"Notes on the History of Chinese Calligraphy - (Song, Liao and Jin Volume)" (2)
Cai Xiang (March 7, 1012 - September 27, 1067), courtesy name Junmo, A native of Xianyou County, Xinghua County, Fujian Road. Calligrapher, writer, politician and tea expert of the Northern Song Dynasty.
In the eighth year of Tiansheng's reign (1030), Cai Xiang ascended to the rank of Jinshi, and successively served as collation of Guange, Zhijianyuan, Zhishiguan, Zhizhigao, Zhizhigao, Longtuge, Privy Council, and Hanlin He holds the positions of Bachelor, Third Secretary, Bachelor of Duanming Palace, etc. He serves as the Fujian Road Transport Envoy and knows the affairs of Quanzhou, Fuzhou, Kaifeng and Hangzhou. In the fourth year of Zhiping (1067), Cai Xiang passed away. He was given the posthumous title "Zhonghui" as a gift to the young master.
Cai Xiang once wrote "Tea Records" and presided over the development of "Xiaolong Tuan", which played an important role in the promotion of Jiancha.
When Cai Xiang was young, the calligrapher Zhou Yue was famous, so his calligraphy has never been able to get rid of the "soft and vulgar" problems criticized by Zhou Yue. But this did not prevent Cai Xiang from becoming the leader of the four calligraphy schools of the Song Dynasty. The reason for his success was that when the calligraphy of the Song Dynasty was in decline, he diligently worked on the five-body calligraphy, fully inherited the traditional calligraphy, and ended the chaotic situation of calligraphy in the century since the founding of the Song Dynasty.
Door screen calligraphy
The style of calligraphy in his early works was weak
Cai Xiang was a very diligent calligrapher. He learned almost all kinds of calligraphy styles. And can reach a very advanced level. As his old friend, Ouyang Xiu once gave an evaluation of his calligraphy:
The running script is first, the small regular script is second, and the cursive script is third.
Cai Xiang’s running script is his strongest Xiang, his letters are freely displayed and picked up at his fingertips. Several works from his peak period can be described as gentle, graceful and luxurious.
Self-written poems
Early self-written poems are sharp and soft, but have not yet reached a calm state
Hu Congtie
An Dao Tie
Chengxintang Paper Tie
Hu Cong Tie, An Dao Tie and Chengxintang Tie are the best works among Cai Xiang's manuscripts. Especially Chengxintang is the most popular.
Cai Xiang's small regular script is quiet and calm. After Ouyang Xiu completed "Collection of Ancient Records", he asked Cai Xiang to write the "Preface" and commented on Cai Xiang's small regular script as "vigorous".
Thank you for the imperial calligraphy poem
This work fully demonstrates Cai Shu’s sophistication and power, and can be called the pinnacle of Cai Xiang’s regular script work
Cai Xiang The cursive script has its own style, that is, the "Feicao" calligraphy style that has the characteristics of both cursive script and Feibai script. ?
Tao Sheng's Tie
"The smoke, clouds, dragons and snakes rotate at will, rushing up and down, which is extremely terrifying"
Cai Xiang also writes big characters, firstly, following the Tang Dynasty Dianzhi's large regular script, and the other type is Moya's giant script. Cai Xiang's giant cliff carvings have many relics on Gushan Mountain in Fuzhou, such as the three characters "forgetting to return to the stone" and the inscription. However, later generations' evaluation of its large characters was quite average.
Zijintang Ji
"Zijintang Ji" was written by Ouyang Xiu and written by Cai Xiang. It is Cai Xiang's representative work in regular script with large characters. Each character is written dozens of times individually, and the best one is chosen to be put together, also known as the "Bai Nie Monument".
However, Cai Xiang's official script is not as good as his other calligraphy styles. Su Shi evaluated it as "little (slightly) inferior".
Cai Xiang is extremely passionate about calligraphy, and his dedication to learning is admirable. He can be said to be the first person since the Song Dynasty to conduct in-depth research and inheritance of calligraphy.
But greed for too much knowledge is also a double-edged sword. After all, human energy is limited. If you insist on perfection, you will rarely have time to examine, reflect on the shortcomings in creation and make corrections. Cai Xiang himself once lamented:
"Those who were good at calligraphy in ancient times must first write in regular script, and gradually get to cursive writing, without departing from regular script. Zhang Zhi and Xu Bian are strange and unusual, and they are due to the unique path of pen and ink. In addition, he has more than enough spirit and ease, but he is different from Xi and Xian. In recent years, Xiang has a rough understanding of its meaning, but his power is no longer enough, which is useless!"
As a great master, Cai Xiang's lofty status has once been. There was a serious challenge behind him. This mainly comes from the later generation of calligraphers. Huang Tingjian and Mi Fu, both members of the "Four Song Masters", criticized Cai Xiang's calligraphy. This conflict actually mainly comes from the differences in the calligraphy concepts of "Shangfa" and "Shangyi".
In the eyes of the "Shangyi" calligraphers who advocate nature, Cai Xiang's calligraphy is too clever and artificial. However, Su Shi, who was the leader of the "Four Song Calligraphers" and was also a "Shangyi" calligrapher, strongly opposed the criticism of Cai Xiang.
In fact, the ranking of the so-called "Four Song Masters" does not simply consider the level of calligraphy and contribution to the times, but also comprehensively considers official status, good and evil character, and academic excellence from a non-artistic level. This ranking has been passed down to this day and has been recognized by most scholars.
In short, Cai Xiang fully inherited traditional calligraphy and was the last legacy of the "Shangfa" calligraphers. However, after him, the "Shangyi" calligraphers began to rise and became many calligraphers after the Song Dynasty. The mainstream of the dynasty.