Main entry: In the history of calligraphy of the Four Calligraphies of the Song Dynasty, when it comes to the calligraphy of the Song Dynasty, there are four great calligraphers: Su, Huang, Mi and Cai. The four of them are considered to be the typical calligraphy style of the Song Dynasty. represent. Among the "Four Song Schools", the first three refer to Su Shi (Dongpo), Huang Tingjian (Fu Weng) and Mi Fu (Xiangyang Manshi). Among the four families in the Song Dynasty, Cai Xiang should be ahead of Su, Huang and Mi in age. From the perspective of calligraphy style, Su Shi is plump and plump; Huang Tingjian is vertical and horizontal; Mi Fu is handsome and bold. They have their own style of calligraphy. Su, Huang and Mi are all good at running cursive and regular script, but they like to write regular regular script. , or Cai Xiang. Cai Xiang's calligraphy is vigorous, dignified, simple and graceful, and is self-contained. Unrolling the scroll of Cai Xiang's calligraphy, I suddenly felt a spring breeze blowing on my face, full of beauty and elegance. His calligraphy was highly praised by people of his time during his lifetime and enjoyed a high reputation. The people who most highly praised his calligraphy skills were Su Dongpo and Ouyang Xiu. Su Dongpo pointed out in "Dongpo's Inscriptions and Postscripts": "Ducai Junmo has high talent, profound knowledge, good mind and hand, and endless transformations, so he is the best in this dynasty. However, running script is the best, followed by small regular script, and then cursive script... ... He also tasted the power of flying dragons and dancing phoenixes, and those who knew him would not overestimate him." Ouyang Xiu's evaluation of Cai Xiang's calligraphy was truly unparalleled: Ouyang Xiu said: "After Su Zimei's death, he felt that his calligraphy was a masterpiece. Excellent writing skills. In recent years, Junmo has been the only one in the world, but he is humble and refuses to lead an alliance. "("Ouyang Wenzhong Gongji") Huang Tingjian also said: "Su Zimei and Cai Junmo are both heroes of calligraphy. "("Valley Collected Works") Shen Kuo commented on Cai Xiang's cursive script in "Mengxi Bi Tan", "Using loose brush to make cursive script, it is called loose grass, or flying grass. Its methods are all born in Feibai, and it is a family of its own. It retains the ancient charm of Zhang Xuhuai Su, has the potential to change, and is also full of ancient meanings. "The History of Song Dynasty: Biography of Cai Xiang" said of him: "Xiang was the best in handwriting at the time, and Renzong especially loved him." "Xu Jiang's "Cai Xiang Biography" said: "Gong is very self-conscious about calligraphy and painting, and he does not act arrogantly. His fragments and incomplete manuscripts are all treasured by people, and Renzong especially likes to call him. "Zhu Changwen's "Continued Book Break": "Cai Xiang's writings are very self-respecting, and he does not take them lightly. He gives them rulers and slips, and everyone hides them as treasures. Renzong loved his relics deeply...he wrote the "Queen Wencheng Monument" with a bachelor and ordered it to be written down, but Jun Moci refused to write it down. ”
From the above three paragraphs of records, we can know that Cai Xiang’s calligraphy was cherished from the emperor to ordinary people. Because he cherished himself and did not rush to write for others, there are few handed down works. In addition, you can see At that time, the trend of calligraphy had completely turned to poetry and writing, while calligraphy and tablets were regarded as a matter of labor, which was disdained by scholar-bureaucrats. Even the emperor's orders could no longer influence this. The situation before the dynasty was fundamentally different. He was not a master who established a sect.
On the whole, his calligraphy still adhered to the laws of the Jin and Tang Dynasties, but his awareness of innovation was slightly lower. An indispensable key figure in the development of calligraphy. With his complete calligraphy achievements, he built a technical bridge between the laws of the Jin and Tang Dynasties and the artistic taste of the Song Dynasty.
