1. "The heart is right and the pen is right"
Liu Gongquan's euphemistic suggestion to Tang Muzong is "be honest with your heart". This famous saying can be understood from the following two aspects.
The first is to analyze the relationship between personality and calligraphy from the perspective of ethics.
Confucianism attaches great importance to ethics. In the cultural coordinates of Confucianism, calligraphy is regarded as a kind of "mind study". Liu Xizai's "Art Outline" said: "Therefore, books are also learned." This origin comes from the Han Dynasty. Yang Xiong's "Ask God through the Eyes" goes: "Words are also, and the heart is also; Books, heart paintings. Sound painting, gentlemen and villains see. Sound painter, gentlemen and villains are so emotional! " Yang Xiong believes that "books" communicate with the inner world. A gentleman can reveal beauty from this "heart painting" of a book, and a villain can also reveal his true colors in this "heart painting". During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhong You said in Calligraphy: "Handwriting is also bounded; Beauty is also a person. " Liu Gongquan enriched and developed this thought. His theory of "correcting the heart and writing correctly" links the relationship between personality, morality and calligraphy with new propositions, which is not only a portrayal of the great calligrapher in Tang Dynasty, but also a successful "pen remonstration" and has achieved certain results. This has aroused great interest and praise from later scholars. In the Song Dynasty, Su Shi wrote in Ceng Yun's poems: "Why is it that the family law is in a hurry, when you want to see sincerity?" ("Liu Er's nephew asks for a book") Zhao Yan said in the Yuan Dynasty: "You Jun once wrote" The Book of Changing Goose ",which is a fairy book with clear pronunciation and mellow voice. Seeing Liu Dezheng, the Millennium pen is still famous. " (The original text of "Hanging Regular Script Du in Tang Liucheng") and so on.
Not only that, but later generations also expounded this theory. In Ming Dynasty, Xiangmu formed the calligraphy order of "Zhengxin Zhengzi Zhengzi" from "Zhengxin Zhengzi", and thought that "Zhengxin" should be regarded as "sincerity", "knowledge" and "style". Then, through "faithfulness" to achieve "further study", calligraphy can also produce new ideas, wonderful meanings and strange meanings (see Elegant Words and Mind in Calligraphy). There is a "study of mind" in the history of philosophy. Both Song Lu Jiuyuan and Wang Ming Shouren regard "mind" as the origin of all things in the universe, and put forward "the learning of sage, the learning of mind and the mutual giving and receiving of Yao Shunyu". Liu Xizai in Qing Dynasty said, "Books are like. If you study, if you are talented, if you are ambitious, in short, you are like a person. " "Pen and ink, all by people's temperament. If you are a rational person, the first thing in the book. " ("Art Outline") These are closely related to "correct mind and correct pen".
"The meaning of heart and pen" emphasizes the calligrapher's character cultivation, and later generations often take character as one of the criteria for evaluating books. Su Shi once said: "Liu Zi is correct and the pen is correct. This is not only ironic, but also reasonable. Although the little people in the world are good at calligraphy, their facial expressions are always flattering and ungrateful, just like Zi Han's so-called axe thief. Hide the truth. However, if people still hate their books, they will know. " (Dongpo Inscription and Postscript) Therefore, Cai Jing, a traitor in the Song Dynasty, was excluded by calligraphers because of his despicable character. This proposition profoundly reveals the complex and subtle relationship between calligraphy and calligrapher's inner world from the perspective of creation, and is also the externalization and expression of calligrapher's personality in calligraphy. From this, we can also observe the calligrapher's mentality and make an appropriate evaluation of his works.
Secondly, analyze the calligraphy technique itself.
Liang Qing Shu Tong's "On the Book of Polonian and the Book of Kong Fu Ancient Yuan" said: "The heart is right and the pen is right. Most of the predecessors took Taoism as their solution, but the only brother did not. As long as you use a very soft wool to drop paper, you are not afraid of irregularity, careless control, superficial trance, and natural silence. "In fact, not only in Liang Dynasty, but as early as Song Dynasty, Jiang Kui said in the section of" Using a Pen "in Continued Book Spectrum that" the mind is right and the pen is right "and" the intention is before the pen, and the word is behind the heart "are all famous sayings. In Qing Dynasty, Zhou Xinglian wrote Ceng Yun in My View of Linchi: Liu Gongquan said that "the mind is right and the pen is right". The pen is straight and the front is easy to be straight, and the middle is sharp. He added: "The ancients said that the mind is constant and calm, and the calm is the wrist movement, and the wrist movement is the pen end. The pen end is filled with ink, and the ink injection is the heart coagulation, and the heart coagulation is self-cultivation, unintentional and full-hearted, and it is illegal and the whole law. This is a natural effort, which saves a lot of words and suggestions. Once and for all. "It is not unreasonable to comment on these technologies. But its importance is not as important as the "personality" theory.
