Xu Wei (152 1 year-1593), Han nationality, was born in Yin Shan, Shaoxing (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang). At the beginning of the word, it was later changed to Ivy League Old Man, Ivy League Taoist, Tianchi Saint, Tianchi Mountain Man, Tianchi Fishing Hidden, leijin, Jin Hui Mountain Man, Yinshan Buyi, Baishishan Man, Goose Nose, Tian Danshui and Tian Shuiyue, famous writers, painters, dramatists and military strategists in Ming Dynasty.
He was Hu Zongxian's aide, helping him capture Xu Hai and seduce Wang Zhi. After Hu Zongxian went to prison, Xu Wei committed suicide nine times in fear and madness. Later, he went to prison for killing his stepwife and died. After being imprisoned for seven years, he was rescued by Zhang Yuan and other friends. Then travel to Jinling in the south and go to the valley in the north. Throughout the frontier fortress, I often lament generously. In his later years, he was poor. Thousands of books have been sold out, and he calls himself "Southern accent and Northern accent". Finally, in the twenty-first year of Wanli (1593), he was seventy-three.
Xu Wei is versatile and unique in poetry, drama, calligraphy and painting. He is also called "the three great talents of Ming Dynasty" with Jie Jin and Yang Shen. He is the founder of "splash-ink freehand brushwork" and the originator of "Ivy League" in China. His paintings can absorb the essence of predecessors and be thoroughly remoulded, without looking like a god. Landscape, figures, flowers and birds, bamboo and stones are all-encompassing, with flowers as the most prominent, which created a generation of painting style and had a great influence on later painting circles (such as Badashanren, Yangzhou Eight Monsters, etc.). ). The book is good at cursive writing and has written many poems, which is known as "the next generation of talents". He can play the piano, is familiar with melody and loves opera. Narration of South Temple is the first theoretical monograph about South Temple in China, and the zaju Four Saints and its anthologies have been handed down from generation to generation.
The life of the character
Become famous early.
Wei Xu
Xu Wei was born in Yin Shan (now Shaoxing) in the 16th year of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty (152 1), a big family with a declining trend. His father, Vae, is a tongzhi in Kuizhou, Sichuan. He was originally a Tong family and gave birth to two sons, Xu Huai and Xu Lu. After marrying into the Miao family, she has never given birth. In his later years, he married another concubine and gave birth to Xu Wei. Because his biological mother was a handmaid and had no position in the family, Xu Wei was raised by his biological mother, Mrs. Miao, until she was fourteen years old. After Miao died, she lived with her eldest brother Xu Huai until she was adopted by her wife at the age of 2/kloc-0.
Although he was born in a bureaucratic family, Xu Wei's early life was not happy. Because Xu Wei is an unmarried woman and his two brothers are thirty years older than him, Xu Wei has no position in the family.
When Xu Wei was ten years old, Mrs Miao kicked his biological mother out of the house. Losing his mother at an early age was a great stimulus to Xu Wei. Although he could take his mother back to his home at the age of 29, he couldn't forget it until his twilight years.
He didn't take the scholar exam when he was young. In his last book, he asked the inspector for a second interview: "Learning is ineffective, so I don't trust my father and brother. And the flesh and blood are fried and the beans are burned. I look around day and night, but my body and shadow! " Looks sad and angry. As an adult, when his family came down, Xu Wei married his wife, and life was definitely not so good. An alert and sensitive person, who grew up in such a bumpy situation, naturally tends to develop a stubborn and extreme character. Xu Wei was born extremely clever. He began to study at the age of six and could write at the age of nine. When he was a teenager, he imitated Yang Xiong's "Laughing" and caused a sensation in the whole city. The local gentlemen called him a prodigy and compared him to Ada and Yang Xiu. In his twenties, he interacted with Yao Haiqiao, Shen Lian and others and became one of the "Ten Scholars in Vietnam". Shen Lian once praised him and said, "There is only one gate." It is said that at a banquet, the host deliberately embarrassed Xu Wei, pointed to a small thing on the table and asked him to make a gift, but secretly ordered the boy to hold a paper roll more than ten feet long. Xu Wei stood up with a pen and finished it at once, which surprised the whole room. In addition, there is a short story about Xu Wei, which can also highlight his cleverness. When he was young, he was still studying in a private school. Seeing that he was clever, the teacher wanted to test him and asked him to fetch water with two buckets. In the meantime, he must cross the wooden bridge. At that time, Xu Wei was still young, with insufficient strength and natural difficulties. However, when the teacher saw Xu Wei happily carrying water back, he was surprised and asked the way. He said happily, it's much easier to put the bucket in the water! There was no buoyancy at that time, and Xu Wei's cleverness greatly appreciated the teacher.