Cai Xiang's handed down calligraphy works include "Zi". "Book Poems", "Xie Ci Yu Shu Shi", as well as "Tao Sheng Tie", "Jiao Burnt Tie", "Meng Hui Tie" are written in various ink styles. The inscriptions include "Wan'an Bridge", "Zijintang Ji" and Cai Xiang is a famous calligrapher in the Northern Song Dynasty and one of the "Four Masters of the Song Dynasty" who is good at regular script, running script and cursive script. He is famous for writing the book "Cha Lu", and "Cha Lu" itself is a masterpiece of calligraphy.
There is also a theory that "Cai" is one of the four "Su Huang Mi Cai" in the Song Dynasty. , it should be Cai Jing, but because of his "evil character", people later replaced Cai Jing with Cai Xiang. When Cai Xiang was appointed as the transport envoy of Fujian Road, he reduced the Dingkou tax and built the first large stone bridge in the seaport in China. Wan'an Bridge (Luoyang Bridge) is known as the "No. 1 bridge in Fujian" (Mao Yisheng). Its construction played an important role in the development of Fujian's economy and culture.
Quanzhou is a bridge. The starting point of the ancient "Maritime Silk Road". Since the late Tang Dynasty, Quanzhou has become an important foreign trade port in China. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Quanzhou's harbor area was lined with sails and ships, and Chinese and foreign merchants gathered together to distribute goods. The Wan'an Crossing has become a huge obstacle to economic and cultural exchanges between the north and the south of Fujian. The traffic problems are far from meeting the needs of economic development. Therefore, the construction of the Wan'an Crossing bridge has become a very urgent task.
Cai Xiang and others first started. A large number of large stones were thrown at the bottom of the river along the center line of the bridge to form a short stone embankment across the bottom of the river as the base of the bridge piers. Then a row of horizontal and a row of straight stones were used to build the bridge piers. The creation of stone foundation was a major breakthrough in the history of bridge construction, which was called "raft foundation" in modern times.
He also planted sea oysters to solidify the bridge foundation, and planted rocks on the tidal flats on both sides of the bridge to attach the oysters to slow down the river flow and prevent the foundation on both sides of the bridge piers from being shaken. It is considered to be the first example of biology being applied to architecture in the world.
After the bridge was completed, Cai Xiang drafted the "Wan'an Bridge Records" that has been passed down through the ages and carved a stone tablet to truly record the construction and scale of the bridge. "Crossing the sea to the sea, leaving the boat and traveling alone, it is easy to be in danger but safe, and the people are not disadvantaged." The full text has more than 150 words and is very beautiful. At the same time, it is a famous calligraphy treasure in the history of Chinese calligraphy.
Cai Xiang once organized people to plant trees along the way from Fuzhou to Quanzhou and Zhangzhou. 700 miles long. It can not only prevent water and soil erosion, but also cover the road to protect passing merchants from the scorching sun during the scorching heat. It became a supporting project of Luoyang Bridge, which is what the "History of the Song Dynasty" said in the biography of "planting pines for seven hundred miles to protect the road." Nearly a thousand years ago, Cai Xiang was able to pay attention to maintaining ecological balance and protecting water and soil, which was indeed superior to others. People at that time wrote poems praising this: "There are pines on the road, pines on the road. Ask me who planted them, Mr. Cai. Travelers don't know the heat in June, and the breeze shakes them through the ages."
Cai Xiang actively organized the masses to fight drought in Quanzhou. , construction of water conservancy projects and self-rescue through production have alleviated the burden on the people to a certain extent. In the third year of Jiayou's reign (1058), there was a long drought in Quanzhou at the turn of spring and summer. He specially led officials to Feiyang Temple in Quanzhou three times to pray for rain, blaming himself for the drought as "the bad conduct of the county guard." He also wrote "Begging for Rain and Questioning the Western Courtyard (Orderly)": "I beg for rain every year and ask the mountain god, but I am ashamed to see the Long Master who is working hard. The prefect knows that he has little talent and virtue, so what can he do to offend the people?" I came to advise all officials to care about the people's livelihood and organize farmers to fight drought and help themselves. Not long after, it happened to rain heavily, the drought was relieved, and the year was prosperous. Wang Shipeng praised him for his "love for the people and the knowledge of heaven."
