On The Innovation Of Zhao Zhiqian's Wei Stele Style In Inscribed Wooden Tablet Into Running Script

In the history of calligraphy, Zhao Zhiqian is one of the most vigorous practitioners of the stele style theory in Qing Dynasty. His formation of stele style of Wei Dynasty further perfects the skill and technique system of Stele School, which therefore makes him become the first model to really and fully study stele style on the regular, running, seal, clerical scripts, etc. in his generation in Qing Dynasty. Sha Menghai once gave a comment,"Writing out, composedly seeming nothing in mind, the stern, square and austere stele style of North Wei Dynasty with indirect, fluent and elegant method is Zhao Zhiqian's preponderant skill."The thesis is aiming at the creation and achievement cause of Wei stele style in inscribed wooden tablet coming into running script, including three chapters.In the first chapter, it is to come into the master of art, Zhao Zhiqian's world and full-scaly explore his life, morality, talent, calligraphic parentage, calligraphic achievement, influence, aesthetic thoughts, etc. As for the all-around requirement to calligraphers, Liang Shanzhou, Yang Shoujing and Zhu Lvzhen all make incisive and penetrating argument, which can be briefly generalized into five aspects: natural gift, ability to discriminate, effort, personality and cultivation. Inspected by these points, Zhao Zhiqian has no lack but goes even further. Zhao Zhiqian's pure, delirious and supercilious temperament, rigorous academic character to practice, and active artist spirit to create are the origin for his splendid artist achievement. Zhao Zhiqian has copious and profound foundation in copybook study, and in middle age he changes the methods, transforming the copy into stele style and infusing its writing methods into every script, which finally produces the calligraphic aesthetic thoughts with Confucianism and Taoism complementary, Buddhism theory penetrated deeply, rustic and dignified, ancient and fresh. Zhao Zhiqian comes out on top in the great current of stele study, with significant influence even to today and abroad. This chapter consists of three parts, in the final analysis to research the origin of Zhao Zhiqian's creation in running script, which is the base for the thesis to make an argument and thereat to go deeper.The second chapter is the detailed analysis on Zhao Zhiqian's Wei stele style in inscribed wooden tablet into running script, including six parts mainly in two segments. The first two parts analyze from two aspects the connection among inscribed wooden tablet, stele style in Wei Dynasty and running script, making clear the generating background of Zhao Zhiqian's Wei stele style running script in inscribed wooden tablet. The first aspect comes from the point of culture type and inside regularity of inscribed wooden tablet to research its artistic load supporting and characteristics in calligraphic style: the style in inscribed wooden tablet is a representative, standing for a letter writer's feature, learning and attitude, to which calligraphers pay great attention; the paper size of writing style in inscribed wooden tablet is short and small, so calligraphers are able to write freely and easily to show out the special charm of calligraphy in inscribed wooden tablet, forthright and natural; on the point of calligraphic styles, none of regular, grass, seal, clerical scripts, etc. fits writing in inscribed wooden tablet, which most fits for running script (including running regular and running grass). The other aspect probes the difficulty of Wei stele style into running script. There are multi-level contradictions between Wei stele style and running script, so the degree of difficulty is high on Wei stele style into running script. Wei stele style into running script is brand-new for Zhao Zhiqian's time, who is the comprehensive expresser in researching the practice of Wei stele style into running script and whose achievement is transcendent on Wei stele style in inscribed wooden tablet coming into running script. These two parts are the transition for the thesis. The following four parts emphasize researching the creative points of Zhao Zhiqian's Wei stele style in inscribed wooden tablet into running script, which is the core of the thesis and from four different angles. The first is the general style of Zhao Zhiqian's Wei stele style in inscribed wooden tablet into running script: ancient and elegant, innocent and brilliant, combining south and north, ingenious and natural, smart and drifting, and varied to the extreme. The second is the integration of stele and copy: there are three forms—stele in priority, copy in priority and the mixture of both—generally inclining to the integration of rocklike metallike style and scholarly one, and to the union of free spirit and adept technique. The third is inscribed wooden tablet coming into running script and running script mixing four styles: running script with the grounding of stele style in Wei Dynasty is infused into seal and clerical scripts'writing conception and grass flavor. The fourth is writing skills and construction of running script with inventive mind: the writing methods are all within meditation, emphasizing hiding cutting edge, commencement and termination, pause and transition in rhythm or melody, using goat's hair brush or mixed hair brush, strokes natural and flexible, technique adept; on the point of termination, it is to put forward the topic,"Ancient people wrote challengingly, while modern people write modestly."making variety to the exhaustion; paying particular attention to arrangement and organization, being changeful, taking good use of fancy stationery.The third chapter puts forward the conclusion. It is significant in Zhao Zhiqian's creation of Wei stele style in inscribed wooden tablet coming into running script. The groping and practice of Wei stele style in inscribed wooden tablet coming into running script improves greatly his stele running script to be mature finally, therefore to make Stele School's calligraphic system ultimately established on the joint point of running grass. So Zhao Zhiqian is the comprehensive expresser of Stele School calligraphy. His Stele School calligraphy combines south and north, make the ancient fresh, under whose leading"stele"and"copy"are no more opposite on the cognitive level of calligraphers, but bringing out the best in each other and gathering collaboratively to become the inexhaustible treasure of calligraphy.