Cursive script is like a line, regular script is like a stand, and running script is like a line. The writing speed of running script is between cursive script and regular script, and the strokes and structure are also between them; His brushwork is neither as free and unrestrained as cursive script, nor as rigorous and neat as regular script, but with gossamer involvement, continuous strokes, lively rhythm and liveliness; Its structure is not as unrestrained and informal as cursive script, and it is not as independent and square as regular script, but it is simplified by deleting complexity and breaking Fiona Fang's harmony.
In the Jin Dynasty, from the royal family to the common people, calligraphy was almost perfect, and famous artists came forth in large numbers, such as Wei, Suo, Lu, Yu, Xie and Wang. Calligraphy developed into a very mature art before poetry and prose in the Jin Dynasty. Therefore, the word "Jin" has been listed as a monument in China's art history alongside Tang poetry and Song poetry. Running script was formed at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and has made great progress since Wei and Jin Dynasties. Its highest achievement is Wang Xizhi, a "book sage".
Wang Xizhi (about 32 1-379), a native of Langya in Jin Dynasty, was a famous Wang family. He was a general from the official to the right army and a civilian, so he was later called "Wang Youjun". /kloc-When he was 0/2 years old, his father taught him the theory of brushwork. "If you use an outline, you will realize something." When I was young, I studied under Mrs. Wei, then crossed the river and traveled all over the famous mountains to learn from others. He studied cursive script and regular script seriously, and cursive script was studied by Zhang Zhi. The official script was inspired by Zhong You. He combined the skills of famous artists in Wei and Jin dynasties, condensed the beauty of metaphysics in Wei and Jin dynasties in verve, formed his own family, and internalized the external rules into the needs of the soul. It has reached an artistic realm with no definite law. Its running script was unique at that time, "the font of the right army changed." Its heroic spirit is natural, so it is regarded as a model from ancient times to the present, and it has reached the artistic height of "being more expensive than others, and the past is the best".
On the third day of March every year, the ancients went to the water's edge to play, in order to eliminate disasters, which was called repair. On March 3rd, the 9th year of Yonghe in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (353), Wang Xizhi and 465,438+0 celebrities, including Sun Tong, Sun Chuo, Xie An and Zhi Dun, held a ceremony in Lanting (now southwest of Shaoxing, Zhu Lan, Zhejiang) in Huiji Mountain. Friends planted bamboo in Maolin, and wrote 37 poems impromptu, named Preface to Lanting Collection, and recommended Wang Xizhi as the preface to this collection. At this time, Wang Xizhi was in a beautiful natural landscape, and when he was drunk, he had a lot of thoughts. The beauty of nature and the smoothness of human feelings were wonderfully blended together, so this book is Preface to Lanting, also known as Preface to Lanting.
The composition, structure and brushwork of Preface to Lanting Collection are quite mature and mellow, which has a strong artistic charm between paper and ink. The pen is full of charm and strength, which combines the rules of seal script, official script and cursive script. The center began to turn, and the lines were like running water. Every 324 words, every word is shaped into a vivid life by Wang Xizhi, full of bones and muscles, full of flesh and blood, and endowed with different properties, spirits and manners, such as sitting, lying, walking, walking, dancing or singing. In a certain range, some are like regular script, some are like cursive script, as if they are like a group of gifted scholars, interacting with each other, elegant and smart. Wang Xizhi's wisdom is not only reflected in the diversity of font structure, but also in the structure of heavy words. None of the more than 20 words "Zhi" are the same, each with its own style and spirit. In the whole layout, the vertical behavior is the center, and the words are staggered, but the words are connected and inseparable, and a musical rhythm flows between the lines. Huang Tingjian said: "The Preface to Lanting is grass, and Wang Youjun was proud of this book all his life. I read it again and again, which is slightly unsatisfactory. " Dong Qichang, a painter in the Ming Dynasty, wrote in his Essays on Painting Zen Rooms: "The Preface to the Lanting Pavilion by the Right Army is the first in ancient and modern times, and its figures are all embodied by belts, which are in line with statutes, so it is also a masterpiece." The Preface to Lanting is appreciated from a literary point of view, with beautiful words and broad feelings. It is a masterpiece of the ages; From the perspective of calligraphy, it embodies the classical aesthetic ideal paradigm of balance and neutralization of brushwork, bone and flesh, shape and spirit, rigidity and softness. Therefore, Preface to Lanting is known as the "crown of calligraphy", which has been carefully studied by calligraphers in past dynasties and praised as "the best running script in the world".
