八仙中有張果老倒騎驢的故事，他認(rèn)為往前走是在向后退，他就倒過來騎。人類覺的科學(xué)在發(fā)展，社會(huì)在進(jìn)步，其實(shí)還不完全是這樣。本文從書法角度談一下這個(gè)問題。
書法歷史久遠(yuǎn)，是中國的三大國粹之一。它是以書寫漢字為表現(xiàn)手段的一門抽象視覺藝術(shù)。在書法界有“晉人尚韻，唐人尚法”的說法，“書法”這個(gè)詞就出現(xiàn)在唐代的“尚法”時(shí)期。在唐之前，稱書法為書、書藝或書道?，F(xiàn)在日本仍稱書道，韓國稱書藝。在魏、晉、南北朝時(shí)期，社會(huì)盛行老莊學(xué)說，人們張口談玄，閉口論道，書法被稱為書道。東晉的“書圣”王羲之，就崇尚道。
稱“書道”涵義是很深的。書道是將書法作品視為一個(gè)完整的有機(jī)體，從整體上、意境上、意韻上把握和體味書法藝術(shù)。那時(shí)人們認(rèn)為書法藝術(shù)蘊(yùn)含的意義是符合道家的“道”的。書法家所追求的藝術(shù)境界，也就是道的境界。王羲之說：“書之氣，必達(dá)乎道，同混元之理。”到了唐代，楷書的發(fā)展成熟，點(diǎn)畫形式日益豐富，結(jié)體方法日益復(fù)雜，講究筆畫、結(jié)構(gòu)、章法等，如“永”字八法、歐陽詢的結(jié)字三十六法等，并且出現(xiàn)了書法教學(xué)，認(rèn)為“書道”概念模糊，難以言傳，只有書寫技法才能實(shí)實(shí)在在的講出來，于是“書道”日衰，“書法”日盛，名稱上也正式稱“書法”。
書道嬗變?yōu)闀?，表現(xiàn)上是藝術(shù)形式的變化，反映的是人們思想認(rèn)識(shí)上的倒退。由注重整體變?yōu)樽⒅鼐植?，注重理想變?yōu)樽⒅噩F(xiàn)實(shí)，注重內(nèi)涵變?yōu)樽⒅匦问剑删褡非笞優(yōu)閷W(xué)術(shù)追求，結(jié)果“為學(xué)日盛，為道日損”，走上了一條“七竅開混沌死”的道路。
Calligraphy and the Tao of Calligraphy
There is a story in history about Zhang Guolao, one of the eight deities in the Tao school. He thought that going forward was moving backward, so he rode a donkey backward. Mankind feels that science is developing, and that society is moving forward. In fact, this is not necessarily so. Let's discuss this issue from the perspective of the evolution of calligraphy.
Calligraphy has a long history in China. It is one of the three treasured national traditions. It is an abstract visual art through the presentation of writing Chinese characters. Regarding writing, calligraphers have a saying, "People in the Jin Dynasty emphasized the rhythm; people in the Tang Dynasty emphasized the methods." (The Jin Dynasty, 265-420 A.D., is about 350 years earlier than the Tang Dynasty, 617-907 A.D.) The term "calligraphy" first appeared in the Tang Dynasty, an era in which the "methods" of writing were valued. Prior to the Tang Dynasty, calligraphy was just called writing, the art of writing, or the Tao of writing. In Japan it is still called the Tao of writing, and in Korea it is called the art of writing. In the Wei (220-265 A.D.), Jin, and South and North Dynasties (420-589 A.D.), the theories of the Tao from Laozi (1) and Zhuangzi (2) were quite popular. People talked about the Tao often. At that time, calligraphy was called the Tao of writing. The Sage of Calligraphy of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wang Xizhi (303-361 A.D.), cherished the Tao as well.
The phrase "the Tao of writing" ("calligraphy") has profound meaning. The Tao of writing is to view a work as an integrated whole. It is to be appreciated from the perspectives of its entirety, realm, and implied taste. Back then, people understood that the art of writing implied conformity to the Tao. Practitioners of the art of writing pursued the realm of the Tao. As Wang Xizhi said, "The qi of writing has to reach the Tao, just as the integration of Yin and Yang." By the Tang Dynasty, writing reached its maturity. Its strokes were rich, its structure became complicated, and emphasis was placed on strokes, structure, and layout. Curriculum for teaching calligraphy began to appear as well. Since the Tao of writing was considered too vague to teach, only the concrete methods of writing could be spelled out. Hence, the "Tao of writing" declined day by day, and the "methods of writing" gained day by day. Later, these writing methods became the formal term "calligraphy."
The Tao of writing has turned into writing methods. On the surface, it is a change in art form. But deeper down it represents a setback in people's understanding. Emphasis has changed from the work's entirety to specifics, from the ideal to "reality," from the inner meaning to form, and from a spiritual pursuit to an academic pursuit. As a result, "Day by day, while the academy advances, the Tao retreats."
Notes:
(1) Laozi (570-470 B.C.): The founder of Taoism; he wrote Tao De Jing.
(2) Zhuangzi - Literally means "Master Zhuang." A famous philosopher in China who lived around the 4th century B.C. during the Zhan'guo Period, around the time of the Hundred School of Thought, the philosophical summit of Chinese thinking.
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