Jinjiang Turtle Lake Pond can irrigate thousands of acres of farmland. However, people along the pond often quarrel and fight over issues such as water use, management and maintenance of the embankment. In addition, local tyrants and scoundrels interfered in the chaos, and the people along the pond repaid each other with grievances, and the problem could not be solved for a long time. Cai Xiang went deep into the people and conducted detailed inspections. In order to better protect this water conservancy project, strengthen the role of waterlogging and drought relief, and facilitate farming, the six surnames of Lin, Huang, Su, Zheng, Wu, and Cai in neighboring townships should be strengthened accordingly. The "Guihu Pond Regulations" (later known as the "Pre-Song Pond Regulations") were specially formulated so that Turtle Lake has laws to follow. It clearly stipulates water use and management and maintenance issues for the six surnames to ensure that farmland can be irrigated in a timely manner. When he formulated the "Turtle Lake and Pond Regulations", he implemented the control and prohibition in accordance with the regulations. If there were serious violations, Pi Shou would report them to the county government for punishment. Precisely because of Cai Xiang's "Guihu Pond Regulations", Guihu Pond has been maintained for nearly a thousand years and has been used by farmers near the lake to this day. According to the "Jinjiang County Chronicle": "In the five hundred years from Cai Xiang Ding Tanggui to the Ming Dynasty, the grain output was often two or three times that of other places." This was a contribution to Quanzhou's water conservancy construction, and later generations established the " Monument of Virtue and Government". Cai Xiang is not only a politician, writer, calligrapher, but also a tea expert. He was an upright official, people-oriented, paid attention to the development of the local economy, and made certain contributions to the development of Fujian's tea industry and tea culture. The historically famous Beiyuan Imperial Garden was located in Jianzhou. In the old days, it was also called Jianxi and Jian'an (now in Jianou County). The earliest written record of growing tea can be found in Sun Qiao's "Send Tea and Banana Xingbu Shu" of the Tang Dynasty. The book records: "Late Ganhou" (one of the famous teas of the Tang Dynasty) was produced in "the hometown of Bishui Danshan in Jianyang, tied to Yuejian." The product of the cloud niche". At that time, the tea produced in the Jianxi Basin was collectively called "Jiancha" and "Jianming". During the Five Dynasties, Wang Shenzhi established the Min Kingdom in Fujian, and Beiyuan Tea Garden became an official tea garden specializing in the production of tribute tea. After the fall of the Fujian Kingdom, Li Yu, the later leader of the Southern Tang Dynasty, sent officials to Jian'an to set up "Longbao" and supervise the production of "Jian Tea Entering the Imperial Palace". Designated exclusive "Dragon Tea". History developed to the Song Dynasty. Ding said that when he was appointed as the transport envoy to Fujian and supervised the production of imperial tea, he paid special attention to the "early, fast and fresh" harvesting and production of imperial tea. For example, "The buds were picked ten days before the commune, and thousands of workers worked on it every day. The commune was forced to pay tribute immediately." Due to the exquisite harvesting and processing, in Ding Wei's hands, Beiyuan tea has become well-known in Beijing and is known as a treasure.
In the Qingli period (1041-1048), Cai Xiang created Xiaolong Tuan to advance, and was ordered to pay tribute to it every year" ("Xiongfan Beiyuan Tribute Tea Record"). "Tiaoxi Yuyincong Talk" ” also said that Beiyuan Tea Big Dragon Tuan “started from Ding Wei and became from Cai Junmo.” Indeed, Cai Xiang was the transfer envoy to Fujian and developed the Beiyuan tea industry to a new peak. He started by improving the quality and color of Beiyuan tea. , seeking quality and shape. In terms of appearance, the big group tea is changed to small group tea, and in terms of quality, fresh tea buds are used as raw materials, and the production process is improved. Volume 2 of Ouyang Xiu's "Guitian Lu" says: "The quality of tea is not expensive. Yu Longfeng calls it Tuancha. Every eight cakes weighs one pound.
