
Yan Zhenqing changed the style of calligraphers of the Wang School in the early Tang Dynasty who focused on finger movement, lightness and beauty, and thinness and hardness. He increased the use of wrist strength in his brushwork and highlighted the word "tendon", which is Fan Zhongyan The so-called "Yan Jin". In this way, the Yan characters achieve the effect of "powerfully penetrating the back of the paper", showing the "power" beauty of the art of calligraphy. Throughout Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy, he is honest, solemn and vigorous, which reflects his Confucian-based personality.
His cursive scripts "Manuscript for Nephew's Commemoration" and "Comment for Fighting for a Seat" are melodious and fierce, and his "General Pei's Poems" are strange and full of energy. It is his effective understanding of the space of Wang Shu and the integration into his own creation. among. The layout of "Yan Qin Li Monument" also shows the momentum and beauty of "Yan Ti". "Yan Family Temple Stele" is one of Yan Zhenqing's representative works in his later years, and it best reflects Yan Shu's typical style after he matured. "Magu Immortal Altar" and "Yanjia Temple Stele" are the most representative of his unique style of "house leakage marks". The overall beauty of Yan Kai is thick, heavy, large, simple and strict. To say that it is thick means that the charm is mellow, spacious and quiet; to say that it is heavy means that the pen is strong and strong, and the muscles and bones are strong; to be big means to be majestic and charming; to be simple means to be ancient and vigorous, Simple and sophisticated; to be strict means to be dignified and majestic.
In the eyes of calligraphy critics, Yan Zhenqing's "house leak marks" are not the highest level of beauty in calligraphy. Wang Shu of the Qing Dynasty believed: "'Ancient hairpin' feet' are not as good as 'house leakage marks', and 'house leakage marks' are not as good as 'Long live withered vines', because they are asymptotically natural." ["The Leftover Words of Lun Shu"] Naturally published Group is the highest state of calligraphy beauty. Perhaps this is just what Wang Shu said.