Wen Zhengming

Author: Wen Zhengming
Editor: Xiang Bin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-05-01
Features: Since the birth of Chinese characters, calligraphy has existed in China. Humans have always created the world according to aesthetic principles from the beginning. Ancient oracle bone inscriptions and bronze inscriptions, with their unique material conditions and brushwork structures, left behind beauty that later generations could never match. Later followers' pursuit of calligraphic beauty became conscious, infusing it with artistic elements that predecessors had not. However, this was not always the continuous surpassing often mentioned, nor was it, nor could it ever be, a comprehensive surpassing. Due to the inherent characteristics of calligraphic art, evaluations of calligraphy have often relied on overly abstract and uncertain terms. This can even be said to be related to the ambiguity in Chinese linguistic habits, but it is also inseparable from the abstract nature of Chinese calligraphy. Additionally, traditional calligraphy history tends to focus on master-disciple relationships when discussing specific schools or masters. While discussing master-disciple relationships is necessary, it is sometimes overly simplistic and falls into a linear thinking pattern. In terms of its practical significance, it can unduly constrain creative consciousness. How to study artists and their works from multiple perspectives should be done better than the ancients. We should view the entire activities of a specific calligrapher as a manifestation of both social essence and the essence of calligraphy. Contemporary calligraphy has entered a historically unprecedented situation. On one hand, material conditions have changed the writing conditions on which calligraphy depends. On the other hand, calligraphy has shown prosperity within a limited scope and stubbornly survives. Our stance undoubtedly must be that of a promoter of calligraphic prosperity. Contemporary calligraphers, facing the dilemma of engaging with the times and opening up the future, seek inspiration from theoretical and historical research. This inevitably gives calligraphy history a contemporary nature. It is not about arbitrarily altering history but rather summarizing patterns from the past to explore new life and new vitality.