中国书法的新走向（1898－1998〕

演讲人　 杨应时

时间：　1998年10月26日　 星期一　 晚7　30

地点：　美国檀香山艺术博物院艺术心

主办单位：　 夏威夷东方艺术协会

女士们，　先生们：　 晚上好　

非常荣幸　能在一百年前孙中山先生学习生活过的地方, 美丽的夏威夷檀香山, 向大家介绍中国书法的最新动态。

我的讲题是：　中国书法的新走向（1898至1998〕。开讲之前，我想首先请教大家一个基本的问题。第一，　你认为中国书法是一门真正的艺术，　或者，　是书写漂亮汉字的方法，　为什么？　第二，　中国书法有多少种风格（体〕？　它们是否代表书法家真正的个人风格（体〕？　

第一个问题。我的回答是，中国书法不同于西方书写，它是一门独特的东方艺术。但长期存活于古文字学的阴影之下。千百年来，中国书法被动地使用汉字作为其基本媒介，　并伴随汉字的发展而发展。另一方面　它在某种程度上，　是人们通过书写更好地交流的一种工具或媒介。书法艺术本身是一门线条艺术。　　但其艺术价值往往被认为在于书写汉字的娴熟技巧。直至近代康有为大声疾呼倡导之前，　还很少有书法家自觉地从事书法方面的真正意义上的艺术创作。 第二个问题。不错　中国书法至少有篆隶楷行草五种书体。　或者说五种基本的汉字书写方法。但如果我们简单地认为千百年来中国书法家，是在运用这五种统一的风格（体〕从事创作，　那显然十分可笑。书法家必须有自己的个人创作风格，　否则他们就不可能是有创作力的艺术家。如此看来，　中国书法中则有成百万各异的艺术风格（体〕。 我提这些问题的原因何在？我想澄清一点，书法的存在意义在于它本身的艺术价值及书法家个体创作的艺术特质。熟练地书写某种书体或精细地模仿前人的作品　本身并不能使书写者成为真正意义上的艺术家。我相信诸位中的大多数人都希望收藏作为艺术品的书法，　而非作为文字发展沿革证明的历史文物。 现在，我请大家注意，今晚我演讲的主要观点是，近一百年来，人们付出无数艰辛的努力，逐渐摆脱书法实用功能的制约，不断开发书法的艺术价值。　中国书法真正成为了一种独立的艺术形式。 回顾历史，我们可以发现，随着唐代楷书的形成，中国文字的书写在当时已极为成熟。唐楷和现今印刷体已差别不大。（有意思的是，　唐朝可以说是中国历史上最为强盛的时期，　几乎所有方面都很繁荣。唐帝国无疑是当时世界上的超级大国。〕大多数优秀的书法家和上述书体的代表作均已于唐代以前出现。如秦代的篆书，　汉代的隶书，　晋代的行草，　北魏的碑体，　唐代的楷书和狂草。国力的强大和思想的自由。　导致了上述时期书法家们旺盛的创作力。尽管他们大都　是高级官员或知识分子　并非有意创作书法艺术品。 然而，唐代科举考试制度的推行，对书法艺术精神无疑是一计致命的重击。唐后期及宋以来，中国在很多方面都在衰退，当然也包括书法。几乎一千年，　人们对汉字书写方式的贡献甚微。如果我们说这一时期没有多少大师级的书家，　或许并不过分。到了清朝后期，　外国列强的侵入使中国　近崩溃。更为可悲的是　清政府竟然在全国推行一。　大小一律，　方正，　光洁，　乌黑的馆阁体书法　要求仕子书写。否则，　他们便不可能通过科举考试成为官员。当时一位馆阁体书法家黄自元竟然想出七十二法　 教学生书写这种标准书体。

由于这些条条框框，书法家的艺术创作力大受制约。甚至被完全扼杀。当然，在清朝中后期，　也有不少并不安分受制的书法家。例如，扬州八怪之一的画家郑板桥和清朝末年的康有为。

