However, no matter how this method changes, it is "writing" around a purpose, which means that the writer's ever-changing methods are not the purpose in themselves. It is a huge misunderstanding of Chinese culture to separate this method and pursue it as a supreme artistic realm. For this reason, how many youths have been wasted in the pursuit of this misunderstanding. This method itself cannot discover the hidden order of the world, cannot create ideas, and cannot increase knowledge, so I can only say that it is just a technique, because any kind of art essentially helps us find what has been forgotten. The existence is a form that allows this existence to emerge from the daily concealment. Therefore, Heidegger believes that works of art are activities to conceal the existence, and calligraphy, apart from various exaggerations of swaying lines, does not help us discover. I don’t know how many people it can bring enlightenment to.
2. The disenchantment of technology
If there was an artistic and aesthetic consciousness in calligraphy in the past, now. The calligraphy art created by the ancients can illustrate the inadvertent choices of history. However, some calligraphers today do not understand the true nature of calligraphy at all. As a generation cut off from common sense and memory, they have entered the game of pen and ink.
It can be said that most of today’s calligraphy is an imitation of the ancients, completely misunderstanding the mood and interest of the ancients when they wrote, and some become mechanical reproductions without feeling. Blindly dismember, exaggerate, transform and counter-text in terms of techniques. They have no idea that the outstanding calligraphy works in the history of calligraphy are all about Dali and heaven and earth being together, and Dali and heaven and earth being together. Xu Beihong also believes: "The beauty of books lies in emotion and virtue." Try reading the "Lanting Preface", "Manuscripts for Memorials to Nephew" and "Hanshi Post", or look at the telegrams drafted by Mao Zedong during the war. Which one was written with the intention of When writing a calligraphy work, one has time to consider what calligraphy techniques. We can take another look at the four words "sorrow and joy" written by Master Hongyi before his death. In Master Hongyi's state of mind at that time, how could he think about the technique of writing? How can we, today's so-called masters of countless techniques, understand these eternal masterpieces that shock the past and present, and are graceful and flying?
If these works were not filled with great sorrow, great joy, heroic events and life experiences, how could they be written in such a natural way, with such a state of "Thunder brings out the best, ice and snow purify wisdom"? Reading "Lanting Preface" can completely feel the author's true appearance at that time, and all his changes are an inadvertent creation. According to the latest research by scholar Wu Daxin, the Lanting Meeting in the 9th year of Yonghe was not an "elegant gathering of literati" at all, but a secret military meeting convened by Wang Xizhi. At that time, Kuaiji suffered from successive droughts and wars, and the people were in dire straits. This was an era of internal and external troubles. As the military and political officer of Kuaiji, Wang Xizhi had no leisure time to hold any literati gatherings. It was just his peerless calligraphy that covered up the historical truth. If history is true, it also proves the rational reason for the accidental birth of this work of art. When appreciating "Manuscripts for Memorials to My Nephew", we can clearly feel Yan Zhenqing's overwhelming passion for grief and anger, and thirst for water. Which of us who moan for no reason can create such a shock in life. If Master Hongyi had not read all the vicissitudes of the human world, if he had not realized the great compassion of the same body, how could he be able to "mix sorrow and joy"? This state cannot be imitated by any flashy person. Reading Mao Zedong's calligraphy is like what Xiao Yan said in the Southern and Northern Dynasties: "Speed ??is like a startled snake losing its way, retreat is like wandering on the Lu River. Slowness makes it elegant, hurry makes it sharp, beating is like a pheasant pecking, and hitting is like a rabbit throwing. Stop at once and stop at once. It can be done at will, whether thick or thin, depending on the situation, the clouds gather and the water disperses, and the wind returns and the lightning rushes. "It is like a dream to watch a peng pass. It is natural and cannot be changed." (Qin Li Si's "Biography") . How could we have such a magnificent magnanimity of "all kinds of frost and sky compete for freedom" if there is not a strong wind in the chest, sweeping the world and bowing for the picturesque mountains and rivers. In the face of these true feelings, in the face of these thundering histories, I don’t know what those book writers who only know how to write small tricks feel.
Today's technical writers have forgotten even the most basic instrumental function of writing, and are completely experimenting with themselves, even using ugliness as beauty, weirdness as beauty, and weirdness as beauty. The astringency is the most beautiful thing, and the inability to understand is the most important thing. How can we talk about the influence of art, the true temperament of art, and the true spirit of art? "Studying books must have moral principles in mind and should be based on the learning of sages and philosophers. Books are precious. If you have thousands of volumes of books in your mind and do not follow the world, your books will not be diseased and their charm will be self-sufficient" (Huang Tingjian). But today's writers obviously no longer have the unique survival inquiry and spiritual adventure that characterizes everyone's style, and have become a frivolous trick on the streets of the public who are eager for quick success.
