Yunnan, the birthplace of the treasure tablet, belonged to "South China" in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and the ethnic minorities living there were called "Southwest Yi". Compared with the Central Plains and Jiangnan, the economy and culture here are relatively backward, and it was a barren land in those days. The steamed stuffed bun family is a local aborigine and the most popular name. His ancestors can be traced back to Xi Xi, and he was one of the great men in the south who surrendered when Zhuge Liang conquered the south. After Shu, he was the leader of the officials. Since then, Xian Su was an official in Cao Wei, Xian Yun was an official in Northern Wei, Bao Zi was an official in Eastern Jin, and his official position was "Jianning Taishou". It can be seen that although cuan clan is a barbarian, he has been influenced by China culture since the Shu and Han dynasties because of his close ties with the Han regime. Moreover, in the Han Dynasty, the place under the jurisdiction of Baozi was once the international traffic artery in the southwest border of China, and it was the only place for Chinese and foreign traffic. With frequent contact with the mainland, the cultures of China and Turkey will inevitably spread to South China through various channels, including writing and calligraphy. Therefore, there seems to be a "treasure tablet" made in China in South China. At first glance, this is incredible and quite surprising, but it is reasonable from its historical and geographical background.
Wei-Jin period is a transitional period in the history of calligraphy, mainly from official script to regular script and running script. Here only talk about the changes of official script. Under the strong wind of "change", the stippling and forms of the old and new calligraphy styles have taken on a new look: on the one hand, the official script of the old style has a long history and is often written in regular script; On the other hand, the new style of regular script is not perfect, and the shadow of official script can be seen from time to time. Therefore, the combination of the old and the new, and the relevance of official script are the remarkable characteristics of calligraphy style in this period. However, due to different times, different practical purposes and different calligraphers' calligraphy skills, the ratio between official script and official script is also different. Some take Li as the body and participate in the modeling method, and Li is more than the modeling method; Some take Kai as the body and leave Li Yi, and Kai is more than Li; Some are mixed official scripts, and it is difficult to define whether it is regular script or official script. Zibao Zibei is a typical example. Because Kang Youwei called this tablet official script in Guang Yi and Zhou Shuang Tan, his later works all followed this theory. Actually, I don't think this is appropriate. But now that it has been established, it must be so.
Then, why is there such a face that is neither Kai nor Li, but also Kai and Li in Xianbaozi Monument? Mr. Qiu Xigui said in "Introduction to Philology" that the author of the tablet "tried to draw up eight points but didn't like it, and the font seemed unnatural", which I think is very reasonable.
As we know, in the history of calligraphy development in China, handwritten ink calligraphy and inscription writing are relatively independent and self-contained, and at the same time, they influence and restrict each other. In terms of time, the transformation of handwritten ink books is always earlier than that of seal cutting inscriptions. This is the evolution from seal script to official script in the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period, and so is the evolution from official script to regular script in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. This difference is mainly caused by different practical purposes. Handwritten ink books are mostly used for daily documents, books and the like. Because it is simple, in the process of writing quickly and quickly, the pen is often grass, and the vulgar pen is used, thus dissolving the old style and producing the new law. At first, it was used by a small number of people, but later it was used by more and more people and standardized, which became a new body. During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, regular script had matured from Zhongyou to Erwang, which formed a new style and was widely used in official documents and daily life, causing turmoil in the south and central China. Although it is difficult to see the physical data, it can be inferred that the handwritten ink calligraphy in Nanzhong should be similar to that in Central Plains and Jiangnan, that is, similar to that in Wei and Jin Dynasties, Dunhuang and Zhong Wang. Even though South China is located in the border and its communication is far from perfect, its new regular script is not as mature as China's, but it is not far behind. That is to say, in South China at that time, regular script (even now it still has official meaning) has become a common font in daily life of all walks of life. Therefore, there is no doubt that the author of Xianbao Zibei can write regular script.
Carving and casting inscriptions are different. Its main purpose is to be practical, or for one's protege and old disciple to erect a monument for one's owner or for later generations to chisel stones for one's ancestors, not only for publicity, but also for long-term spread. Therefore, in order to show respect for it and show its solemnity, archaic characters are often used. This is the reflection of China's calligraphy of the long-accumulated ancient worship consciousness of the Chinese nation. Therefore, although the new style of regular script was fierce at that time, this monument still followed the tradition since the Han Dynasty, taking official script as regular script. The conservatism in font selection of seal cutting inscriptions restricts the speed of its transformation to a new style, which is always a beat slower than that of handwritten ink books. Moreover, before and after Zibaozi Monument, the old-style official script was no longer a common font for public-private exchanges, and the number of learners was also decreasing, so it goes without saying that the author of Zibaozi Monument was not good at official script.
Therefore, the author of Xianbao Zibei regards the new style of regular script as the old style of official script, which can only be described as if. The result is neither fish nor fowl, nor official script, and it is in an embarrassing situation of "two unlike", and the font is very unnatural. Now, when scholars who are not familiar with official script begin to write official script, they often input official script in block letters, and the font is similar. But there are essential differences; The former contains profound artistic charm in the embarrassment of "two unlike", which can give people infinite aesthetic feeling, while the latter is really neither fish nor fowl, except for the glyph composed of letters and official scripts. Is this aesthetic difference caused by history, philosophy, nationality and psychology, or other reasons? The reason is thought-provoking
The author of "Treasure Monument" is not good at copying the law, but barely makes a fuss about it. On the one hand, he is serious in his work, on the other hand, his skills are not good enough and he is unwilling to help him. Instead, he wanted to work more and more. In this way, many unusual and even "unreasonable" pens and knots appeared. These unreasonable strokes and rope structures have become the most remarkable artistic feature of the monument-strange posture. If everything should be in order and everything should be the way it is, what's so strange and different?
