A Study On The TieXue Calligraphy In The Mid-Qing Dynasty

It seems to be a tendency to overview the development of Chinese calligraphy in Qing Dynasty as a revival of beixue(a rubbing from a stone inscription usually as a model for calligraphy, which is called beixue in Chinese and inscriptional writing in English) and to regard this period as one that was wrapped in a shroud of atmosphere of researching the inscriptional writing. It has become a tradition in Chinese calligraphy study nowadays. The study of inscriptional writing in Qing Dynasty had actually opened up new horizons for Chinese calligraphy and its expressing ranges had been stretched. Calligraphy of Qing Dynasty created its own characters and attained one of tops in Chinese calligraphy history since Jin Dynasty and Tang Dynasty had achieved the top glories. The study of inscriptions on the tomb stones which were mainly inscribed in Han Dynasty contributed too much to that great achievement. Therefore, when we talk about calligraphy of Qing Dynasty, we prefer to the influence of study of inscriptional writing, and we focus on the highlight so much that sometimes we overlook the other side of the problem. We take more delight in discussing the flourish of inscriptional study happened since the era of emperor Jiaqing than what the calligraphy conditions were like in the era of emperor Shunzhi, and of Kangxi, and of Yongzheng, and of Qianlong. The calligraphy achievements of Qing Dynasty before emperor Jiaqing were overlooked, and sometimes they were denounced severely. To observe the calligraphy history of Qing Dynasty standing at the point of inscriptional study has becoming a tradition in the field of study of Qing Dynasty calligraphy. In relation to the great influence of inscriptional writing, the declination of traditional calligraphy, which is called tiexue in Chinese, are often mentioned by some scholars in this field. Therefore, there was no traditional calligraphy in Qing Dynasty but inscriptional writing in many people's eyes. They denied the existence of traditional calligraphy and overlooked its achievements in the calligraphy history of Qing Dynasty. And on this base it has come to become a general viewpoint since the standard-bearer of inscriptional study, Kang Youwei, who denounced the traditional calligraphy and praised the inscriptional writing.In fact, the calligraphy of inscriptional writing only gradually arose and developed after emperor Jiaqing. The reason why inscriptional writing study influenced so far is due to its theoretical achievements. However, in practice, although guided by the theory, it tried to find out some new writing methods on the tablets mainly of Han Dynasty. Nevertheless, how to use a brush to write was still the ontology of the Chinese calligraphy in Qing Dynasty, and traditional calligraphy continued to be the resource of writing learning at that time. The study of inscriptional writing just enlarged the range of this resource, and it didn't change the standards and the goal of learning of Chinese calligraphy. Traditional calligraphy remained the important position in the calligraphy history of Qing Dynasty, and it was the mainstream. Comparatively, we have paid less attention to the conditions of traditional calligraphy in Qing Dynasty than the study of inscriptional writing at that time.My paper argues that under the background of "Revival of beixue" in the latter period of Qing Dynasty, traditional calligraphy did not disappear, and it constantly went forward in a low-key attitude. In the mid-Qing Dynasty, traditional calligraphy inherited traditional calligraphy techniques of the late Ming Dynasty. Calligraphy of this period tried to find a better way to write in the middle ancient times, such as in Tang Dynasty. People lived at that time liked to learn the standard script of Tang Dynasty. They attained the top of traditional calligraphy in Qing Dynasty and made the tradition go on.There are three chapters in my paper. In the first chapter, I expound the development of the traditional calligraphy in Qing Dynasty under the influence of inscriptional writing study. To some extent, traditional calligraphy got repressed, and inscriptional writing in the Northern Wei Dynasty (368 B.C.-534 B.C.) was praised highly and people denounced the style of calligraphy of Tang Dynasty. In this context, the study of inscriptional writing has been paid close and excess attention to and it almost has been the synonym of the calligraphy of Qing Dynasty. However, how to use the Chinese brush to write(called bifa in Chinese), instead of a graver or other nicking tool, is the central problem of Chinese calligraphy. We can see that traditional calligraphy was still retaining the mainstream position in the calligraphy history of Qing Dynasty. I try to reconstruct the real historical fact in the fist chapter. I analyze systematically the traditional calligraphy in Mid-Qing Dynasty in the second chapter of my paper.Mid-Qing traditional Calligraphy represented the highest achievement of the traditional Calligraphy in Qing Dynasy. On the one hand, it is a continuity for the tradition arising in late Ming Dynasty to take Dong Qichang and Zhao Mengfu's calligraphy as a model. On the other hand, the innovative practice of respecting Tang Dynasty's calligraphy reversed the sluggish state of the traditional Calligraphy, and bold innovation opened up a new realm for traditional calligraphy. It made the traditional techniques of calligraphy get inheritance and development under the impact of the study of inscriptional writing. The reason why Mid-Qing traditional calligraphy is a representative of the highest achievements of traditional calligraphy in Qing Dynasty is that it set up the flag of respecting Tang's calligraphy. This is the key part of my thesis. The status of mid-Qing traditional Calligraphy, the influence of textual research and advantage of the inscriptional tablets of Tang Dynasty poured fresh blood into the Qing traditional calligraphy, and reversed its sluggish state.In the third chapter, I list some representative calligraphers who lived mainly in the period of mid-Qing, such as Zhang Zhao, Liu Yong, Weng Fanggang, Wang Wenzhi and Liang Tongshu. They are the distinguished representative of respecting Tang Dynasty's calligraphy. They carried on the tradition of the late Ming Dynasty's style and trace it to the standard script of Tang Dynasty. They combined the quality of being gentle and lovely with the property of spirit together.They propelled the traditional calligraphy forward.My article discusses the mid- Qing traditional Calligraphy so as to correct the idea that the mid- Qing traditional Calligraphy owned no achievements under the preconceived idea of beixue. I put the developing situation and influence of the mid- Qing traditional calligraphy under a highlight in order to correct the misreading of the Qing Dynasty's Calligraphy, and wish to provide a different way to interpret the calligraphy history of Qing Dynasty.