Exquisite art forms come from maverick life forms. The success of Preface to Lanting is by no means accidental. There are great differences in spiritual pursuit between Wei-Jin people and Han people. The requirements of scholars in the Han Dynasty focused on morality, integrity, Confucianism and honesty, while the Jin Dynasty paid attention to talent, temperament, style and style. From observing moral norms to attaching importance to personal inner feelings, refined temperament and straightforward and willful behavior have become the ideal pursuit of scholars. Wang Xizhi is frank, informal and likes to be quiet. He was described by people at that time as "floating like a cloud, nimble as a dragon", a celebrity with Wei and Jin demeanor and metaphysical connotation. Broad-minded personality makes his calligraphy rich and natural. When it is implemented in the Preface to the Lanting Pavilion, it shows a free realm of harmony between man and nature, exudes a natural and elegant, free and simple temperament, and also permeates a kind of telepathy and artistic skill that is not constrained by things. Therefore, these conditions are combined into one, and the spring water is brewed into wine, which is condensed into such a beautiful and fragrant artistic masterpiece.
The treasures in the world were originally produced by accident. Modern calligrapher Shen lamented that "at that time, carefree was perfect". After the Preface to Lanting was written, Wang Xizhi was very proud. Later, he wrote it for more than ten times, but he couldn't reach the wonderful and delicate realm of the original. This running script became a family heirloom of the Wangs. When it was passed on to the seventh generation Zen master Sun Zhiyong, an attic was specially built to store the Preface to Lanting. Zhiyong passed it on to his disciples on his deathbed. Hide it on the beam. At this time, it was the early Tang Dynasty. Emperor Taizong loved Wang Xizhi's calligraphy so much that he did not hesitate to send someone to buy Wang's original works. Xiao Yi, the proposal, disguised as a poor scholar, cheated the critical talents and stole the preface of Lanting Collection. After Emperor Taizong got the Preface to the Lanting Pavilion, Feng Chengsu and Zhao Mo, the calligraphy masters of Hong Wen Pavilion, carefully copied several copies and gave them to the royal family and minions. At that time, the replica of this "inferior original" was also "expensive in Luoyang". In addition, there are Ou Yangxun, Chu Suiliang, Yu Shinan and other famous artists handed down from generation to generation. Emperor Taizong personally wrote "Biography of Wang Xizhi" for the Book of Jin, and praised Wang Xizhi's calligraphy: "Therefore, Wang Yi is the only one who is perfect in ancient and modern times!" Pushed his calligraphy art to an unprecedented height. On his deathbed, Emperor Taizong ordered the original Preface to Lanting to be buried with him. Since then, the original Preface to Lanting has been buried underground and will never be seen by the world. The best copy of Preface to the Lanting Pavilion that we have seen today is Feng Chengsu's rubbings, the frontispiece of which has the year number of Shenlong in Li Xian, Tang Zhongzong, also known as "Shenlong Book", which is now in the Palace Museum in Beijing.
Wang Xizhi's calligraphy seal cutting works include Yan Le Lun, Huang Tingjing, Dong Fangshuo Painting Zan and so on, which occupies an important position in the history of ancient calligraphy in China. There are more than ten kinds of his cursive scripts handed down in Mo Bao, such as cold-cut sticks, menstruation sticks and early moon sticks. Although these Mo Bao are replicas of the Tang Dynasty double hooks. But they are all rare treasures. His running script "Sunny Post in the Snow" has only 24 words, and it was also listed as the first of the "three wedding invitations" by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty.
Compared with Han Dynasty and Western Jin Dynasty, Wang Xizhi's calligraphy style is characterized by exquisite brushwork and changeable structure. His greatest achievement is to increase the destruction of ancient law and turn the simple style of calligraphy in Han and Wei dynasties into a delicate style of calligraphy. The cursive script is vigorous and eclectic, the official script is smart and dense, and the running script is vigorous and natural. He introduced the writing of Chinese characters from daily use to a spiritual realm that pays attention to skills and taste. In fact, this is the awakening of calligraphy art, which indicates that calligraphers not only discover the beauty of calligraphy, but also can show it. There were almost no calligraphers who didn't copy the western calligraphy posts, so Wang Xizhi was known as a "book saint".
Wang Xizhi's calligraphy also influenced his descendants. His son is mysterious and good at cursive writing; Coagulation, as a grass official; The emblem is cursive; Fuck it, be good at writing; Huanzhi, good cursive script; Sacrifice is called "little sage". Huang's "On the East View and Xu Lun" says: "Wang Sizi's books, Ning, Cao, Hui and Huan, have all been handed down from generation to generation, each with its own body, but different body. Condense its rhyme, practice its body, emblem its potential, rejuvenate its appearance and offer its source. " It is said that all four sons of Wang Xizhi have their own exquisite calligraphy. Then, his descendants continued, and Wang's calligraphy was handed down from generation to generation. Wu Zetian tried Wang Xizhi's book. Wang Xizhi's ninth great-grandson, Wang Xizhi, submitted ten volumes of books of 28 people from the ancestors of eleven generations to his great-grandfather. Wu Zetian ordered the original to be copied and compiled into "Long Live the Post" by tick filling method, which still belongs to the king, but it has long been lost. In the Southern Dynasties, Wang Qian, Wang Ci and Zhiwang were all royalty, and they all had characters. Sun Zhiyong, the seventh son of Wang Xizhi, was a famous calligrapher in Sui and Tang Dynasties. The Wangs made extraordinary contributions to China's calligraphy art.