Based on the profound material wealth and cultural heritage, whether it is poetry, poetry, calligraphy, painting or porcelain, the form of verve has reached its historical peak. When it comes to the elegance of life and aesthetic taste, even thousands of years later it will be difficult to match it.
The pace of modern life is so fast. The pursuit of worldly fame and fortune is a rush. But your life should not always be "on the road to Yangzhou" and only think about "looking northwest and shooting at the wolf". You should also slow down your pace from time to time, appreciate the splendid time of "the sound of the wind flute, the light of the jade pot", and learn the wisdom of elegant life from the people of the Song Dynasty.
"Song Dynasty" is no longer just the name of a dynasty, but has evolved into a unique aesthetic symbol in the history of art.
The feeling and pursuit of beauty in the Song Dynasty was from top to bottom. Song Huizong personally compiled the "Xuanhe Calligraphy Book" and "Xuanhe Painting Book" to completely organize the calligraphy and paintings collected in previous generations.
"The fragrant flowers are attached to the green calyx, resplendent in the garden, the dew is so intoxicating, and the remaining glow seems to be melting. It is difficult to write a picture, only good luck is left to the work, dancing butterflies are attracted by the fragrant paths, dancing gracefully into the night wind". It's amazing that an emperor has such a delicate understanding of beauty.
The kings of the Song Dynasty all advocated "literary rule". Mature philosophical thoughts endowed Song Dynasty aesthetics with a strong humanistic spirit and a unique style of purity and elegance, creating the cultural source of traditional Chinese aesthetics.
The following will transition from the metaphysical poems, songs, landscape calligraphy, to the metaphysical cost of utensils and the four arts of life, allowing you to truly appreciate the ultimate aesthetics and elegant life of the Song Dynasty, which was thousands of years ahead of its time.
1. Song Dynasty | Poems and Songs
The Song Dynasty took advantage of three hundred years of prosperity and prosperity, and the literati and scholars were supported by the smoke and clouds. They either lived in seclusion in the mountains and forests, or traveled in nature, integrating their understanding of nature into it. Zen life and literary creation.
Song poetry is undoubtedly extremely beautiful:
There is both the scenic West Lake scenery of "three autumns of osmanthus and ten miles of lotus flowers"; there is also the prosperity of the city where "the roads are filled with the fragrance of BMWs and carved cars".
There is both the sweetness of "red hands, yellow wine" and the sadness of "bright moonlit night, short pine trees".
There is both the melancholy of "having no choice but to let the flowers fall away"; and the broad-mindedness of "living my whole life in the mist and rain".
It can be "one kind of lovesickness, two places of leisurely sorrow", and it can also be "gold and iron horses, swallowing thousands of miles like a tiger".
If we say that in the context of the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, poetry was full of youthful, free and joyful atmosphere. Then in the Song Dynasty, the spirit of the times was not about making achievements, but about life in this world. It did not emphasize everything in the world, but only focused on personal mood. As a result, elegant Song poetry flourished.
The earliest words were written by literati for songs to be sung by kaikos. Later, fixed sentence patterns of varying lengths were formed to describe the scenery in detail and express complex moods.
Wang Guowei said in "Human Ci Hua": "The realm of Ci is the highest."
What is realm? It’s real scenery and real feelings. Many good words that have been passed down through the ages use other things to convey emotions euphemistically and implicitly, reflecting a certain mind and state of mind.
For example, the poet Wei Zhuang was good at using beauties to express his emotions. He mourned the demise of the Tang Dynasty by writing about beauties thinking about farewell.
Xin Qiji is good at using historical allusions to express his personal ambitions. For example, instead of simply saying that we want to regain lost territory, we can express it very cleverly with phrases such as "raise your head to the floating clouds in the northwest, and lean on the sky thousands of miles away with a long sword."
Whether it is the sound of the prosperous Tang Dynasty or the meaning of Song poetry, it actually conveys a kind of mind, thought and state of mind. This reflects what Li Zehou said: "Beauty is a meaningful form."
If the level of realm determines the style of poetry, then the change in aesthetic taste from Tang poetry to Song poetry can be seen the imprint of the era's background on poetry and songs.
During his life, when he was young and talented, he developed the Tang style; in his later years, when he thought deeply, he developed the Song style. Song poetry, as a pinnacle of literature, greatly broadens the resolution of emotional expression.
2. Song Dynasty | Landscape Paintings
The glorious era that truly made traditional Chinese painting shine, mature and influence today is the two Song Dynasties. The palace art flourished, the painting academies were well-established, famous artists emerged in an endless stream, artistic trends were active, and paintings were exquisite.
Aesthetics changed qualitatively from the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty. Paintings in the Tang Dynasty focused on figures, while those in the Song Dynasty preferred landscapes. The Tang Dynasty loved the bright colors of red and green, while the Song Dynasty preferred the elegant appearance of black and white ink.
Song Dynasty painting not only pursued technology, but also pursued the artistic conception in the painting.
It's less pretentious and more natural and peaceful.
