Huaisu Self-Portrait Scroll

Author: Ma Ya
Publisher: Henan Fine Arts Publishing House
内容简介:
Huai Su (755–785 AD), styled Zangzhen, was a native of Lingling Prefecture (now Yongzhou, Hunan) in the Tang Dynasty and later moved to Changsha. Originally surnamed Qian, he became a monk at Shutang Temple in Lingling at the age of seven. Unable to afford paper to practice calligraphy, he planted numerous banana trees outside the temple and used their leaves to practice writing, naming his studio "Luitian An" (Green Heaven Studio). Finding this insufficient, he also used lacquered plates and boards as substitutes for paper, writing until the plates were worn through. He collected worn-out brushes into a "brush mound," known as "Bizi Zong." This demonstrates his unwavering dedication and diligence in calligraphy. Huai Su had a free-spirited personality, wholeheartedly devoted to cursive script, yet he had no interest in Buddhist meditation. Instead, he indulged in drinking, eating meat, and associating with renowned scholars. In his middle years, he embarked on a long-distance journey south to Guangzhou and later north to Chang’an. There, he learned the writing style of Zhang Di (Zhang Xu) from Wu Tong and Yan Zhenqing, further refining his calligraphy, especially his cursive script, which gained widespread acclaim. In his later years, his cursive script grew more subdued. Previous scholars praised his狂草 (furious script) as a development of Zhang Xu’s style, describing it as "carrying on the madness of Zhang Xu," and they are collectively known as "Zhang Xu and Huai Su" (the "Mad Zhang and Drunken Huai"), whose influence on later calligraphers was profound.
Huai Su’s "Zixutie" (Autobiographical Scroll) is a paper cursive script. The scroll is 28.3 cm tall and 755 cm long, containing 126 lines and 98 characters. It is recorded in works such as Mi Fu’s "Baozhang Difanglu" (Record of Treasure Manuscripts Yet to Be Sought) and "Shishu" (History of Calligraphy). Three preserved ink迹 (handscrolls) of the "Zixutie" exist: one in the home of Su Zimei in Gongwu, one in Shizhong with Shi Yangxiu, and one with Feng Dangshi. The scroll now housed in the Taipei Palace Museum, originally owned by Su’s family, has its first six lines damaged and later restored by Su Shuqin. Modern scholars have考证 (researched) that it is either a Song Dynasty copy or a copy after the original. It is now published in facsimile, with sections printed at their original size.
The phrase "calligraphy is the heart’s painting" suggests that calligraphy is an art that expresses the artist’s mindset. Both rational and irrational inclinations can create artistic masterpieces. The "Zixutie" is an "unrestrained expression of beauty and humanity in a state of madness," exuberant, vibrant, full of passion and imagination. Tang Renhua’s poem describes Huai Su’s calligraphy session: “Yesterday, the mad monk stirred the capital, riding in the morning on the horses of dukes and high ministers, and lodging in their homes at night. Who did not seek to paint on silk screens? Who did not apply white to walls? The white walls trembled with the light of the clear sky, and the silk screens gathered the morning frost. Wait for your brushwork, unforgettable, as horses are sent to welcome you to the hall, golden trays filled with wine, fragrant with bamboo leaves. Ten cups or five cups cannot express the meaning, but after a hundred cups, one begins to lose one’s mind.” Cursive script best reflects the calligrapher’s state of mind, and "醉酒书" (drunken calligraphy) even pours personality, spirit, and untamable passion into an unbroken stream of brushwork, transcending oneself. When drunk, Huai Su entered a "state of losing oneself," merging his "self" into the brushwork, unrestrainedly expressing himself and achieving an unexpected effect, as if guided by the divine: “The heart and hand teach each other, and the style becomes extraordinary. Strange forms and shapes fit together just so. Everyone wants to ask the secret of this, but Huai Su himself said he did not know at first.” “When drunk, a few lines are sketched by hand; when sober, the calligraphy cannot be replicated.” Truly, as the saying goes, "writing is heaven-born, and brilliance is occasional."