Talk about the popularity of Shuowen
Recently, I have copied a lot of sketches by famous artists from the Song and Yuan Dynasties and posted them in my circle of friends. Some friends read them and said that they have a bit of a literati vibe. I would like to explain here that if there is a bit of a literati vibe in the sketches that I am copying, All the problems should be attributed to the extraordinary and flexible writing style of the ancients, and all other problems should be attributed to my clumsy writing style. The leisure seal for signing was given to me by buying pen and paper from Yipintang. It was bigger than my thumb, quite vulgar, and naturally not "free" enough. Brother Ming Ren, who is engaged in mahogany research, couldn't bear to see it. He decided to make a hibiscus stone seal for me and asked a teacher on the island to engrave it. He also encouraged me to continue painting, saying it was not easy to have such leisurely fun. I just feel that life is very boring now. The main reason for spending time at home is that it costs money to go out. It is better to stay at home and ignore the setting sun outside. Moreover, I have some guidance from experts, so I am more energetic in painting. Generally speaking, painting now is much more convenient and cheaper than in ancient times. A set of pens and paper costs less than a hundred yuan. Electronic pictures or prints of paintings by ancient people can also be viewed online. Of course, the best way is to go to a museum. View the original work.
It’s hard to explain literary spirit in words, but there are traces to follow. For example, Su Shi particularly admired the poet and painter. When he compared Wu Daozi and Wang Wei, he thought that although Wu Daozi had superb painting skills, he was still too craftsmanlike and belonged to the level of a painter. But Wang Wei was different. Wang Weigong was good at poetry and prose. Regarding the rhythm, Su Dongpo said that his paintings were "obtained from the outside of the image, just like the fairy's harp and the cage fan". The intended audience for literati paintings is not the general public, but people who know the artist or have similar characteristics. The phenomenon of creation has continued. It is better for the public to see commodity paintings than literati paintings.
Speaking of literary style, the style of the Wei and Jin Dynasties must be mentioned, and "Nanjing" cannot be avoided. The people there do not act according to common sense. Nanjing was called Jinling in ancient times. "Jinling" is such a rich and noble name, but changing it to Nanjing would really make it taste far worse. I once saw a post specifically talking about how to change the names of various places, such as Changshan to Shijiazhuang, Runan to Zhumadian, Luzhou to Hefei, etc. I don't think so, even if the situation is opposite, it can be criticized. Because it makes sense to say the opposite. Nanjing has always been a battleground for military strategists because of its geographical location. During Qin Shihuang's eastward tour, he took two alchemists to study Feng Shui. He also looked at it himself, and they all felt that the place in Jinling was filled with dragons and tigers, with a purple aura and a royal aura. Qin Shihuang is very anxious, so that’s okay, this world belongs to my Zhao family! This king needs to be cured of his anger! So he ordered to dig up the square mountain, cut off the long dragon, and pour it into the river to vent the king's anger. This was not enough, so he decided to give Jinling a nickname. What should be changed? With a stroke of the imperial pen, let’s call it Moling. Moling is fodder, Moling is pasture. Moling was later renamed Jianye and Jiankang. Li Qingzhao's poem said, "Spring returns to Moling trees, and when people grow old, they build Kangcheng." Jiankang City is what it is. There are also specialized scholars who have conducted research and statistics on this, saying that the Qi of the King of Jinling has been dissipated, and the literary Qi has waxed and waned. Once the literary spirit rises, more talented people and beauties will appear. There is certainly some metaphysical undertones here.
"Shishuoxinyu" tells a story that happened in Xiaojiadu. There are many ancient ferries in Jinling, such as Taoye Ferry, Xiaojia Ferry, Jinwang Ferry, Xuanhua Ancient Ferry, etc. They are all scenes where stories take place, and they are quite romantic. One time, Wang Huizhi took a boat to Xiaojiadu. A friend on the same boat saw Huan Yi riding by on the shore and told Wang Huizhi. However, Wang Huizhi and Huan Yi were strangers. Huan Yi was a humble gentleman, a musical genius who was good at playing the flute, and was known as "the best in Jiangzuo". His song "Three Plum Blossom Alleys" has been passed down through the ages. The "Qilin Talented Scholar Jiangzuo Meilang" played by Hu Ge is of the same type. He speaks without hesitation when meeting people and bows to them first, elegant and suave.
When Wang Hui came ashore, he saw the man in front of him, who was as rich as jade and extraordinary, just like Nongfu Shanquan. He unpacked his luggage, laid out his pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and wrote a note to send over. It read: I heard that you are good at playing the flute, can you help me with the next one? (I heard that Jun is good at playing the flute. Please try playing for me.) Huan Yi looked at the note, then raised his head and glanced at Wang Huizhi from a distance. Without saying a word, he turned over and dismounted, put a small pony and a tuft of the hem of his gown, sat up and pulled Play the flute.
The name of his flute is Ketingdi, which was passed down from Cai Yongliu, the father of the talented Cai Wenji. The Ketingdi is as famous as the Jiaoweiqin. It is indeed a good horse with a good saddle! Huan Yi played three tunes in one stroke, the first tune was Cold Mountain Green Calyx, the second tune was Slim Green Shadow, and the third tune was Three Stacks of Falling Plum Blossoms. After finishing, he put the flute back into its sheath, cupped his hands, and turned back to the carriage. Wang Huizhi was still stunned on the spot, looking intoxicated. When he opened his eyes, Huan Yi was already missing.
At that time, Huan Yi was already the governor of Jingzhou. Today, he is almost at the level of a member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee. He became a high official of a prince at a young age. His musical talent is so superb, it’s amazing! But Wang Huizhi had not yet become famous at this time, and was just an ordinary commoner. This is unimaginable, just like today when you are walking on the street and meet a leader who is very good at playing the flute, you ask him to get you a flute? It would be strange if he didn't kill you. But similar situations had become commonplace at that time, and the two of them cherished each other (it seems that most of them were of the same sex, so it should be noted here). In martial arts novels, two martial arts masters often face off against each other on the top of a mountain without saying a word. After the fight, they part ways.
Ordinarily, the two of them are strangers, so when they meet for the first time, they have to be polite, right? Just like how we say we should leave each other phone numbers and WeChat IDs before we say goodbye. When we say goodbye, we say we will contact each other often, but we never seem to contact each other. The interpersonal relationship is simply subtle and strange.
When we talk about poetry, calligraphy and painting, we always associate them with people. Who painted is often more important than what was painted. Poetry, calligraphy and painting for officials and ministers are better for passing down the generations. A highly respected minister is expected to write inscriptions everywhere. Wherever there is a pontoon bridge, he always has to inscribe a few words. I heard that the retouching fee is quite terrible. I cannot say whether such words are good. A work that does not attach status, money, etc. to it is simply unrealistic, so some people say that there are experts but no masters in this era. Literary spirit is lost and cannot be regained, and it does not matter if it is not regained, because literary spirit is the most useless. It can only serve as a seasoning for a peaceful and prosperous age. It cannot be used as a means to strengthen a country and an army, let alone be eaten.