During the Qing Dynasty, Cai Junmo was the transshipment envoy to Fujian, and he began to make small pieces of dragon tea for import. The quality of the tea was exquisite, so it was called Xiao Tuan. "Twenty cakes weigh one catty and are worth twenty taels of gold." Ouyang Xiu criticized Cai Xiang for making tribute tea, but he had to admit the exquisite craftsmanship of Cai Xiang's tea making industry. Cai Sui, Cai Xiang's nephew and son of Cai Jing In "Tieweishan Congtan", there is a relatively detailed and objective record of Cai Xiang's development of Beiyuan Royal Garden tea. It is affirmed that Cai Xiang was responsible for supervising the production of Beiyuan's tea, which is exquisitely made and of the best quality. The most popular one is "Xiaolong Tuan" "Miyun Dragon" and "Ruiyun Xianglong". For the production of tea, it has reached a high level of "the name is new and the quality is good" and "the best is new and there is nothing more to add". At the same time, it is pointed out that making tea To seize the freshness of the season, "tea grows its buds, and the most important thing is that it has already entered the imperial court". It can be seen that "good tea is prized because of its quality." Cai Xiang himself also believes in Jian'an tea. In his book "Tea Records", there is a special discussion on tea in Jian'an: "Those with water marks in Jian'an's battles are the losers, and those who are durable are the winners." "Tea Song" also mentioned that "Beiyuan will offer tribute to the emperor, and the heroes in the forest will fight for beauty first. The taste of fighting tea is light and refreshing, and the fragrance of fighting tea is thin orchid." It can be seen that Beiyuan Imperial Garden tea was extremely popular during the Northern Song Dynasty. Such a glorious period was due to Cai Xiang's innovative craftsmanship under the supervision of Fujian Transport Shi. This achievement in the development of the tea industry cannot be forgotten.
Su Shi said in "Lychee Sigh". , "Don't you see: there are millet sprouts by the Wuyi River, and the former and the latter are favored by each other. They are competing for new favors, each with their own ideas. This year's fighting products will be used as official tea. Is this what I, the king, lack? What a shame to nourish your mouth and body! The Prime Minister of Luoyang was loyal and filial to his family, but unfortunately he also entered Yao Huanghua." This poem was written in the second year of Shaosheng Zhezong's reign (1095), twenty-five years after Cai Xiang was appointed as the transfer envoy to Fujian. At this time, Su Shi was being relegated to Huizhou, Guangdong ( Today's Huiyang County). The author tasted the sweet fruits of lychee and longan in the south for the first time and admired them so much that he almost compared "lychees" to "beauties". However, the author could not help but think of the tribute lychees brought to the people in the Han and Tang Dynasties. Disaster is coming. In the poem, the author reveals the bad policies of the royal family's extravagance, the officials' favors, and the tribute of famous products from all over the country. It was a profound irony. This poem brought Su Shi a lot of reputation, but it gave Cai Xiang the label of "buying favors", which is not what he should be.
In short, Cai Xiang should not. When he was serving as the transfer envoy to Fujian, the producer of Beiyuan tribute tea made some innovations based on the original. He started by improving the quality and color of Beiyuan tea, and transformed "Dalong Tuan" into "Xiaolong Tuan" to improve the quality of tribute tea. , to achieve the technological innovation of "new name and better product", and the integration of tea and tea art. Cai Xiang made good tea, which made Su Dongpo like "Longfeng Tuan Tea" and gave rise to the famous saying "Always good tea is like a beautiful woman." "Su Dongpo should thank Cai Xiang for producing good tea and producing eternal famous sayings. Cai Xiang's supervision promoted the development of Beiyuan tea and also promoted local economic development. This kind of technological innovation made Fujian tea rank first in the Northern Song Dynasty. The credit should go to Cai Xiang. Cai Xiang's family had a rich collection of books. When Liu Kezhuang wrote the postscript to Cai Duan's post, he said: "Another Liu Dian Liu Maocai, who is richer than Cai Gong in collecting books?" "His collection of calligraphy works and books was very rich at that time.