Look at some pictures first. Most of the stippling on the tablet is a combination of Kai and Li. As we all know, the most typical pen for official script is Bo Tiao, whose shape is characterized by silkworm head and goose tail. Most of the wave paintings and pick paintings in this monument are not much different from those in Han Li, except that the method of writing is changed from reverse to cutting, and the silkworm head is changed to oblique square. In this way, the wave painting has become the most distinctive stippling of the monument: the middle is flat and the two ends are upturned, just like a flat boat. Vertical strokes are also inclined to the front, which is the writing method of regular script, while some strokes are all regular script, such as "official", "salty" and "instrument". Some hook paintings are like official script, and some are like regular script. Points are also very distinctive, they are all triangles, but their shapes, sizes and directions are different. Some short strokes and vertical strokes are also written as triangles, such as "set" and "music". The horizontal, vertical and points are mostly Fang Bi, while the left, right and hook are mostly round. Li Kai is related to each other, stippling is rich and diverse, and Fiona Fang uses each other, adding a bit of agility to the massiness. It is also worth mentioning that the sharp edges and corners of the tablet cannot be written with a brush. It involves the elements that the sculptor plays at will, which is the result of the sculptor's strengthening on the basis of the original traces of Shudan.
Second, look at the knot. Generally speaking, the tablet still has the characteristics of official script: horizontal and vertical to keep the center of gravity stable; Skimming, pressing, long transverse and hook extend to the left and right sides for horizontal stretching. However, it is far less than Han Li's, and even less uniform than Huang Bei, Zhang Qianbei and Ode to Longshan. This is very strange in Han Li family, but it is very conservative in front of Xianbao Zibei. It is particularly noteworthy that there are many words in the tablet that break the basic principle of "geese are not Qi Fei", but do the opposite. The strokes of horizontal painting and silk painting are wavy at the same time, including "virtue", "rope", "qi", "spit" and "square", and others are "three flying". There are also pictures at the bottom left, such as the word "Cang". However, some horizontal paintings, especially those on the left side of figures with left and right structures, can't be waved according to the normal method of official script, while the tablet is written with wave paintings, such as "Chao", "Ye" and "Mu". In addition, when building a monument, the relationship between insertion, avoidance and gathering is also unusual and changeable. In a word, the rebellious character shown in the structure of Treasure Monument is impressive.
The external formal features * * * are isomorphic with each other's strokes, the eclectic structure, and the neat and scattered composition caused by the different font sizes, which construct the internal artistic style of Xianbaozi Monument: Gu Zhuo, solemnity, innocence, and at the same time, it is somewhat funny and humorous. If you make a metaphor, it is quite like an old urchin. old bones has rough blood and childlike innocence, and sometimes he is naive; In other words, just like a little adult, he still stumbles, but pretends to be deep, and his words and deeds are really forbearing. Therefore, it is a complex of various components, but this combination is very natural, and various contradictory factors have been harmoniously unified in the works of "Savage" and "Calligrapher". Looking at this monument from different angles and different mentalities will give you new feelings. There is no denying that the calligraphy skill of the tablet author is clumsy, at least not proficient in copying method. But what is more undeniable is that the monument is wonderful, charming and unforgettable. Moreover, its clumsy place is the wonderful place of the monument and the most touching place. From humble to wonderful, what factors contributed to the transformation between these two poles? Is it an aesthetic concept? I don't know. I only know that Liu Xizai's theory of "Chou Shi is beautiful and ugly to the extreme" has been concretely implemented and verified here. However, I can't help but think of the Treasure Monument for more than a thousand years. Looking back at Wan Li and the confusing history of ethnic minorities in the southwest border more than 500 years ago, I feel something.
Endless, endless "Buns"!
Because there are too many changes in inscriptions and uncertain methods, it is not suitable for beginners to learn calligraphy. But when you study this monument after you have a certain foundation, you can learn from it. The most important thing is to understand its internal principle through appearances. As we all know, there is an engraver's self-exertion in the inscription, which has been eroded by wind and rain and is somewhat different from Shu Dan's original work. Specific to this monument, Fang Bi, although the original trace of Shu Dan has been established, there is no doubt that the sculptor further strengthened the "square" on this basis. Therefore, in clinical study, we must not draw a square by drawing and filling, but follow the principle of getting the meaning with a pen. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the calligrapher Mr. Jing Hengyi did not stick to the details in his paintings, but began to write his Gu Zhuo's emphasis from the big picture, but he was full of pride, which not only contained the dignified stone flavor of the original tablet, but also injected elegant calligraphy style. This is a studious man. If you don't analyze it, draw a gourd according to the pattern, imitate the sharp steel knife with softness, imitate its shape outside, and confuse its heart inside, it is difficult to gain something in the end. When talking about the methods of copying and creation, my tutor, Mr. Xu Liming, stressed that we should grasp the formal characteristics from the spirit and analyze the pen for stippling from the internal angle. If it is a monument, we should look at the brushwork through the blade and turn the knife method into brushwork. Only in this way can we have both form and spirit and write the monument vividly and beautifully. I think this is also helpful for friends who are studying the treasure tablet.
-Excerpt from Calligraphy Newspaper