Introduction to China's history and culture
The development of calligraphy aesthetics in Han, Wei and Six Dynasties was influenced by the spirit of the times and philosophical fashion, showing its own characteristics of the times. The Confucian concept of "golden mean", the Taoist concept of "nature", the Buddhist concept of "artistic conception" and the metaphysical concept of "distinguishing words from meanings" all had a far-reaching impact on calligraphers' calligraphy thoughts at that time. It can be said that it is these factors that make the aesthetic thoughts of calligraphy in the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties reach a conscious and mature level. Key words: Han, Wei and Six Dynasties; Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are mysterious; Calligraphy; Aesthetics: Dana, a critic of France19th century, said: "To understand a work of art and an artist, we must correctly imagine the spirit and style of the times to which they belong." [1] "To understand the works, it is more necessary to study the people who made the works here than in other occasions, to inspire the customs and habits of the works and to create the environment for the works." [2] Before the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties, China had no specialized and systematic literary theory and aesthetics. Among the works of pre-Qin philosophers, mainly the philosophical works of Confucianism and Taoism, there are only a few sporadic aesthetic thoughts. By the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties, a large number of specialized works on art theory appeared, which was related to the development of art and aesthetics, but closely related to the background of the times, philosophical fashion and cultural aesthetics at that time. "Generally speaking, building a house has a foundation, and I have never heard of Cen Cheng without an address" (Lu Xiangshan), the cultural policy of "ousting a hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone" in the Western Han Dynasty, the rise of Taoism in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the introduction and prosperity of Buddhism, and the prevalence of metaphysics in the Wei and Jin Dynasties all had an important impact on art and aesthetics at that time. It can also be said that literature, music, painting, calligraphy and sculpture of the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties. As Mr. Zong Baihua pointed out in his famous paper "On the Beauty of Jin People": "The late Han Dynasty, the Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties were the most chaotic and painful times in China, but it was an era of spiritual freedom, liberation, wisdom and enthusiasm. Therefore, it is also the most artistic era. " [3] However, the aesthetic prosperity of the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties was influenced by social unrest, life experience and Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. It is this close causal relationship that has formed a series of aesthetic categories of clothing and quilts for later generations, such as thinking, contemplation, concealment, epiphany, charm, characters, images and so on. As far as calligraphy aesthetics is concerned, a series of calligraphy aesthetic categories and calligraphy aesthetic thoughts are also closely related to Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, metaphysics, people and things in this period, such as "bone", "potential", "beauty in ancient times", "intention to write", "natural kung fu", "form and spirit" and "nature and the mean". It can be said that it is difficult to make a correct evaluation of the panorama and connotation of various artistic aesthetic thoughts at that time without the background and philosophical fashion of the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties. Scholars in the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties combined the world outlook formed under the influence of life experience and various philosophical thoughts with their own aesthetic ideals, creating a profound aesthetic culture. Among them, calligraphy, as a remarkable art form at that time, can better reflect this influence. As Mr. Jin Kaicheng said: "Through the art of calligraphy, we can see the spirit and essence of traditional culture." [4] However, the factors that affect the logical development of aesthetic thoughts, including calligraphy, are not independent, but mutually infiltrated and blended. The aesthetic thought of calligraphy in a certain period is always influenced by various factors. A "Proportion of Fat and Thin, Proportion of Bone Strength"-The Influence of Confucianism is the dominant ideology in China feudal society, and it permeates all fields of social ideology from top to bottom. Although the exclusive position of Confucianism was once shaken during the Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties due to political, economic, cultural and other reasons, the artistic spirit of Confucianism, as an important aesthetic principle of China's calligraphy art creation and appreciation, still had an important impact on the artistic aesthetics at that time, including the development of calligraphy aesthetics. Historically, the social status and influence of Confucianism