I always think that the color spectrum of black, white and gray represents the main theme of southern Anhui. Although color belongs to the visual category, it is the soul of southern Anhui culture and represents a philosophical realm.
More than ten years ago, when I first went to Hongcun, Xidi and other ancient villages in southern Anhui, I was attracted by the unique architectural style and cultural features here. In the following time, out of love and curiosity, I went deep into ten ancient villages in southern Anhui, such as Hongcun, Shexian, Xucun, Tang Yue and Chengkan, and walked beside the stone steps in the streets and lanes to identify the direction of the road among the bamboo bushes shrouded in green smoke. I also walked into the ancient villagers' assembly hall and looked up at the carved beams and painted columns, trying to figure out the mental journey of predecessors in creating these spiritual worlds; I still stopped in the courtyard of the famous ancestral temple, facing the portrait of my ancestors on the wall of the main hall, feeling the majesty of my family style and sincere feelings. I used to hold an umbrella to keep out the drizzle during the rape blossom season in March, and I also bathed in the bright autumn sunshine in the rice ridge. Chat with elders to share their ancestral stories, think about their feelings with young men and women, and ask about their secret love; Communicate with young students and listen to his (her) ideal for the future.
In all fairness, southern Anhui is described by natural forms, and its colors are extremely rich. Spring, summer, autumn and winter, those colorful enough can make you dazzled and distracted. Even if you are looking for courage, you can only give a rough idea. If you distinguish carefully, you can't make it clear at all. For example, in my mind, March in southern Anhui is made up of all kinds of greens. In addition to the dark oak and camphor trees and the accompanying green tea trees, cloves and sandalwood with sapphire blue light are also interesting greens. Even if rape blossoms are in full bloom in March, you will feel that the color of goose yellow is mixed with green. Rocks and pavilions, springs and ducks are all green. For another example, the Leng Yan of plum blossom, the enthusiasm of peach blossom, the implication of begonia flower and the red cloud of azalea induce us to distinguish the red series embedded in the dense leaves of pretty branches. Wandering in the red of southern Anhui, you may think that all the colors in southern Anhui are probably red. Looking around, men and women in southern Anhui have been turned into red faces by plum blossoms, peach blossoms and azaleas. Even barking dogs and baaing buffaloes swim around with red.
My subjective identification of black, white and gray in southern Anhui was obtained by walking in the village again and again and entering the house at close range. There are both distant views and close visits. I remember sitting on a bamboo stool in the yard of a family in Hongcun, chatting with several old people who were knitting bamboo wares. I understand that the strangeness of architecture in southern Anhui often lies in the wall structure and the ethical design between heaven and earth. Such as purlins, ancestral halls, patios, such as horse head walls, illuminated walls and leaking windows of gray bricks. They are all integrated into moral content and aesthetic realm on the basis of paying attention to practicality. The main hall is a place where ancestors and elders of all ethnic groups can discuss, and the ancestral hall is a memorial hall where ancestors can inspire future generations. Horsehead wall can protect safety from fire, and patio is of course the place where all financial resources gather, and it can get rid of poverty and become rich. It is said that men in southern Anhui can't be idle and infatuated with their families after they get married. They must go out to earn money as soon as possible before they can go home, filial piety their parents with their labor income, seek happiness for their families and set an example for their children. Following this ancient training, some people go home for three or ten years, while others go home for longer. The bustling men, women and children, young men and women coming in and out, and generations have created a happy life for many people in southern Anhui, and also wrote a lot of sufferings and sorrows of people in southern Anhui. Of course, it also embodies the standards of good and evil and the concept of moderation and harmony in southern Anhui.
In this way, in the black, white and gray world of southern Anhui, the seemingly colorful surface prosperity has been abandoned, and it is more inclined to peel off layers of color ladders from the concrete nature, and extract the simple and rich moral concepts that best represent themselves to explain the feelings of heaven and earth and the life latitude and longitude of people in southern Anhui. Zhu, a master of Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty, praised Chengkan as "the first village in the south of the Yangtze River" and was known as the famous "gossip village". Since it was founded in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, it has accumulated profound cultural heritage by relying on the concept of the unity of opposites of Yin and Yang. In the design of villages and houses, they not only resisted mediocre harassment, but also protected the peace of their ancestors. They not only practice the moral standard that good and evil are rewarded with their own ideas, but also consciously influence others with their ancestral values. This is obviously not to be underestimated in shaping the cultural spirit of southern Anhui. It can even be said that in the world of black, white and gray, there is a collection of ethics and worldly wisdom of people in southern Anhui, a genealogy of great love handed down from generation to generation by children and grandchildren in southern Anhui, and a world outlook and secular outlook formed by people in southern Anhui for thousands of years. They advocate the unity of heaven and man without losing their independent personality, and they advocate the secular culture with temperature and enthusiasm without belittling themselves and drifting with the flow. Therefore, black, white and gray is a highly generalized and concentrated expression of history and culture in southern Anhui, and it is a philosophy of life written by heaven, earth and people.
In the range of chromatics, the colors of black, white and gray were originally independent of organic colors. They form a powerful achromatic "Trinity". However, it is this unique position in achromatic colors that makes black, white and gray a sociological feature and a philosophical outlook of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. From the moral level, the truth of black, white and gray implies the choice of style in dealing with people, which is simple but not simple. At this time, you only need to approach the stage designed by many villages to feel their moral realm. In the inheritance of traditional operas in southern Anhui, the eternal farewell is always the theme of promoting good and punishing evil; In people's cultural life, there are always stories with a clear distinction between good and evil and happy scenes of loyalty, filial piety and love. In southern Anhui, black, white and gray is a secret book of life, which guides the life rhythm and social interaction of people in southern Anhui all the time. Black and white ash is a good medicine, which can give people hope at any time and soothe people's injured hearts. It can also make people far away, as long as they think of the black, gray and gray of their hometown, temporarily put down their homesickness and devote themselves to changing their destiny. Black, white and gray have set up a vast world of southern Anhui culture and Chinese civilization, leading the consistent ideological pursuit of southern Anhui people.
Traveling, taking photos and sketching in the mountains, rivers and waters of southern Anhui are inseparable from the buildings hidden between lush trees and flowers. These buildings often become the theme of your composition, or become a deliberate blank space in your picture. This building is the landscape coordinate in your mind, and it is the intersection of your efforts in setting space. Even sometimes, you don't need much environment to dye and decorate the waterside pavilion. You only need to put this traditional black-and-white-gray building in the theme position, and you will achieve an excellent ink-and-wash landscape painting. No matter literature, poetry or drama, it is an excellent theme that supports the spirit and opens the imagination. Black, white and gray in southern Anhui seems to be an art form with natural aesthetic interest.
This humanistic landscape, which is made of black, white and gray, does not need to be carved or enlarged. It inherits moral concepts and philosophical implications, and is itself a harmonious and decent panoramic view of artistic scenery.
2019 65438+1October 22nd, Shandong university