On The Reform Of Calligraphy In His Later Years

In Kang Youwei’s later year, he proceeded the ground-breaking practical reform-the integration of Bei and Tie. He saw the disadvantages of limiting one only in the form of Bei or Tie prophetically. As having the knowledge of the form of Bei firmly, and mastering in Seal Character and Li script, Kang broke off the Calligraphy theory of ’Extreme Bei’ which he dedicated himself in during his early years, and combined Bei and Tie in one. As his said in To Luo Shandong on Calligraphy in 1915,’It is paranoid either one master Bei by not knowing Tie or the other way’, and mentioned in Letter of Discussing Books,’I specialize in the Li script, and I united Bei and Tie. Am I qualified to dominate Calligraphy?’we can tell that Kang has generated the theory of integrating Bei and Tie. Kang drove the history of Calligraphy back to its peak by taking advantages of the old theories, and created new thinking.Some say it is only a breakthrough of technique for Kang to propose the new theory, which is inappropriate. Hu Lancheng once said,’someone told a blind, I am Jesus. The blind replied, you are not Jesus because the nail did not leave a mark on your hand’. Likewise, some Confucians study the teachings of sages, but they don’t have ’nail marks’. Thus, Kang has ’Nail Marks’, which came from the failure of Hundred Days’ Reform and the Restoration Movement. The study of Calligraphy became his refuge from the failure experience, as a result, his technique of calligraphy became more measured. More importantly, he gained the aloof attitude from having the life experience of up and down.’Broadly speaking, every kind of literature and art come from emotions, without emotions there would be no arts. In the process of creating and appreciating art, it is emotions that play the most significant role.’Said in Introduction to Art by Wang Hongjian. The combination of different factors leads to the result for Kang to gain the unrestrained style in Calligraphy. The formations of such style brought the extreme Calligraphy trend back to the right track, as well as initiate a new thinking for the coming generations.