The biggest development of landscape painting during this period was: philosophy influenced the techniques of landscape painting. The philosophy of the Song Dynasty attached great importance to "investigating things" - observing things carefully and carefully to find out the principles that constitute them.
The spirit of "Gewu" is applied to painting, which means that the natural mountains and rivers: the texture of rocks, the ripples of water and the seasons of leaves are studied extremely carefully.
For example, in Fan Kuan's "Journey to Streams and Mountains" in the Northern Song Dynasty, the waterfall water rushes down from a high place, but below there is just a vast expanse of water vapor, giving you an immersive feeling.
Another example is Ma Yuan's "Water Picture Scroll" of the Southern Song Dynasty, which uses twelve paintings to depict the performance of different water in different places and seasons. This is the spirit of investigating things.
The early Northern Song Dynasty adhered to the "mountains and rivers" since the Five Dynasties. No matter the mountains, forests, rivers, lakes and seas, they paid great attention to the momentum, whether they were "high mountains and deep mountains" with thick peaks and powerful momentum, or smokey forests and clear open spaces. , "Pingyuan Cold Forest" with desolate weather.
Among them are Li Cheng, Fan Kuan and Dong Yuan, the "three landscape masters".
The "Three Song Schools" have different understandings of nature. "Painting Appreciation" says: "Dong Yuan gained the aura of landscapes, Li Cheng acquired the physical appearance, and Fan Kuan acquired the art of bones. Therefore, the three schools have illuminated the past and present, and have served as teachers for generations."
Among them, Fan Kuan's masterpiece "Travel to Streams and Mountains" is the most representative. The mountains are solemn and solemn, standing still, but the streams are gurgling and flowing, combining movement and stillness, revealing an extraordinary power with rich layers and powerful ink lines, giving people an immersive feeling.
In "Traveling in Streams and Mountains", people are just tiny existences traveling in mountains and rivers. People in the Song Dynasty knew well that life is just a passing passerby in the vast universe, so they use "travel" instead of "travel". . Revere nature and stay humble.
By the middle and late Northern Song Dynasty, they no longer simply paid attention to the momentum of lines, but also pursued an inner charm, which not only accurately depicts the external image, but also fully expresses the inner feelings. Realistic panoramic landscape painting was developed to its extreme.
In the middle are Wang Ximeng and Zhao Boju, who inherited the green landscape of Tang Dynasty.
Landscape painting changed somewhat in the Southern Song Dynasty. The majestic landscapes disappeared, and more works were created for a specific angle, emphasizing beauty and neatness. Although it is less powerful, the small and delicate breath is coming to the face.
Li Tang, Liu Songnian, Ma Yuan and Xia Gui are collectively known as the "Four Great Masters of the Southern Song Dynasty".
Li Tang, the leader of the Four Great Masters of the Southern Song Dynasty, created a new style of landscape painting. In the representative work "Ten Thousand Valleys with Pine Wind", the landscape began to have a strong emotional color and a strong romantic sentiment, which inspired the style of blank space and literati poetry in subsequent landscape paintings.
Ma Yuan and Xia Gui, on the other hand, are famous for their "remnant mountains and left water". Their original "corner" hair style uses the corners to see the whole picture, and they choose to cut and leave white ink and wash to keep the picture clear and clear. And ethereal, creating an artistic conception of "silence is better than sound at this time".
The majestic and simple brushwork, the vigorous crackling of ink and wash, the solid and bright light dyeing, the clear and far-reaching artistic conception, and the endless aftertaste fully reflect the minimalist aesthetics of Song Dynasty painting.
Representative works include Ma Yuan’s “Tap Song Picture” and “Fishing Alone on the Cold River”;
Song Dynasty scholars advocated "studying things to gain knowledge", that is, they did not try to impress people with skills, let alone be sentimental, but responded to nature with awe, reflected the beauty of contrast in details, and used rational introspection Attitude, pursuing an almost ideal reality.
When you walk into Song Dynasty paintings and appreciate them with your heart, you will be deeply moved by an unprecedented beauty.
It is gentle yet powerful, restrained and occasionally overflowing, elegant and never dry. It shows the beauty of physical form, is simple but not simple, and expresses the image and spirit of natural life in its meticulous craftsmanship.
3. Song Dynasty | Pen and Ink Calligraphy
As an art of lines, calligraphy is a concentrated expression of the aesthetics of an era.
Song Dynasty calligraphy, like ink landscape painting, no longer pursues grandeur and grandeur, but focuses more on expressing oneself, pursuing the beauty of a plain, innocent, ethereal and elegant artistic conception.
"Song Dynasty calligraphy advocates artistic conception" refers to the pursuit of artistic conception in Song Dynasty calligraphy, rather than being limited to legal regulations. As Su Shi said: "I can't create the original meaning of calligraphy, but I can only try to guess what I am doing."
Song people's writing was not as formal as that of Tang people, but was natural and casual. Through calligraphy, we can see the true temperament of the person who writes, whether excited, sad, free and easy, or chic.
For example, Song Huizong, as an artist who was delayed by the emperor, his calligraphy and paintings are treasures.
