Song Dynasty edition of the Shaoxing Rice: Mi Fu II

Author: Wang Haoming
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-06-01
Features:
Cai Shu (1051-1107), styled Yuanzhang, was known as Xiangyang Manshi and Haiyue Wai Shi. His ancestral home was in Shanxi, but he moved to Xiangyang, earning the nickname "Cai Xiangyang." Historical accounts describe him as eccentric, fond of Tang dynasty attire, and excessively clean. He revered stones, calling them "brothers" and worshipping them obsessively, hence the moniker "Cai Dian." At the age of six, he could recite a hundred poems, learned calligraphy at seven, and began carving inscriptions at ten. By twenty-one, he entered official service, proving himself a prodigious talent. In calligraphy, he was one of the "Four Calligraphers of the Song Dynasty" (Su, Cai, Huang, and Cai) and ranked first among them. His style was unrestrained yet disciplined, earning Su Dongpo's admiration for its "freedom in script, boldness in grass, elegance in clerical, and vigor in seal." On the other hand, he pioneered the "Cai Family Cloud Mountains" technique in landscape painting, using hazy brushwork to depict misty Jiangnan scenery. His use of varying shades of ink, thick and dry strokes, horizontal dots, and clusters created layered mountain formations, earning the name "Cai Dian." He became a revered figure for later painters, who emulated his style. His son, Cai Youren, left behind numerous works, ensuring the continuation of this artistic tradition and elevating the "literati painting" style to new heights. Historians debate whether Cai Shu prioritized calligraphy or painting. As a calligrapher, painter, appraiser, and collector, he amassed a vast collection, spanning diverse fields. His keen eye and expertise made his works invaluable for later studies of art history. His major works include Treasures for Later Generations to Seek, History of Calligraphy, History of Painting, History of Inkstones, and Haiyue Annotations. Treasures for Later Generations to Seek, compiled in the first year of Yuanyou (1086), is divided into "Witnessed" and "Hearsay" sections, recording eighty-four works from the Jin and Tang dynasties, setting a precedent for later cataloging and exerting significant influence. Some works even mimicked its format, such as Zhang Chou's Four Tables of Zhang. History of Calligraphy is more detailed and served as a reference for later appraisers. Haiyue, primarily a record of his personal experiences, is highly insightful. It is generally believed to be a compilation of Cai's remarks. Cai Shu dedicated himself deeply to calligraphy, with his greatest achievements in running script. Though few of his paintings survive, his calligraphic works are well-preserved. In famous Southern Song dynasty anthologies, his scripts are frequently included, demonstrating the widespread dissemination and profound impact of his style among the "Four Calligraphers of the Northern Song." Kang Youwei once remarked, "The Tang emphasized structure, while the Song valued spirit." This highlights the Song dynasty's focus on individuality and expressiveness, a trait Cai Shu exemplified, making him the outstanding representative of the Northern Song quartet. Cai Shu claimed to "collect ancient characters," a practice some mocked but others praised, as Wang Wenji wrote, "Nature alone is not enough; only by collecting the old can one establish a unique style." This partly explains the origin of his success. According to Cai Shu, before studying Jin dynasty calligraphy under Su Dongpo, he was heavily influenced by five Tang calligraphers: Yan Zhenqing, Ouyang Xun, Chu Suiliang, Shen Chuanshi, and Duan Jizhan. Cai Shu employed unique brush techniques, such as the rounded turn at the right corner of the character "men," the abrupt rise of vertical hooks, and the crab-claw hook—all inspired by Yan's running script. His slender, sharp style likely derived from imitating Ouyang's works, a practice he maintained for a long time. Shen Chuanshi's running script resembled Chu Suiliang's, while Cai Shu's large characters were influenced by Duan Jizhan, whose "four-sided" and "brush-like" techniques may have inspired Cai's own methods. Chu Suiliang's dynamic brushwork and lively composition aligned with Cai's preferences, earning his praise: "Like a well-tempered horse, it moves with grace and pride." After 1082, Cai Shu sought Jin dynasty scripts and acquired Wang Xianzhi's Mid-Autumn Letter within a year. This influential work left a lasting impression on him, though he often felt Wang Xianzhi's father, Wang Xizhi, was inferior to his son. However, his rebellious nature led him to declare, "I grow weary of Wang Xizhi's bad handwriting," and "I will wash away the faults of the two Wangs." Cai Shu is said to have studied Yang Xin, as Li Zhiyi noted, "The immortal of Haiyue does not expect me to surpass Yang Xin in calligraphy." His study of Yang Xin likely began after settling in Haiyue An in the sixth year of Yuanyou. Despite this, Cai's style remained evolving. Works like the Tie River Letter, Biography of Yin Lingming's Head-Turban Temple, and Shu Silk Manuscript, written within a month, show significant stylistic differences, indicating he had not fully transcended the "collecting ancient characters" phase. Only after "reaching old age did he finally establish his style, leaving others unsure of its essence"—a process completed around his fiftieth year. His mature calligraphic style, however, was marked by his unrestrained pursuit of "power," even in small like the Eulogy for Empress Dowager Xiang—a trait that, while admirable, also became a flaw. As Huang Tingjian aptly remarked, "He excelled only in running script, but was mediocre in regular and cursive scripts." The term "regular script" at the time was not strictly defined as modern Zhengkai—it could refer to seal or clerical scripts, which Cai Shu indeed struggled with. His surviving seal and clerical scripts were mediocre, and his later dismissal of Tang dynasty cursive scripts, coupled with his limited understanding of Jin dynasty cursive, explains his lackluster achievements in this area. Cai Shu approached calligraphy with meticulous care, unlike the casual manner some imagined. He once wrote, "I rewrote the Poem of Haihai three times, and only a few characters pleased me—truly, writing is a difficult task" (as recorded by Fan Mingtai in Biography of Cai Xiangyang). A