2. Aspects of Yan Liu Jin Gu
The predecessors commented that Yan Zhenqing's ci was full of "sinews" and Liu Gongquan's ci was full of "bones", so it was called "Yan Liu Jin Gu". Song Fan Zhongyan entrusted Shi: "The pen to prolong life, Yan Gu."
The word "bone" means strong and magnificent. Mrs. Jin Wei's "Pen Map" said: "Those who are good at strength are skinny, and those who are not good at strength are fleshy; The skinny and fleshy one is called Jin Shu, and the fat and fleshy one is called Ink Pig. " There are many people who talk about "bone" in the history of calligraphy. Taking "a little like falling rocks" as an example, it refers to the power to unite the past movements, which is the expression of the artist's heart, but it is not nervous, but powerful and delicate. This is the so-called "bone". Zong Baihuayun, a modern aesthete, said: Bone is a powerful and prominent pen and ink, which exerts a kind of power from the inside. Although we don't talk about perspective, we can have a three-dimensional sense and produce a moving force for us.
The word "tendons and veins" has multiple meanings, either referring to the style of writing, or referring to the connection and strength of tendons and veins when writing a book. Tendon is also associated with meat, which is called "tendon". Yan and Liu Ye said that the remarkable characteristics of comparing them are: Yan Shu has many muscles, but he is not boneless, and Yan Zhenqing's book also emphasizes the power of bones; Liu Shu's bones are bare, but they are not meatless, but tend to be thin, and Liu Gongquan attaches great importance to bone method. The word "six valleys" can be understood as:
(1) Bone strength. Liu Gongquan is most obsessed with the embodiment of bone strength, carefully running against the trend, carefully protecting his head and hiding his tail, and concentrating his power on his lines. He strengthened his wrist and straightened his brushwork, such as "Tapping Sand" and "Yin Yinni". His brushwork is pressing, not pecking, in a tight vertical pen; Kick off, Chang Xun makes the front spear; At the turning point and pen changing place, most of them use Fang Bi to highlight the joints, or use a round pen to fold the hair. Real calligraphers pay attention to bone strength. Yan Zhenqing said in "Twelve Brushes of Zhang Xu" that "strokes (referring to quick strokes) have bones and muscles, and fonts are naturally attractive" and so on. Many of Liu Shu's practices borrowed from Yan Shu. For example, some of his vertical pens are crossbows, wrapped from left to right, and there are also ways to express the power of swallowtail silkworm head in his strokes. And Yan Shu's bone strength is hidden in his plump flesh and exposed from it; However, the strength of Liu Shu's bones is directly revealed from the thin and boneless meat, so it is called "six bones".
(2) the bone body. Liu Gongquan uses a delicate pen. Accurate and rigorous, so that every "bone" of his word formation is impeccable, and the connection between "bones" is meticulous. Yan Shu is charming, broad and fair; Ou Yangxun said, there is beauty in danger and solemnity in knot. Liu Shu's bone body pursues the combination of beauty and strength. Its bones stand straight and take advantage of thinness; The center is tight and the outside is sparse; Keep fit and open, stretching horizontally and vertically; Dot painting looks delicate and revealing, as healthy as hands and feet.
(3) backbone. Liu Gongquan's calligraphy is upright, refined and healthy, which exudes firm strength in the tall and straight bones and strokes, revealing the charm of health and refinement. This is closely related to his aesthetic taste and knowledge accomplishment, and is the result of his long-term tempering, which was conceived from his flesh and blood.
