University calligraphy

Author: Chen Longhai (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-12-01
Features: The fading and eventual disappearance of a certain cultural discourse are always beyond human will, just like the extinction of plant and animal species on Earth. Today, we rescue and protect endangered plant and animal breeds, paying attention to creating their living environments. However, tragically, the larger environment has inevitably faded with the times. Observing Shi Yu's Ode to Brush and Ink from this perspective still remains insightful. Yet, pessimism is premature. The decline of brush culture began as early as the early 20th century. With the sweeping force of the May Fourth Movement and the influx of Western aesthetics into China, calligraphy faced a precarious situation. The enlightened have continuously taken up the historical responsibility of defending calligraphy. The undeniable fact is that in the past century, the brush has not completely retreated from the stage of Chinese culture. This is not due to the efforts of the enlightened but because the living environment of calligraphy still objectively exists. We often describe our present and future as ever-changing and dynamic, which indeed excites us. Yet, the Bull Plowing Scene unearthed from the Western Han Dynasty mural tomb in Zaoyuan, Pinglu, Shanxi, is almost identical to the plowing scenes I observed in rural areas of North China and Jiangnan! It is certain that oxen and iron plows will enter the 21st century as labor tools, and similarly, we will carry the Chinese brush, which has been used for at least 3,300 years, into the 21st century.
During the Tang Dynasty, the elite academy under the Guozijian had a dedicated "School of Calligraphy." In the Zhenguan era of the early Tang Dynasty, masters such as Ouyang Xun and Yu Shinyin were once calligraphy professors at the Hongwen Academy (not the modern designation for university faculty positions). Since the Tang Dynasty, formal calligraphy education has never been abandoned. Today, a calligraphy teaching system constructed by doctors, masters, undergraduates, and undergraduates has taken shape, and the 20-year-old calligraphy craze is still thriving. Pessimism always feels premature.