The development of Chinese calligraphy over thousands of years shows that calligraphy has always been at the center of cultural context. In ancient times, the cultural status and artistry of calligraphy have never been doubted. Calligraphy has become a symbol of the qualifications of literati and the overall principle of culture, that is, the high degree of unity between calligraphers and literati. The knowledge structure of ancient calligraphers is completely equivalent to that of literati. The multiple identities and rich academic background of calligraphers have become a common phenomenon in ancient society. Calligraphers are also literati or intellectuals.
Explained from the perspective of traditional culture and spirituality, humanistic spirit refers to spiritual culture in a certain sense. Because literati have historically been the main body in the creation of humanistic spiritual culture.
Literati or intellectuals must possess the humanistic spirit. Without the humanistic spirit, they are not true literati or intellectuals. If you are not an intellectual, you are not the carrier of culture, and you are not the subject of cultural spiritual creation. Based on this, calligraphers must be intellectuals and possess humanistic spirit.
When we look at contemporary calligraphy, after several years of enthusiasm, the superficial prosperity and progress cannot conceal its inner spiritual degeneration and emptiness. The root cause of this embarrassing dilemma of contemporary calligraphy lies in the classical cultural language. The environment was completely destroyed, and modern culture completely rejected calligraphy; the utilitarian thoughts and impetuousness brought about by the cultural transformation of various countries during the spread of Western culture eastward fundamentally eliminated the cultural value orientation and humanistic spirit of Chinese calligraphy. The pursuit of calligraphy has led calligraphy to become flat and technical, thus causing calligraphy to lose the language of cultural spirit.
If you don’t understand Chinese classical philosophy, how can you understand that Chinese calligraphy is a philosophical art of freehand brushwork. Furthermore, most calligraphers have relatively poor knowledge of traditional calligraphy theories, and there is a disconnect between theory and creation. As a contemporary calligrapher, you must have strong theoretical support in order to develop artistic insights and radiate huge energy, because theoretical literacy is, to a large extent, reflected in the calligrapher's cultural aesthetic concepts and insights. From the above analysis, it can be seen that the classical cultural literacy of contemporary calligraphers is relatively weak, and their mastery of modern culture is only limited to the general scope of contemporary culture. In creative practice, I am limited to memorizing a few ancient poems or knowing some traditional Chinese characters. It can be seen that some contemporary calligraphers are no longer literati or intellectuals in the true sense, but are just culturally generalized strata in society, that is, mass cultural people. Even some calligraphers with higher cultural literacy cannot compare with the ancients.
As a successful calligrapher, you must not only have superb artistic skills, but also have strong cultural literacy. As Yang Shoujing, the great calligrapher of the Qing Dynasty, said: "First, we must learn to be rich and have a broad mind, so that the spirit of writing will naturally overflow in the lines."
All the outstanding calligraphers in history are not erudite and knowledgeable, and the same is true for modern calligraphers.
The impetuous mentality brought about by the social transformation period and the penetration of commercialized utilitarian consciousness have intensified the fame and fortune thoughts of contemporary calligraphers. In particular, the operation and noise of major national book fairs have aroused the excitement of the popular calligraphy movement, and fame and fortune have become the fundamental driving force for the creation of contemporary calligraphers.
Under the influence of the idea of ??fame and fortune, money worship has become a common trend, and everything is focused on money. Disdainful of public welfare matters, money comes first. We ask about the artist’s ideal pursuit, that is, the ultimate goal is the advancement of art, not the pursuit of monetary gain. Objectively speaking, artists cannot be separated from the reality of life, but they cannot regard money as the ultimate goal of life. If this is the case, you will never become a true artist. Because money simplifies the motivational description of cultural people and quasi-literary people, money has changed the connotation of aesthetic images.
The most prominent manifestations of the traditional Chinese literati’s spiritual character are their strong sense of historical mission and sense of urgency. Some contemporary calligraphers lack attention to ideal personality, which is the lifelong pursuit of traditional Chinese literati or intellectuals.
From the overall point of view of contemporary creation, the creative level of many contemporary calligraphers is not inferior to that of the ancients, but their inherent spirit is always inferior to that of the ancients. From this, we can draw the conclusion that although technique is very important, when all techniques are mastered, technique becomes secondary. At this time, the calligrapher's accumulation of knowledge and spiritual realm were regarded as the most important.
The comparison between us and ancient calligraphers, or the comparison between our contemporary calligraphers, is by no means a comparison of techniques, but a difference in the cultural quality and spiritual realm of the calligraphers.
A person’s ideal pursuit, values, ethics, and cultural education directly affect the success of his or her career. The same is true for calligraphers, who have witnessed the degeneration of the spirit of contemporary calligraphy. This is by no means a technical problem, but due to the weakness of contemporary calligraphers’ cultural literacy and the dissolution of their humanistic spirit. Without this point, it will be difficult for contemporary calligraphers to produce lofty artistic conceptions and create excellent works with rich meanings.