"Yan Liu Jin Gu" not only summarizes the main features of Yan Ti and Liu Ti, but also represents the most typical opening method in Tang Kai. If we take the development of regular script as a metaphor, "the Han and Wei dynasties germinated, the Jin and Jin dynasties planted stems, the Six Dynasties blossomed, and the Sui and Tang Dynasties ended" (Ding's On Calligraphy). Yan Ti and Liu Ti are the two greatest achievements. From the same point of view, both Yan's and Liu's books pay attention to the strength of bones and the spirit of men, and they are all the scrolls of the Tang Dynasty in calligraphy. The beauty of Yan Jin and Liu Gu became the aesthetic standard of regular script in Tang Dynasty. Before Yan and Liu, regular script still took Yan, but still took Jiankang; The former is elegant and elegant, while Yan Liu is still popular and appropriate; The former contains the articles of association, while Yan Liu's articles of association are exposed. The former emphasizes nature and nature, while the latter emphasizes artificial arrangement. The former is beautiful, while Yan Liu is magnificent. This is a historic achievement created by Yan Liu.
If we want to distinguish between "Yan Jin" and "Liu Gu", there have always been more comments on Yan. For example, in Song Dynasty, Zhu listed Yan Zhenqing as a "miracle" and Liu Gongquan as a "miracle". Feng Ban's Blunt Poetry in Qing Dynasty: "Yan Shu wins over Liu Shu". Zhou Xinglian's My Opinion on Linchi in Qing Dynasty said: "Yan's calligraphy is the best because it is full of natural interest, down-to-earth, connecting the past with the future, and this is the best." Shang Chengzuo, a modern man, once said: "Be careful with your pen, Chu Suiliang is more delicate, but not strong enough. Both of them are suitable for writing small characters, but not for writing big characters. Liu Gongquan (Hang Cheng) has better bones than meat, which is too explicit. Among the four families, Yan Zhenqing (Chen Qing) is omnipotent, and his words are peaceful, dignified and serene. No matter how big the word is, it can stand. There are advantages and disadvantages from it. " It is true that Yan Shu's magnificent realm is closely related to his magnificent life experience. Under the background of "An Shi Rebellion", Yan's extraordinary experience as a scholar, soldier, commander-in-chief and the establishment of a foreign dynasty made his life experience more profound, his artistic taste more refined and his image sweeter. Yan Shu deserves to be "extensive and profound"! Liu Gongquan is certainly inferior to Yan Zhenqing in these respects. If it is divided into high and low, this is the truth.
In previous books, some people belittled "Yan Jin" and "Liu Gu". Mi Fei of the Song Dynasty said: "Generally speaking, Yan Liu is the ancestor of ugly and evil beliefs in later generations." He especially criticized Liu's book. Qing Kang Youwei said: "Yu, Chu, Xue, Lu Chuanshi, Tang Shiwei has this ear. After the mid-Tang Dynasty, the four schools gradually became mixed, and there were no successors in later generations. Is this the decline of Yan and Liu's ugly style? " "Ou, Yu, Chu, Xue, although the brushwork is immortal, but the water is clear and simple, and the ancient meaning has been lost. Yan and Liu have repeated it and tore it endlessly!" (Guang Yi Zhou Shuangyi) and so on. There are two main points to belittle Yan and Liu:
First, it was dismissed as "vulgar". Yan Jin and Liu Gu are painstakingly arranged, with strict statutes and artificial beauty, which is obvious from the standards of natural vividness and free and easy style in the Jin Dynasty. However, "worshipping vulgarity" is related to the atmosphere of the times at that time and is easily accepted by the people. In the Qing Dynasty, Bao Yi Zhou Shuang Zhou said: "The (Yan) plain is like a plow cow, stable and beneficial to the people." And "Liu's calligraphy is well prepared, so he is a beginner." From the perspective of popularizing calligraphy, blunt poetry is conducive to civilians and easy for beginners, so what's wrong with vulgarity!
The second is to denounce it as "the ancient law died because of it." Both Yan and Liu are reformers, and naturally there will be gains and losses; The day you stick to the ancient law is the time when calligraphy is really killed. In the late Tang Dynasty, Shi Yaqi's On Books was quite insightful: "All books change in general. Wang became a white cloud body, Ou became a right army body, and Liu became an Ouyang An body, a Yong Zen master, Chu Suiliang, Yan Zhenqing, Li Yong, Yu Shinan and so on. And they all changed their bodies from books so as to pass on their names to future generations. If the law enforcement remains unchanged, you can score points, and you will be called a book slave, not self-reliant. It is a great demand for calligraphers. " This passage can be said to be a wake-up call for calligraphers or critics who "stick to the ancient law."