The hidden worries of the current lack of calligraphy culture

The calligraphy fever has lasted for 30 years, and it is still hot, and there is no sign of cooling down. It is a good thing. What is certain is that calligraphy has made gratifying progress in recent years, and a large number of calligraphers have emerged, but there are no great calligraphers. And the lack of cultural heritage is an important reason. The lack of cultural heritage is a common problem among calligraphers. In other words, it is the disconnection between calligraphy and culture or the lack of calligraphy culture. Culture is a broad concept. It only refers to general cultural knowledge, such as words, terms, knowledge of literature and history, and simple rules and regulations. In other words, make the minimum cultural requirements for calligraphers. Calligraphy is the inheritance of culture, the carrier of culture, and it is also an integral part of the culture. It is not a problem for the ancients because most ancient calligraphers are literati and scholars, and they are all scholars, and culture and calligraphy are combined.  But the current calligraphy world is not the case. Calligraphy and culture have gradually drifted away, and most calligraphers have degenerated into people who specialize in writing. Looking at the current book world, typos and sick words have repeatedly banned, and bad habits such as swallowing and succumbing to words and meanings are rampant. People can't help being surprised: what happened to the calligraphy! The purpose of diagnosis is to cure diseases. Find faults in current calligraphy is to save calligraphy and to purify the calligraphy world.

A lot of misspellings

The ancients were unavoidable when writing typos, but ancient calligraphers rarely wrote typos. It is not the case today. It is not uncommon to write typos in various exhibitions at all levels across the country. Not to mention that the sealing method of the seal script is wrong, the cursive script is close but incorrect, and even the regular script and running script filled with typos.

Writing the wrong characters in calligraphy creation is not a trivial matter. The change of one word will mean different things and hinder the transmission of information. It is not just a question of creative attitude, but also a manifestation of cultural literacy.

Seeing the literary meaning, copy it mechanically

Some calligraphers, including calligraphy theorists, do not read much or do not seek to understand them well. In the creation and research of calligraphy, they often make literary and specious jokes.

About six or seven years ago, the "People" column of CCTV interviewed Mr. Ouyang Zhongshi, a great calligrapher. Mr. Ouyang told a story about the opening of a restaurant,  and a calligrapher wrote a picture of Tao Yuanming's "Come Away Home"  to congratulations. But he won't know that its content is not in harmony with the environment. "Come Away Home" is Tao Yuanming's declaration of farewell to officialdom. "Come Away home" means "go back." Guests who come to the hotel let people go back. Isn't this an order to evict guests? It is also a manifestation of cultural lack.

Seeing the literary meaning and copy it mechanically is mainly manifested in the signature. The ancients paid attention to proper wording and conventions. As they have the same cultural background, there is no ambiguity in communication. Today, it is different. From classical Chinese to the vernacular, the transmission of information is fast, but some cultural factors have dissipated.

Unlettered

Calligraphy has been a matter for the literati since ancient times. The "Book" of the Tang Dynasty imperial examination standard "body, speech, book, and judgment" emphasized the beauty of the law and the way. Since then, the imperial examination has always attached importance to calligraphy. In ancient times, reading and calligraphy were two things that literati had to do. No calligrapher didn't know poetry and no literati who didn't know calligraphy. That is to say, both writing and literature should combine. In Zhang Huaicuan's view, the literature on human abilities is the first, and calligraphy is second. But Wang Xi's father and son are both literary and ink, which is rare. There are many ancient calligraphers with both writing and ink. Most of them write their works, such as Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Preface," Yang Ning's "Liu Hua Tie," Su Shi's "Han Shi Tie," and so on. On the other hand, in the current calligraphy world, there are very few interdisciplinary talents with both literary and ink, and most calligraphers are just copyists who can only discuss life in the works of ancients.

Reasons for cultural deficiency and remedial measures to be taken

The phenomenon of lack of a culture of some calligraphers is common and serious. It is a bottleneck restricting the development of calligraphy. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze its causes and take remedial measures.

The low cultural quality of calligraphy professionals is the main factor for the lack of culture.

Among the many art categories, most people engaged in calligraphy, and those who can write Chinese characters with a pen can write calligraphy. As most calligraphers are not well-educated, there are many typos in their writings, and they do not understand the content of the meaning well. Cultural errors are inevitable.

Many calligraphers learn calligraphy to make money, not to enhance their cultivation and cultivate their sentiments. And various calligraphy improvement classes at all levels have sprung up. But these calligraphy classes teach skills, and the purpose is to participate in the competition, and there are almost no cultural classes. This method of fostering growth has also objectively led the calligrapher on the road of focusing on skills and neglecting skills.

A good way to avoid cultural deficiencies is to read books.

Reading is a cure for cultural deficiencies. Bacon said that "learning changes temperament." Reading more books makes writing natural and elegant; reading more books makes calligraphy more literary. The high level of calligraphy is writing knowledge and culture. How can calligraphy reach a high level without culture? As for what book to read, how to read it? It varies from person to person.

At least ancient poems and famous articles should read intensively, and literary accomplishment should improve. In short, it is beneficial to unwind.

If most of the current calligraphers can concentrate on reading and be less impetuous, calligraphy can return to culture, the lack of culture can change and calligraphy must have a bright future.