If calligraphy can indeed be understood as a highly technical art, then this technical color should take a back seat, or be hidden behind art. The difference between any art is that the light of art is bright and explicit, while the core of technology is recessive, and the less people feel the existence and operation of technology, the more successful art is. Just like the beauty of the human body we see, we can feel the vitality and rhythm of life in the stretched and moving body, but we cannot see the flow of blood in the body. This is also the most basic ethics of art and beauty. If technologists only allow us to see the technology itself, but cannot make people feel the life of art at all, either what you are operating is not art, or it is failed art. This, I think, is basic common sense in art. If we abandon the true meaning and soul of art and only paint and carve on the edges of technology, it can only be a manifestation of the exhaustion of vitality and creativity, or a typical utilitarian heart inflating itself. If so, what you are doing All text manipulation will become perishable garbage that will be quickly forgotten by readers. Then, you have nothing to do with art at all, and of course you will no longer be included in my critical vision.
3. The price of utilitarianism
In any era or in any country, there may not be the phenomenon of calligraphy utilitarianism we see today. It can be said to be a typical Chinese landscape. Driven by utilitarianism, a group of great calligraphers formed, and overnight, people everywhere became calligraphers. Originally, calligraphy has increasingly lost its practical function today. As an inertial inheritance of an ancient cultural form, it is understandable if some of us practice copying after dinner to exercise the body and calm the mind.
Just like taking a walk after a meal, getting up early in the morning, playing ball and chess on the weekends, it can be said to be a kind of private self-entertainment. This kind of self-entertainment is healthy and interesting, but there are always good people in it. Some of them call themselves home, and since then, this form has given more people greater stimulation and motivation.
First of all, the establishment of professional calligraphy associations and the emergence of professional calligraphers is a destruction and trampling of the purity of the art itself. We know that art is a passive product, which can be said to be a kind of life-extension that has to be done out of necessity. The expression of art is not enough to clear the heart because it does not express it. Any great works in history are rarely successfully produced on their own initiative. If Cao Xueqin did not pass "A Dream of Red Mansions", it would not be enough to express the bitterness in his heart. Li Bai left it for us because of his true temperament that "the emperor cannot come on board the ship" An eternal song. Wang Bo's "Preface to Prince Teng's Pavilion" is also a chic recitation at a gathering of literati. Even Socrates and Confucius were dedicated to their ideals, but they did not leave any words of their own, but their sincere remarks became eternal classics. But unfortunately, with the development of the times, the social division of labor has become more sophisticated, and even these unconscious creative forms have established special official institutions. Just imagine, the more investment in art, the more it will produce. If so, there will be no As far as art is concerned, it has completely become a commodity that can be mass-produced. But today, we ignore the laws of art and have established calligraphy institutions and personnel specially supported by the state. Then I remembered why the eggs produced in chicken factories are becoming more and more bland and tasteless. Now people are looking for them more and more. Stupid eggs and pheasants in the countryside. The reason is very obvious that the production of pheasant eggs is caused by life and the process of life. If they are not produced, it is against the order of heaven. Eggs produced in chicken factories are produced for the purpose of producing eggs, which is of course boring. However, our so-called professional calligraphers did not understand the irony of this institutional setup. Instead, they became more and more formal and proud. This kind of professional calligraphy operation made them go further and further down the road of utilitarianism.
The second is the hustle and bustle of various solo exhibitions and the printing of personal albums since the new century. What is hidden under these superficial prosperity is the lack of true creative spirit and the dissolution of individual independence. Due to the physical transformation of individual utility under the influence of powerful interests, it is a more terrifying subversion of artistic value. The perception and impact of any art is not based on the frivolity of rushing into battle, but on the internal strength accumulated over ten years of hard work. All self-displays that are eager for quick success can only rape readers with inferior word games. In the end, due to one's own efforts, It ruins the reader's appetite, but this does not seem to be something that those who are eager for quick success can sober up. The ultimate pursuit of giving up the spirit and engaging in non-cultural self-killing actions are rampant, so in order to attract attention, they do not hesitate to use the rules of commercialism to show their abilities. Overnight, all kinds of strange books, scripts, oral books, head books, big books, small books, etc. became a street sideshow. As long as someone cheered, even writing upside down became a pursuit. This kind of fatal destruction of art is entirely caused by the utilitarian tendency of writers. An already elite art species is currently appearing in the public's play in a vulgar flattery. I really don't know whether this is the fission of art or the fission of art. The sorrow of art. It can be said that this is a typical manic syndrome of the materialized era. It is also a manifestation of lack of knowledge and lack of self-cultivation. It confuses a serious and elegant art with the competition of the market, which exposes the common tendency of contemporary calligraphers to have no spiritual pride. In the new era, Unable to stick to one's own authenticity in the conflict of values, this itself has no connection with the true essence of art.
In addition, some so-called professional book writers, under the influence of business climate, began to clearly mark the prices of their works while bragging about them. The ancients had the heroic spirit of dying for those who knew them, and the literati's feelings of leaving books for those who knew. I don't know when the so-called professional calligraphers completely confused their works with commodities. A true work of art cannot be measured by money. On the contrary, if a work can be measured by money, it is still not art. In this way, art is turned into a commodity with a clear price, allowing people to understand it from the perspective of economics again. Writer.
