Ma Yifu Artistic Philosophy

Being one of the"Three Saints"of the New Confucians, Mr.Yifu Ma is not only an erudite and informed master of Chinese culture but a famous poet and calligraphist as well. Like other representatives of modern New Confucians his thoughts have undergone a dynamic transition from west learning to tradition and radicalness to conservativeness. When young, Ma went west to pursue his dream with enthusiasm. Having known the drawbacks of west learning, he proceeded to engage himself in the traditional culture represented by Confucian thoughts. But unlike other representatives of modern new Confucians, Mr. Ma has a unique command of poetry and calligraphic art. He values"gentleness and kindness"possessed by Confucian tradition and emphasizes on"natural and implicit"in poetry creation. Ma insists that excellent characters lead to excellent calligrapher's character and closely connects calligraphic art with life. He attaches much importance to self-cultivation on the effort beyond words and regards creation of calligraphic art as high as"Tao"Covered by the brilliant halo of Yifu Ma, the master of Chinese culture, his philosophy of art has long been neglected thus it is now vital to dig out and adopt a correct attitude toward his philosophy of art.