changed with the change of dynasties. The rise and fall of Confucianism and the change of national ideology make the development of calligraphy show a corresponding trend. In the Han Dynasty, "a hundred schools of thought were ousted and Confucianism was respected alone", the society was stable and the country was prosperous, and the art of the Han Dynasty was also vigorous, reflecting the vigorous atmosphere of unification. On the other hand, the style of calligraphy is the strengthening of statutes and the pursuit of ups and downs, and Lishu reached its peak in the Han Dynasty. The Confucian aesthetic thought, represented by Dong Zhongshu, advocates the Confucian doctrine of "golden mean" and "neutralization", and holds that "whoever is in China will always be in the world; Harmony is the creation of heaven and earth, "harmony is the beauty and rationality of heaven and earth, and the conservatism of saints", "harmony is the meaning of heaven and earth, the balance of yin and yang" and "harmony is the use of heaven and earth". The way of heaven and earth is more beautiful than harmony. " [5] It is pointed out that the beauty of heaven and earth lies in the integration, harmony and coordination of Yin and Yang. As the essence of Confucian artistic spirit, this "golden mean" thought has also become the guiding principle of calligraphy aesthetics. As "the foundation of the world" and "the way of the world" (The Analects of Confucius? The doctrine of the mean permeates calligraphy aesthetics, which is manifested in unswerving creative personality, peaceful and ambitious creative mentality and calm and regular creative means. The development of calligraphy aesthetics is dominated by Confucian doctrine of the mean, emphasizing political utility and paying attention to formal conventions, momentum and organizational harmony. The article "Non-cursive script" written by Zhao Yi in Han Dynasty reflects the interference and infiltration of Confucian doctrine of the mean to calligraphy. In this article, Zhao Yi criticized the "deviant" cursive script from the standpoint of orthodox Confucianism. It is believed that calligraphy is "the beginning of Wang Zheng, the foundation of Confucian classics", and it is a tool for saints to carry Tao, which is directly related to the rise and fall of Wang Zheng's rites and music, while the obsession with cursive script can only be abandoned and misguided. His "Non-cursive script" aims to make "being a scholar is the Tao, being sincere is the Tao" conform to the golden mean, to calm down the enthusiasm of the society for cursive script, and thus to advocate and carry forward a creative personality that is neither stimulating nor persistent. As Chen Zhenlian said: "The theoretical value of Zhao Yifei's cursive script in the history of calligraphy criticism lies not in his aesthetic acceptance that calligraphy conforms to the artistic law, but in his anti-calligraphy tendency from the standpoint of Confucianism, which emphasizes the cultural value of calligraphy from the opposite side and directly brings calligraphy into the value system of Confucianism". [6] Zhao Yi stood in the position of the guardian of Confucianism. When the wave of cursive art in the Eastern Han Dynasty impacted the Confucian aesthetic ideal, he advocated the respect of calligraphy for Confucianism and the aesthetic ideal of moderation, which opened the historical origin of the integration of calligraphy art and Confucianism. In essence, calligraphy aesthetic thought is not only composed of calligraphy aesthetic subject and formal self-discipline, but also a long-term accumulation of Confucian culture. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, there were frequent wars, social unrest, the rise of Buddhism and Taoism, and the gradual decline of Confucianism. Many calligraphers benefit from Buddhism and Taoism, but they also integrate Confucianism. As Huang Tingjian commented in "The Monument to the Valley": "The right army's brushwork is as natural as Mencius' words, and Zhuang Zhou explores nature, and everything is perfect, which can be treated with common sense. "It can be seen that calligraphers' aesthetic thoughts, like their artistic styles, are also the result of the comprehensive action of many factors, which also reflects the profoundness of Confucianism. Gold, whose charm advocates verve, embodies the beauty of tolerance, tolerance and moderation. It is the degree that shines with charm, not the specific skills and statutes. Only rhyme without degree, artistic conception is empty, only degree without rhyme is inferior. The so-called "active asexual, lifeless; No sexual activity and unreal eyes. "[7] The calligraphy of the two kings has both rhyme and rhyme, which embodies the Confucian ideal of the golden mean." In the field of calligraphy art, it perfectly embodies the demeanor of Wei and Jin dynasties, and it is also a kind of loose and wild, which conforms to the aesthetic ideal of' gentleness' and' neutralization' required by Confucianism. "[8] So," Right Army father and son are outstanding. " [9] Wang Xizhi emphasized the doctrine of the mean in his aesthetic thought. He summed up his creative mentality as "focusing on quietness, focusing on the pen", and thought that in terms of techniques, calligraphy should be "expensive, flat and steady" (Book Theory), "white cloth should be divided, the top and bottom should be flush, … big characters should be small, and small characters should be wide. "(Gesture Theory), only by emphasizing moderation can we achieve the ideal effect. Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of A Liang in the Southern Dynasties, advocated the doctrine of the mean. In "A Book of Tao's Seclusion", he thought that "fine bones are not beautiful, fine flesh is weak, less ink is dull, and more ink is clumsy". Only by following the golden mean in calligraphy creation can we achieve "tortuous advancement, balance between rules and moments, separate bets, fine balance, proportionality between fat and thin, and proportionality between bone strength". These views also influenced the view of calligraphy theory. From the above, we can see the influence of Confucianism on calligraphy aesthetics in Han, Wei and Six Dynasties. 2 "Nature", "Wonderful Meaning" and "Book Way"-The influence of Taoist thought Taoism, as a philosophical system, is not as good as Confucianism in the history of China thought, but as a way of thinking, its position in culture and art is more important than Confucianism. In particular, the artistic spirit contained in the realm of life that Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi yearn for has a very important influence on the development of China's cultural and artistic spirit. Judging from the style of calligraphy, since the Western Han Dynasty, Lishu has developed well and finally reached full maturity under the protection of Confucianism. The regularity, fairness, openness, grace and overall style of official script represent the typical style of Confucianism, which is rational, rigorous, plain and neutral. The image of calligraphy began to become a clear "meaningful form", and the objectification of subject and object gradually formed consciousness, but the process of artistic subject consciousness was also the process of subject accepting Confucian constraints. Artists gradually fall into the process of being unable to settle their rich emotional life. Here, we can see the important role of Taoist thought in artistic development. The lightness and exaggeration of bamboo slips in the Western Han Dynasty can be said to be unconsciously revealed under the control of Taoist natural adaptability, and this unconsciously revealed artistic nature constantly inspires the consciousness of Taoist thought. As a result, the cursive script (Cui Yuan's cursive script) gradually gained favor and developed rapidly into a modern script, and the dispute between Confucianism and Taoism gradually became clear. Zhao Yi's non-cursive script is an excellent example. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, various arts, including calligraphy, miraculously achieved great success in this disastrous period. The calligraphy style and aesthetic thoughts of Wei and Jin Dynasties have been admired by us for thousands of years. The consciousness and freedom of artistic spirit are deeply influenced by Taoism of Laozi and Zhuangzi, especially in expressing the subject's life experience, and the bondage of Confucianism in artistic thinking is relatively reduced, which makes the fully mature calligraphy art in this period develop rapidly in the direction of expressing the subject's true feelings. Therefore, it is natural that Zhong You's books are not carved; Statues, tombstones and cliffs naturally change at any time, because of places and events. The whole calligraphy aims to reflect the realm of "Tao" and the subject's life consciousness. Zhong You said: "The author's heaven is also good, and the beauty of the world is also good. "From the perspective of heaven and earth, the creation of calligraphy art includes the meaning of emphasizing' nature'. Yu Jianwu's Shupin in the Southern Dynasties commented on calligraphy from two aspects: kung fu and nature. The highest realm of kung fu is "not paying attention to good shooting and not spreading wonderful wheels", which clearly reflects the typical thinking mode of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi in realizing artistic freedom and liberation step by step in this era. Therefore, the calligraphy in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties is Taoist calligraphy, which is the most complete period in the history of thought in which Confucianism and Taoism complement each other, and it is also the period in which calligraphy is most loved and can best express the main spirit. The artistic spirit of Taoism was injected into it, which made the aesthetic thought of calligraphy in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties also show distinct characteristics. For example, Mrs. Wei's brushwork illustrates the relationship between Tao and technology. She said: "The three best things are to use a pen first", "Anyone who learns calligraphy must learn to write a pen first" and "When you write a pen, you must try your best to give it away", emphasizing the importance of using a pen, the method of writing a pen and the strength of lifting a pen, and explaining the importance of "skill". At the same time, mastering this "skill" can achieve a wonderful situation.