Multiple test failures
Xu Wei, who was famous for his talent since he was a child, has always been quite conceited and full of yearning for fame and fortune, but he has been frustrated repeatedly on the road of imperial examination. At the age of twenty, he stumbled into the scholar's exam, and then took the provincial examination again and again until he was forty-one, and he failed eight times. In the meantime, he lost his wife at the age of 26 and moved out of Pan's home to make a living by teaching. At the age of 37, at the invitation of Hu Zongxian, he entered the shogunate to take charge of documents. It is no accident that Xu Wei failed again and again in the imperial examination. In his later years, he wrote "Self-Distortion Spectrum", and also specially wrote the poem "Morning with Jia She" written by Cen Can when he entered school at the age of six, "Chicken Crow, Purple Road Cold in the Morning", which revealed endless feelings about life.
From Murong to prison
Xu Wei ink painting flower map
During Jiajing period, the southeast coast was frequently invaded by Japanese pirates. Due to the slack of military equipment and incompetence of officials, people's lives and property were greatly lost. On the one hand, Xu Wei sharply criticized this with poetry, on the other hand, he devoted himself enthusiastically to War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Although he didn't have a job, he put on his short coat several times, ventured to the front with the troops to observe the war situation, then recorded the course of the war, analyzed the reasons for success or failure, and put forward the general plan to break the enemy to the relevant officials. Most of these articles are very practical, which is different from the comments of ordinary scholars.
In the thirty-sixth year of Jiajing (1557), Xu Wei was appointed as Hu Zongxian, the governor of southeast military affairs, and entered the shogunate to take charge of documents. At the beginning of the curtain, Hu Zongxian inscribed "Into the White Deer Original Table", which was appreciated by Jiajing Emperor. Since then, Hu Zongxian has been more dependent on him and more tolerant of his laissez-faire personality. Xu Wenchang Biography by Tao Wangling records that Xu Wei often drinks with friends in the market. The Governor's Office was in a hurry to find him, so he left the door open late at night. Hu Zongxian was told that Xu Xiucai was drunk and shouted loudly, but Hu Zongxian praised him instead. At that time, Hu Zongxian's weight was majestic, and all the officials were afraid to look up when they saw him, while Xu Wei, wearing a shabby black headscarf and white cloth, broke in and talked about what was going on in the world.
Of course, the shogunate also has many unpleasant things. For various reasons, Hu Zongxian kept close contact with the powerful minister Yan Song, while Xu Wei hated Yan Song, and his best friend Shen Lian was killed for participating in illegal Yan Song, but Xu Wei had to write some words to flatter Yan Song on behalf of Hu Zongxian.
In the forty-first year of Jiajing (1562), Yan Song was dismissed and Xu Jie became the cabinet record. Under the instigation of Xu Jie, Hu Zongxian illegally participated, was arrested in Beijing the following year (later he was dismissed for meritorious service), and Xu Wei left the Government House. In the forty-fourth year of Jiajing (1565), Hu Zongxian was arrested again and died in prison, and several of his former aides were also implicated. Wei Xu was a bit extreme by nature, and he failed the exam year after year, so he was very unhappy mentally. At this time, he was deeply saddened by Hu Zongxian's framed death, and he was more worried about his persecution, so he was completely disappointed with his life and even went crazy. He wrote an angry epitaph for himself, then pulled out the nail on the pilaster and smashed it into his ear, bleeding like a spring, and it took several months to heal. Later, I hit the renal capsule with my spine and didn't die. Repeated attacks like this, repeated suicide nine times. In the forty-five years of Jiajing (1566), Xu Wei was put in prison because he suspected that his stepwife Zhang had infidelity. In prison, he completed the annotation of Zhouyi Shentongqi and tried to figure out the art of calligraphy and painting.
After Xu Wei went to prison, his friends gave him help. One of the most powerful helpers was Zhu Dahong, assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Zhang Yuanluan, editor of Hanlin (the great-grandfather of Zhang Dai, a famous essayist in the late Ming Dynasty). They are all close friends of Xu Wei, top scholars and prestigious. With the help of these friends, Xu Wei spent seven years in prison and was finally released by Emperor Wanli. This is the first year of Wanli (1573), and Xu Wei is 53 years old.
