An Aesthetics Study On Chinese Calligraphy Of Restore Ancient

The restoring trend has frequently occurred in the history of Chinese calligraphy.This results from the historical necessity and the rationality of art and aesthetics.The restoration of ancient calligraphy is determined by the historical and natural thinking of ancient China,as well as by the nature of calligraphy,an old Chinese traditional art.Therefore,restoration cannot be equated with conservatism;instead,it has the meaning of returning to the beginnings.We cannot interpret the restoration of calligraphy as sticking to the old ways,and identify it with conservatism.We should clarify the essence of the restoration of ancient calligraphy.“Ancient” is not only a concept of time,but also an important concept of Chinese aesthetics or an aesthetic value with Chinese characteristics.From the philosophical perspective,the essence of the restoration of calligraphy is to return to its original state.Its fundamental purpose is to apprehend the “Tao” of calligraphy by tracing back the “ancient”.The Tao is manifested in history and nature in terms of time and space.Therefore,the returning to the ancients means going back to history and nature.These two dimensions as well as the fundamental “Tao” constitute the basis for the establishment of Chinese calligraphy,and serve as the cornerstone supporting the whole aesthetic value system of Chinese calligraphy.Although the writing of Chinese characters is for the need of practical interpersonal communication,Chinese characters also embody the Chinese understanding of nature and beauty at the beginning of their creation.With the development and enhancement of people’s capability to understand nature and aesthetics,writing,consciously or unconsciously,has been endowed with artistic quality and aesthetic value.The reason why it has artistic quality and aesthetic value lies in that it transcends the level of materials,tools and technology.This transcendence comes from the intervention and promotion of Tao.Tao,as a kind of original existence,has the characteristics of returning to the origin,in other words,it has the characteristics of historicity and naturalness.This determines the inevitability and rationality of the restoration of ancient calligraphy,which is directed at returning to history and nature.The restoration of ancient calligraphy is to return the writing to the Tao itself,so that Tao can be manifested in the writing.Therefore,it can also be said that it is Tao and also the returning to history and nature that ensures the artistic quality and aesthetic value of Chinese character writing.In the process of calligraphic restoration,all aspects of calligraphy are regulated by history and nature.These include the composition of calligraphy(characters,writing style,brushwork and structure),the calligrapher(talent,personality and education)and the aesthetic appreciation of calligraphy(beauty of nature,beauty of antiquity and beauty of neutrality and harmony).From the generation of characters and calligraphy to the evolution of penmanship and structure system,Chinese calligraphy has both natural origins and historical norms and practices.The existence of Chinese calligraphers as a group of artists relies on both personal natural endowments and the accumulation of historical experience and cultural traditions.Accordingly,the establishment of aesthetic value of Chinese calligraphy also stems from the stipulations of history and nature.That is to say,on the one hand,it shows the natural beauty of nature,on the other hand,it also shows the ancient beauty of history and the neutral and harmonious beauty with historical and cultural roots.Therefore,in the theories of different times,restoration has become a consensus or even common sense.All aspects of calligraphy have been repeatedly stressed to return to history and nature.In this sense,Chinese calligraphy can also be said to be a retro writing art.Returning to the ancients is inevitable.It is also a positive exploration for calligraphy.Without restoration,calligraphy will become a featureless,unenergetic and rootless art.The tradition of restoring ancient calligraphy has been continued in the individual imitation and study of calligraphy,in the trend of restoring ancient ideas set off by successive dynasties and in the personal creation of many famous calligraphers.Copying ancient calligraphy is the beginning or introductory skill of calligraphy learning.Painting,sculpture and other arts generally need to sketch scenery.From sketching,people can experience,understand and enhance the ability of artistic creation and aesthetics.Similarly,it is almost the only feasible way to learn calligraphy by copying ancient tablets to comprehend calligraphy skills and feel the beauty of calligraphy.At the same time,restoration is also a means of rectifying deviations.The trend of returning to the ancient calligraphy in the past dynasties is often to rectify the drawbacks of calligraphy so as to put it to the correct way.For individual calligraphers,restoration can display the aesthetic purport of ancient elegance,and make the works present a unique sense of texture,beauty and history.It can be said that the restoration of ancient calligraphy is an inevitable and necessary way of inheritance and development.It is a normal state of the art of calligraphy,not an accidental phenomenon.The significance of restoring ancient calligraphy lies in recognizing the fundamentals of calligraphy,understanding the essence of writing art,dispelling the accumulated bad habits,returning to rules and rebuilding classics.Its ultimate purpose is to reveal the Tao by removing the cover,thus the vitality of calligraphy can be highlighted,inherited and developed.In the long process of historical evolution,Chinese calligraphy has developed its unique structure and value system,and formed a set pattern of innovation through the path of restoration by constantly returning to history and nature.In the field of calligraphy,there is no such seemingly irreconcilable contradiction between restoration and innovation as in social,economic and political life.On the one hand,the restoration of ancient calligraphy can ensure that the innovation of calligraphy does not deviate from the orbit and lose its nature and value;on the other hand,the retrospection of history and nature through the restoration of ancient calligraphy itself opens up a way for the innovation of calligraphy,and provides the conditions for the continuous expansion of aesthetic space and cultural connotation of calligraphy.Moreover,what is more important is that it is this continuous restoration of the ancients,continuous returning to the origins,or continuous retrospect to history and nature that maintains the unique and persistent tradition of Chinese calligraphy,making it endless thriving.All of these enable Chinese calligraphy to occupy a unique position in the artistic world.