poem rewritten three times still yielded only a few satisfactory characters, a testament to the hardships of artistic creation that only true masters could appreciate. Cai Shu had unique insights into calligraphic composition, structure, and brushwork, advocating for "steadiness without stiffness, boldness without strangeness, maturity without dryness, and richness without fatness." This echoed Jiang Kui's principle of "no downward strokes without shortening, no forward strokes without retracting"—a harmony of contrasts, blending tight and loose, thick and thin, simple and complex. His brushwork was characterized by fluidity and vigor, with heavy starts, lighter middles, and sharp turns at junctions. His variations in downstrokes were diverse, sometimes starting or ending with emphasis, or even in the middle of a stroke. Horizontal strokes often featured three undulations. His hooks were equally distinctive. Cai Shu's calligraphy often featured leaning stances—leaning left before right, before—adding dynamism and spirited energy. Grounded in decades of studying ancient scripts, his style was natural and unforced. Followers of Cai Shu, even those who had the advantage of studying under him, struggled to replicate his "wildness." Since the Song and Yuan dynasties, critiques of Cai Shu's calligraphy have fallen into two camps: one praised him without reservation, while the other acknowledged flaws but still favored his style. Su Dongpo represented the former, holding Cai Shu in high esteem. As one of the "Four Calligraphers of the Northern Song," Cai Shu's dynamic style ranked first. His achievements stemmed entirely from hard work. At thirty, serving in Changsha, he encountered the Yuelu Temple stele and visited Lushan to see the East Lin Temple stele, inscribing his name on both. In the second year of Yuanyou, he exchanged Zhang Xuan's six paintings and Xu Hao's two letters for Li Yong's Letter on Hot Rice and Gua Powder. His calligraphy reflects this: the twenty-four-year-old inscription on Longyin Rock in Linggu, though showing some vigor, lacked a distinct style; the thirty-year-old Commentary on the Stephanotaph also revealed his natural limitations. Cai Shu, known for his wit, occasionally exaggerated his abilities, as the ancients noted, "He set his own high standards." Cai Shu often employed mystical language in his self-descriptions of calligraphy, such as claiming, "I have studied Yan's running script since childhood." Yet his success was entirely due to diligent practice, with no shortcuts. He wrote daily, as evidenced by two accounts: "A day without writing makes my thoughts sluggish—I imagine ancient masters never paused for even a moment." "Zhi Yong's inkstone became a pestle only after reaching Wang Xizhi; only by piercing through it could one reach Zhong Yao and Su Jing—take heart, Zhi Yong." His son Cai Youren even claimed he wrote on New Year's Day. Cai Shu was a prolific collector, often traveling with his "Cai Family Painting and Calligraphy Ship" inscribed on his vessel. His love for stones was well-documented in the Song Shi, with Yuan Ni's poem On Cai Nan Gong's Worship of Stones: "Cai Shu adored inkstones and stones, exploring their rarity and peculiarity. He bowed to his 'stone brothers,' as he himself depicted, proving his fame was well-deserved." Inspired by this, Cai Shu created Worship of Stones, which became a popular theme among later painters. An unusual stone stood before his Treasure Pavilion, used for appreciation and recorded in Letter on the Strange Stone. Legend claims Cai Shu used the four-character "thin, elegant, rugged, and penetrating" to evaluate stones. He also cherished inkstones, essential tools for calligraphers. His History of Inkstones detailed the differences and qualities of ancient inkstones, advocating, "Vessels serve function, and stone's best quality lies in its ink-releasing ability." Appraisals of Calligraphy from Treasure Pavilion quotes from Forest Collection: "I must have a precious inkstone; it is my life." Cai Shu's devotion to inkstones was profound. As a man obsessed with both stones and inkstones, he held inkstone mountains in high regard. These natural formations, shaped like peaks, had flat bases for grinding ink, serving as both decorative pieces and writing tools. Forest Records mentions Cai Shu falling asleep for three days after acquiring an inkstone mountain. The most famous was one once owned by Li Yu of Southern Tang, whom Cai Shu traded land for to build a house, leading to his relentless pursuit and the creation of Inkstone Mountain. In his later years, Cai Shu resided in Dantu, Runzhou (now part of Jiangsu), where he built the Forest Hall, naming his collected works Forest Collection, a hundred volumes of which survive today, mostly in the form of Treasure Pavilion Collection. Cai Shu was not only a master calligrapher but also a poet of exceptional talent, with works that were original and far-reaching. He once wrote to Xu Chongyuan, stating, "I never copied a single line from others, and in my life, I have never submitted a poem to nobles." His uniqueness was his strength, but his deliberate pursuit of novelty was his weakness. No paintings by Cai Shu survive, but his History of Painting records his collecting, appraising, and preferences in ancient paintings, as well as his aesthetic theories and creative insights. This serves as the best source for studying his painting. Cai Shu's success lay in achieving the literati aesthetic through playful inkwork and thematic choices. He recognized the need to alter traditional painting conventions and technical standards to forge new artistic sensibilities. The reason lies in his dual identity: as a collector and appraiser, he possessed a deep understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of paintings, prioritizing their intrinsic content. Su Dongpo, as a literary giant, approached painting as a hobby, often judging it by literary standards, which, though insightful, lacked a painter's perspective. Thus, later scholars often viewed Cai Shu as a painter and Su Dongpo as a art theorist. While Su Dongpo's theories were widely cited, Cai Shu's practice of "Cai Family Cloud Mountains" remained unparalleled. As a historian, it must be noted that Cai Shu's artistic thought far surpassed the standards of his time. His son, Cai Youren, inherited his calligraphic legacy and became another renowned calligrapher.