Down and out in old age
Xu Wei's "Pearl Gathering Map"
After so many hardships, Xu Wei no longer has any political ambitions, but his concern for state affairs has not subsided. After he was released from prison, he first traveled to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, climbed mountains near the water and made many friends in poetry and painting. In the summer of the fourth year of Wanli (1576), Xu Wei, a friend of his youth, was invited to the north by Wu Dui, who had already shouldered the heavy responsibility of the northern frontier defense, and he gladly went there. Xu Wei stayed in Xuanhua Shogunate for less than a year, but left many poems describing the scenery, folk customs and military life in the north. In the preface of Many Officials, he likes to talk about political affairs, especially the border defense strategy. At that time, Zhang presided over the court affairs and adopted a policy of appeasement to Mongolia, which was appreciated by Xu Wei. During the period, he passed through Juyongguan to Xuanhua House and other places beyond the Great Wall. After listening to Qi Jiguang's words, he went to Liao to find Li, taught his son Li's art of war, and met the Mongolian leader Anda Sannianzi. He was respected by the Fifth Team, but he was in poor health, so he had to return to his hometown Shaoxing via Beijing the following spring to annotate Guo Pu's funeral book.
At the age of 60, Xu Wei went to Beijing at the suggestion of Zhang Yuantuan, but their relationship quickly deteriorated. According to Zhang Dai's account, Zhang Yuan Tuan is a strict man who abides by etiquette, while Xu Wei is indulgent by nature and unwilling to be bound by traditional etiquette. Zhang Yuan Tuan often used feudal ethics to restrain Xu Wei, which made Xu Wei very angry. He once said to the Zhang Yuan regiment: I killed someone when I died, but I got a knife in the neck. Now you have to chop me into pieces! Because of his bad relationship with his old friends and unequal treatment with bureaucrats, Xu Wei suffered from a relapse of depression, which facilitated his return to his hometown after living in Beijing for three years. Since then, Xu Wei has never left Yin Shan.
Xu Wei, who lived in the countryside in his later years, became more and more disgusted with those rich, powerful and polite people. Most of his friends followed his former friends and disciples. Often, "a lone ranger under the hungry moon", everyone is grateful. Saying that someone was visiting, Xu Wei didn't want to see him, so he pushed Chai Men away and shouted, "Xu Wei is not here!" Among them, only Zhang Yuantuan went to the Zhang family to mourn when he died, and almost never left home. As soon as he died from hard work, his money was easily squandered. At this time, he had to make a living by selling calligraphy and painting. But with a little money, I refused to do it again. Is a group of younger generation students and friends, who often cheat or rob to get his masterpieces. Xu Wei seems to like crabs very much, and many poems on paintings record the process of friends exchanging live crabs for his paintings. In the last few years, Xu Wei was suffering from various diseases, unable to paint often, and his life was even more difficult. Xu Wenchang's Collected Works contains poems such as Selling Minks, Selling Piano, Selling Paintings and Selling Books, which shows Xu Wei's bleak future.
In the 21st year of Wanli (1593), Xu Wei died at the age of 73. There was only one dog beside him before he died, and there was not even a mat on the bed.
achievements of art
During the Ming Dynasty (1368- 1644) in China, art was in a special stage of learning from the ancients and colliding with innovation. Ink freehand brushwork has developed rapidly, and the splash-ink freehand brushwork represented by Xu Wei is very popular. Many famous artists have appeared, and their skills are constantly updated. With his unique talent, Xu Wei became the most accomplished master of freehand brushwork at that time.
Xu Wei was born wild and uninhibited, but he made great achievements in painting, calligraphy, poetry and drama. His freehand ink-and-wash flower-and-bird paintings are bold and unrestrained, informal, concise, with more ink and less splash, less color, distinct layers, and the reality and reality are vivid. He also integrated vigorous brushwork into his paintings, which brought out the best in each other and gave people rich imagination.