Both Socrates and Confucius, the sages of mankind, had compulsory education for young people, and "education without discrimination" set an immortal example for intellectuals of all ages, making them pay attention to personal cultivation and virtue, and advocate a simple existence. Way. This is because all true art is distanced from the material world. Only by distance can we better examine this material world full of contradictions, and any true artist is against materialistic desires. Only in this way, Only then can he win the respect and love of the people, and only then can he distinguish the boundaries between art and life.
However, our current writers, whether entirely out of utilitarianism or for purposes other than art, have regarded this cultural and artistic symbol as a commercial appendage, or They are political dolls, and some works have become another kind of trading medium under unspoken rules. Calligraphy is undoubtedly revealing its own embarrassing situation, because some calligraphers are using rules other than calligraphy and art to package and achieve themselves. This is another devastating blow to the social recognition of the value of calligraphy, because in the face of the artistic value In their rebellion, the counterfeiters created their own material desires, but they also became the direct reason for them to distance themselves from the sanctity of art. This is the price that the utilitarians ultimately paid. However, the era of utilitarianism will also pay the price of leaving art blank in history. This is the cruelty of history, but it is also the fairness of history.
4. The Nest of Narcissism
Although calligraphy is the result of cultural misunderstanding, it is an undoubted fact that there are extended creations in thousands of years of misunderstanding. . In this case, the art of calligraphy has also made many people accept this historical misunderstanding, and the direction of human culture is not a misunderstanding. Since history cannot be assumed, we can only grasp the present and create the future. Due to the inherent shortcomings of contemporary calligraphy, some are deliberately imitating the mistakes of the ancients, some are deconstructing traditions, and some are caught in the cracks of ideological trends. Except for a small number of spiritual adherents, most of them The book writer is falling into the nest of narcissism and admiring himself in the well of narcissism, completely forgetting the vast realm outside the well and not knowing the huge world outside the book.
Calligraphy, like any art form, requires a higher and broader realm, whether it is the pre-Qin calligraphy that pioneered calligraphy, the Han Dynasty calligraphy that flourished in official script, the Wei and Jin calligraphy that evolved in calligraphy style, or the heyday of calligraphy In the Tang Dynasty, calligraphy in the Song Dynasty was still popular. Whether it is content aesthetics or style aesthetics, there is an aesthetic realm that cannot be concealed by reality. However, writers in today's era have completely ignored the universal principle of aesthetic value and are toying with themselves in solitary self-admiration. The vigorous spirit of creation has disappeared, and instead, writers praise, depreciate and play games with each other in their own circle.
Ouyang Xun of the Tang Dynasty once taught calligraphers to "clear their minds and minds, have a straight face, hold a pen to think about life, and stand by the pond to be at ease." He also emphasized that "every time the pen is held, it must be in a round and upright position, with strength vertical and horizontal, heavy and light, and meditation and meditation." From this, we know that when the ancients wrote, they could achieve a state of harmony with the order of heaven and earth because of their concentration of mind. Because "the wonderful way of calligraphy, the spirit is first, the form and quality are second, only those who have both can be introduced to the ancients. In this way, how easy is it to get more? It will make the heart forget the pen, the hand forget the book, and the heart and hand can express the emotion "Do not forget to think when writing, which means that what you ask for is revealed when you examine it" (Wang Sengqian's "Praise to the Brushwork" of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. What the ancients emphasized here is a straightforward temperament and spirit. A work of art without a subjective spirit can only be a piece of art. A mass-produced product cannot make people feel the vivid charm of art due to the participation of life.
It can be said that among the great calligraphers of the past, calligraphy was completely their writing tool, and they did not use it at that time. I have over-emphasized self-appreciation. Mao Zedong's writing in "Sweeping an Army" was his order to the front line. Lu Xun used a pen as sharp as a knife to complete his criticism of Chinese history, society and the bad nature of the people. Su Dongpo was a great writer. He is also a well-known politician in the world. Although he has been frustrated a lot in politics, he has no time to admire his calligraphy in the corner of his ivory.
Because it fails to reveal to us the meaning of existence, does not find alternative answers to our lives, and fails to reveal to us the philosophical desires hidden behind the text.
"The vitality of a culture does not come from itself, but from the power of confrontation. Cultural exodus and cultural nomadism are to draw new vitality from heterogeneous cultures" (Oliva), Although the art of calligraphy is far from having such power to resist the storm of the times, I don’t know whether we should be sad or grateful. You must know that it is this narcissistic technical method that makes the entire nation waste away in pen and ink from generation to generation without forming a closer rational form. truth-seeking spirit and value system.
Historical progress is the choice of ideas. Any advanced thought and art also obtains its own value from the criticism of reality. It brings the essence hidden behind things to the forefront. I don’t know, What can calligraphy, which we have been obsessed with for thousands of years, do for us?
The progress of history is also carried out in the alternation between the old and the new. It can be said that if yesterday had not gone, today would not have come. If the Tang Dynasty had not died, there would not be today's Republic of China. The same is true for art. Any art form also has its special historical soil. Without the living conditions at that time, if we insist on clinging to it in any era, it can only reflect our rejection of tomorrow. When can we treat history, culture and Chinese quintessence of art calmly and objectively? What we need is not only a rational truth-seeking attitude, but also a clear mind to embrace the future.