An Essay On Shu Fa Ya Yan's Orthodox View

Xiangmu, also named Dechun, calligrapher at the time of Wanli, Ming Dynasty, son of the well-known art collector Xiang-Yuanbian, was the author of "Shu Fa Ya Yan". Shu Far Ya Yan Written by Xiangmu was one of the calligraphic discourses in late Ming Dynasty, in which Xiangmu established the concept of Orthodox. In this essay, Xiangmu's view of Orthodox will be analyzed based on the essence of calligraphy, representative calligraphers and styles. And the development of the Orthodox will also be explored from the background such as Xiangmu's thinking, his family and the social culture. Xiangmu's Orthodox was rooted in Confucianism, and also was greatly influenced by its specific social background. In such society, capitalism came into being and developed gradually to some degree; Yangming's Mentalism is prevailing; Gongan group was fighting against "Former Sevens" and "Latter Sevens" . The trend of individuality has flourished and had great impact towards the traditional ethic. Xiangmu's Orthodox was to defend the traditional ethic, and criticize the thought of individuality. Xiangmu grew up in a family which had a deep love for art. Xiangmu's father, uncle and brothers were all well versed at calligraphy and painting. Xiang-Yuanbian had an addiction of collecting calligraphy and painting, through out his lifetime, the most remarkable connoisseurs worked for him as his consultants. The development of Xiangmu's Orthodox was a result of the influence from his family. There were also quite a lot of artists who had close relationship with Xiangmu's family, this also helped the maturation of Xiangmu's thought. In "Shu Fa Ya Yan", Xiangmu praised Orthodox, and also criticized heterodox. Zhangbi was one of the representative calligraphers of heterodox. By analyzing the calligraphy of Zhangbi, this essay is to probe into thecorrelating relationship between Orthodox and heterodoxy as stated by Xiangmu, thus to review the historical position of Shu Fa Ya Yan. Xiangmu viewed calligraphy as one of the instrument for moralization, which was the tradition of Chinese calligraphy and even the whole art criticism, which emphasized the function of art. But some misunderstanding to Confucianism of Xiangmu led to some conflict, and he also misconstrued to art to some degree. Additionally, he also made some wrong judgments due to his unfamiliarity to Buddhism and Taoism. Orthodox in Shu Fa Ya Yan, represented its time, it criticized the calligraphy circle, and appraised the traditional aesthetic views, Shu Fa Ya Yan had complete system and the argumentation kept consistent. It came from the standpoint of Confucianism, also revealed that calligraphy was product of its time and society. Xianmu's deep understanding to the artistry of calligraphy indicated his traditional thinking, also showed his notable accomplishment as a calligrapher and a calligraphic critic.