Between similarity and dissimilarity
Xu Wei's ink-splashing freehand brushwork of flowers and birds is unique. His flower-and-bird paintings are not influenced by different schools, and they are bold and creative. His freehand brushwork, whether flowers or flowers and birds, is a painting, and everything is between similarity and dissimilarity. For the flowers and trees of the four seasons in the works, the painter uses various forms of pen and ink such as hook, dot, splash and orchid to depict graceful peony, beautiful crape myrtle, sparse bamboo, aloof frost chrysanthemum and beautiful cold plum charm, stretching nine feet and five feet respectively. His ink grapes, with strings of fruits hanging upside down, are fresh and tender and vivid. The lush leaves are made of large pieces of ink and wash, and the style is sparse and elegant, which represents the style of Xu Wei's freehand flowers. The movement track is rich, and the strokes are different in light and shade, brush strokes, size, dryness and wetness, and density. Mo Yun has improvisation and non-repetition, which shows the strongest abstract expressionism in China's paintings. This is not a general description of the object, but an artistic process, which makes it contain some internal temperament and spirit, and then makes the viewer feel immersive. The pumpkins and chrysanthemums in Xu Wei's paintings, in one go, drive away ink like clouds, with great momentum, and at the same time control the pen and ink properly, with great changes in light and shade, density and dryness. In the ink method, there are both randomly infiltrated ink halos and properly controlled shades. Although Xu Wei claimed to be a "play brush", he vividly conveyed the different nature and charm of flowers and fruits with freehand brushwork. Only a small part of its picture of the phoenix tree is painted in ink, which is reminiscent of the towering phoenix tree. As Weng Fanggang said: "The paper is only one foot, and the tree is only a hundred feet. Why are you wearing this green forest? " . I'm afraid I'll be so arrogant that I'll be booed by wine songs in the middle of the night With his delicate brushwork, Xu Wei created an open aesthetic world for the appreciator between similarity and dissimilarity.
There are pictures in the book, and there are books in the picture.
Xu Wei is a calligrapher. In painting, he integrated his calligraphy skills and brushwork into his paintings, which made people feel that his splash-ink freehand brushwork was simply a kind of bold and vigorous calligraphy. As Zhang Dai said: "Today's Ivy paintings are bizarre, full of vigor and charm, and have the same effect as their calligraphy." People used to call rubbings poems, including paintings, rubbings and poems in paintings. I mean ivy league books, which contain paintings, ivy league paintings and books in them. "(Tao An Meng Wei) In his" Ink Grape Map ",the shade of ink shows the texture of leaves, the font structure and line spacing of poems are irregular, and they stretch freely in the air like vines, and calligraphy and painting are integrated. Xu Wei's calligraphy attainments are very high, and the ups and downs of brushwork have contributed to the ingenious changes in painting art, such as painting Mo Lian and grapes, which is unrestrained and difficult to achieve without a deep calligraphy foundation. Xu Wei once made a picture of plum blossom and banana leaves, put plum blossom and banana together, and wrote on the picture: "Banana with plum blossom, this is Wang Wei's painting", which shows the relationship between Xu Wei and Wang Wei in some compositions. Of course, Wang Wei's Picture of Banana in the Snow highlights a Zen machine, that is, the cold snow and the ethereal banana constitute the religious details of the picture, while Xu Wei's combination of such pictures highlights a kind of subject liberation that transcends time and space. Xu Wei's calligraphy and painting methods are extremely skillful and profound, and his inscriptions are like splashing ink and freehand brushwork, which is bold and vivid; His splash-ink freehand brushwork, which combines the brushwork of pen and ink, is full of fun.
Draw like a man.
Xu Wei always leads a dissolute life and is not interested in power. When anyone in the present world wants to paint and needs Xu Wei's money shortage, if someone wants to paint, they can get it in an instant. If he is not short of money in his bag, it's hard to draw a picture no matter how much you give him-it's really temperament. Xu Wei's loneliness can really be summarized by his own poem "Poetry on the Ink Grapes":
I became an elderly man for half my life, and my self-study roared in the evening breeze.
The pearls at the bottom of the pen have nowhere to sell, but they are thrown into wild vines.
Xu Wei's life was bumpy, and his old age was miserable and inseparable. He put his grief and resentment into the pen and created one famous ink painting after another that shocked the world. The ink bamboo in his works is light in branches and thick in leaves, easy to brush, vigorous in branches and affectionate in leaves. Although it is a bamboo branch, it is noble and refreshing. This is a brilliant portrayal of the painter's noble character and peerless independent personality. His splash-ink peony is not limited to the rich and elegant characteristics of peony, but is colorful. But he often paints with ink and wash, deliberately changing its nature. Its purpose is to endow peony with elegant and refined style and charm. The so-called "national color is not decorated, rouge is empty and charming."
There are many works that have been handed down to this day, such as Four Sounds of Apes, Narration of Nanci, Lost Text of Xu Wenchang, Complete Works of Xu Wenchang, etc. Famous works handed down from generation to generation include Long Scroll of Ink Grape, Flowers and Birds of Landscape Figures (both in the Palace Museum), Long Scroll of Peony and Banana Stone and Nine Sections of Ink Flower (now in the Palace Museum).