Fu Defeng
The author calls the popular exhibition works creation as "filling in the blank" creation. That is, no matter whether the work is in the form of a nave, couplets, banners, fans, four screens or hand scroll, the author should use the methods of drawing grids, dyeing, old making, cutting and pasting in advance, and then "create" a work according to his own careful design, or even by copying books. Some even have to repeat many times to select a satisfactory one, Only then is it complete. This way of creation, from the point of view of the author's serious attitude towards creation, is undoubtedly understandable, but from the point of view of the ancients that "books originate from nature", it is far from perfect.
Although the ancients said that "the intention precedes the writing", they also said that "it is good to have no intention". In other words, to create a calligraphy work, it is not allowed to lead people to engage in Gu, but it is not allowed to be too artificial. However, most of the current exhibition creation methods tend to pay too much attention to formal design, promote technical skills and ignore the ultimate concern of humanistic spirit, and most of the books stay at the technical level of "showing off skills and fighting skills". The correct approach should be to advance both technology and morality, that is, to express the author's own thoughts and feelings with sophisticated technology, so as to indirectly reflect the literary and artistic thought and style of the era. The so-called "technology comes from Tao" and "Tao comes from technology", "technology" is the means, and "Tao" is the fundamental purpose.
The ancients wrote books for the purpose of "recording articles and events", while today's people write books for books. The ancients paid more attention to "literature", that is, morality is the first thing. Because only moral articles can reflect a writer's ideological level more intuitively, and only through the ideas expressed in his articles can he realize his ideal of life. Therefore, articles were regarded by the ancients as "the great cause of running the country and the great event of immortality", while calligraphy rules were regarded as "the remaining things" of calligraphy articles, called "the path". In this sense, it is not difficult for us to understand why the ancients advocated "knowledge before literature" and "literature before ink".
After the abolition of the imperial examination system, the brush was replaced by a hard pen and a computer, and its practicality rapidly faded. Calligraphy was no longer regarded as a universal requirement and a necessary accomplishment for scholars. Therefore, in this case, calligraphy is only an optional course for the intellectual class to choose freely. At present, many writers are not good at writing poetry, and "Wen", as the spiritual and cultural support of calligraphy, has been taken time intentionally or unintentionally. To some extent, the level of a person's awareness cultivation often depends on the level of his poetry.
The disadvantage of the popular "fill in the blank" creation method is that the design and production traces are too obvious. Most of the authors are in a very rational writing state and are cautious. On the one hand, I was afraid that I would spend a lot of time cutting and splicing rice paper to write bad, on the other hand, I should consider the preferences of judges and whether my works could win in the exhibition. Under such double psychological pressure, it is difficult for creators to really relax. In addition, it is difficult to achieve a good state of random adaptation and willfulness in the process of writing. The results achieved by the excellence in techniques and the pursuit of the trend in book style orientation only moved the judges with "technology intensive" and "labor-intensive" works, and won awards from the exhibition. However, from the perspective of reflecting the essence of calligraphy and self artistic personality, it is far from the spirit essence advocated by the ancients.
The ancients paid more attention to the expression of poetic atmosphere and ideological realm in their books, although they also more or less emphasized the formal beauty. There are not only obvious differences in the style of writing between different authors, but also corresponding aesthetic differences in different works of the same author. This is not only true for cursive works with relatively large changes, but also for regular script works with relatively stable strokes. However, the current calligraphers are seldom able to do this. They are keen on following the trend, pleasing the judges, and constantly repeating themselves. There are few substantive breakthroughs, just a renovation of the form. Everyone did this, which eventually led to sameness and singleness. This is the fundamental reason why few of the hundreds of works in the modern exhibition hall can leave a deep and unforgettable impression on the audience.
The "fill in the blank" creation has almost become a rigid and fixed mode, and many participants are carrying out rational writing that lacks unique emotions. Technology is ubiquitous, but emotion and personality are diluted. Today's exhibition works are like the examination oriented body of the ancient scientific examination, catering to the tastes of examiners and emperors. Therefore, such as "pavilion style" and "platform style", although skilled in technology, the artistic level is not high.
Therefore, today's writers should get inspiration from the creation methods of the ancients and know how to walk on two legs. They should not only adhere to personality and return to themselves in addition to the necessary response, but also make their calligraphy creation based on a profound traditional culture. You can't spend your whole life writing for calligraphy. Only by setting up the correct concept of calligraphy creation, which is "knowledge before art" and "equal emphasis on literature and ink", can we become better and better, and gradually grow into a true calligrapher.
(The author is a critic)
