Von Ban Blunt Yin Book To Study

Late Ming and early Qing Dynasty is an important turning point of Chinese calligraphy and meanwhile the most active and prosperous period of its theory and painting aesthetics. During this period, Feng Ban's Dun Yin Shu Yao serves as one of the typical theory books about calligraphy concepts and aesthetic thoughts besides treatises by Wang Yi, Fu Shan, Shi Tao, etc.Feng's Dun Yin Shu Yao as a quotation monograph with contents of comments on previous calligraphers and their works and his own learning and handwriting experiences has some profound thoughts and innovative ideas included. For example, in the book he concluded that in the field of calligraphy"natural state is emphasized in Jin Dynasty, rules and principles are emphasized in Tang Dynasty and xieyi school is pursued in Song Dynasty"; besides, he reasoned the dialectical relationship among li ("natural state"), fa ("rules and principles") and yi ("xieyi school"). Meanwhile, he put forward the notion that"Chinese painting is categorized into south and north groups, so is calligraphy", which was of great academic value and significant influence at that time.Currently academic researches on Feng are mostly focused on his poems, rarely on his calligraphy thoughts, especially not seen on his monograph"Dun Yin Shu Yao". This thesis deals with Feng Ban and his calligraphy aesthetics revealed in"Dun Yin Shu Yao". Through the study of this single monograph, the writer aims to learn about Feng and his calligraphy ideas under the influence of social transitions between Ming and Qing Dynasties and explain the calligraphy ideas and ideological contents of this treatise. In addition, an objective evaluation about the role of his calligraphy aesthetics in the history is also made to reveal the developing process of handwriting aesthetic ideas during this period and to find the aesthetic rules of Chinese calligraphy from another aspect.