The "thin gold body" originally created by Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty is like bending iron and breaking gold, showing its sharp edge and vividly expressing his free and easy temperament and persistence.
The famous calligraphers of the Song Dynasty are "Su Huang Mi Cai", namely Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, Mi Fu and Cai Xiang, collectively known as the "Four Calligraphers of the Song Dynasty".
Among them, Huang Tingjian was eight years younger than Su Shi and admired Su Shi's character and talent very much. The two were close friends.
Su Shi's characters were slightly broad and flat, soft and warm, and Huang Tingjian joked that they were "toads crushed by stones." Huang Tingjian's characters were relatively thin, with alternate straight and straight characters. Su Shi joked that they were "snakes hanging from the treetops." It vividly reflects the characteristics of their calligraphy.
Su Shi's handwriting was beautiful when he was young. At the age of 43, he was arrested in Wutai Poetry Prison. After Ouyang Xiu and others tried their best to save him, he was demoted to Huangzhou. During the Huangzhou period, he wrote "Chibi Fu", "Nian Nujiao", and the only remaining "Han Shi Tie".
"Han Shi Post" was written after a big setback in life. Su Shi no longer cared about the so-called beauty, but wrote it in one go and naturally smooth. This is the highest state of life, "Others laugh at me for being too crazy, but I laugh at others because they can't see through it." Many things must be understood at different stages of life.
Later Huang Tingjian wrote an inscription on the "Cold Food Post". The two major calligraphers are juxtaposed, interpreting the highest example of the Song Dynasty's artistic conception. The brushwork of the Song Dynasty was bold and rigorous, varied and integrated; thin and hard yet strong yet soft yet strong. It is still recognized as the highest quality and style in the world.
4. Song Dynasty | Official Kiln Porcelain
The Song Dynasty was the "golden age" in the history of the development of the porcelain industry. The quantity and quality were top-notch, including the warm Ding Kiln white glaze, The elegant Longquan plum green glaze, the subtle Ru kiln sky blue, Yaozhou kiln celadon, Jingdezhen blue and white porcelain and so on.
In the Song Dynasty, kilns were everywhere, and the glaze colors varied greatly. Different from the bright and publicity of Tang Sancai, it tends to be restrained and clear in texture, with gentle and warm colors, which makes the mind and body peaceful.
Compared with Yuan porcelain, Song porcelain is more delicate; compared with Ming and Qing porcelain, it is less feminine. The craftsmanship is exquisite and complex, but the final effect is extremely quiet, restrained, and unpretentious.
Song people actually used the simplest squares, circles, plainness, simplicity and clumsiness to express texture and simplicity, elevating beauty to the extreme. "After the rain, the sky clears and the clouds break the virginity, the same color represents the future." This is the Song people's pursuit of beauty. The colors are elegant and unparalleled.
Just like the meaning of "the greatest simplicity", that is, abandoning the over-sculpture of the appearance and pursuing the inner essential beauty, showing the highest state of connotation in simplicity and meaning in simplicity.
Just as Su Shi used spring water as a metaphor for poetry and prose, "the most gorgeous things turn into plainness", art should also transcend simple sensory beauty and rise to the realm of thoughts and emotions, making it plain but not boring.
This kind of beauty of "the extreme of splendor returns to blandness" is most perfectly embodied in the "Ru Kiln of the Northern Song Dynasty" and the "Guan Kiln of the Southern Song Dynasty". The subtle and diluted brilliance is delicate and simple, extremely gorgeous, and extremely dull. . Achieving the pinnacle of porcelain aesthetics.
The ice cracks were originally a failure, but people in the Song Dynasty felt that there was a kind of vicissitudes of beauty in it. After time, it was called the opening of the film. This is a very special aesthetics of the Song Dynasty.
The plain and grainless azure Ru porcelain, paired with the looming ice cracks, is so simple that it seems that you can’t find the focus of appreciation. However, if you look carefully, you will find that the tranquility of the azure color matches the agility of the ice cracks. The combination of movement and stillness complements each other, and it has endless appeal with all the utensils and artistic conception.
The people of the Song Dynasty mastered the perfect combination of simplicity and clumsiness, plainness and elegance. They used unique simple shapes and elegance and freshness to interpret their keen perception of natural creatures and elaborate on the profoundness and artistic connotation of Chinese culture. .
Judging from the handed down plum blossom paintings, dead wood landscape paintings, ice-cracked celadon, and kiln-changed glazed porcelain, the Song Dynasty people tried to make imperfections the focus of appreciation, and used simplicity, plainness, lightness, elegance, and clumsiness to achieve uniqueness. aesthetic taste.
5. Song Dynasty | The Four Arts of Fengya
As a dynasty that can truly bear the word "fengya", the "Song Dynasty" is the peak of ancient Chinese civilization, and is even praised by the West as "The Renaissance of the East".
The literati and officials of the Song Dynasty pursued a reclusive life, and the elegant life aesthetics naturally emerged from the reclusive culture, which quickly became popular among the people.