康有为无疑是他所在时代的伟人之一,－伟大的政治家，思想家，书法家。他是中国政治史和中国书法史上举足轻重的人物。他影响了一个世纪，　亦即我今天所谈论的1898年至1998年。包括我本人在内的很多人　 都认为他是中国现当代书法的奠基者。

1898年，　康有为和他的学生梁启超（亦为广东人，　优秀的思想家，　学者，　新闻记者〕协助光绪皇帝发动了戊戌变法－－俗称百日维新。改革的主要内容包括废除科举制度，　引进新式教育，　效仿西方先进国家的治国方法，　等等。这场变法很快被以慈禧太后为首的保守势力所破坏而告失败。但改革的大部份内容　如废除科举制度和引进新式教育　仍被保留下来。中国开始有了教授英文，　数学，　物理，　化学，　地理等课程的中小学和大学。学生们不再须要用统一标准的馆阁体来参加考试。

政治上部分失败的康有为，　在书法研究上却成果非凡，　并在酝酿另一场较小规模的书法革新。事实证明这场书法改革非常成功。清朝中后期　考古发现十分丰富，　其中包括在中国北部出土的大量碑版石刻。这些碑版石刻大多形成于北魏时期，　上面刻有粗拙，　强劲，　独特的书法。一些艺术研究者开始从这些书法中发现一个全新的艺术世界并极力提倡。继先前学者阮元，　包世臣等人之后，　康有为于晚清时写成<<　艺舟双楫>>一书，　大力鼓吹这种亦新亦旧，　极具活力的书法（"尊魏"〕。他的目的有二，　通过给书法家们提供一种新的视角而激活他们的艺术创造力，　鼓励人们摆脱自唐代以来形成的书法规的制约（"卑唐"〕。

一个全新的时代开始了。民国时期的书法界至少就深受康有为理论的影响。许多人追随康有为的理论，　从碑版中寻找新的艺术资源，　并通过各种大胆尝试解放自己的艺术创造力。在康有为之前，　大多数书法家并未意识到自己在创造艺术作品。（当然，　如前所述，　象扬州八怪等少数艺术家就已经开始了这方面的探索。〕王羲之写<<兰亭序>>时，　不过是在写一篇记载一次朋友雅集盛况的文章或报道。书法史上很多有名的作品也不过是纪念死者的碑文。但是，　康有为之后，　书法家们大多意识到自己是在进行艺术创作。书法也正式成为与中国画并列的独立的艺术形式　而不仅仅是作为绘画提款用的附属物。

康有为亲身实践自己的理论　并影响了他的四位得意弟子－－梁启超，　徐悲鸿，　刘海粟，　萧娴。康有为书法精湛，　人称康体。　但自认眼比手高。他的前三位学生书名均为文名或画名所盖。　萧娴则是本世纪最优秀的女书法家。曾是张大千书法老师的李瑞清，　本世纪初即以北碑书法闻名。　但他的作品粗捍霸气有余，　而细腻流畅不足。比较成功的书家有于右任，　李叔同，　曾熙等人。他们的作品粗放中有柔腻，　刚劲而不失流畅。于右任是民国时期最具影响的书家，　融北碑行草于一炉。李叔同（弘一法师〕的作品以碑版为面目，　而受西方画理与佛教精神的影响。他的学生丰子恺，　西人誉为中国最象艺术家的艺术家　擅书画散文　作品富有生活情趣与艺术感染力。上海国画大师吴昌硕则精于石鼓文及行草　以书法笔意入画。他的学生在当代书坛极具影响－－潘天寿，　沙孟海，　陆维钊（间接受影响〕，　陶博吾（间接受影响〕。前三位为奠定中国高等书法教育立下了汗马功劳。　我在后面还将提到，民国时期的一个特例是沈尹默。他基本杜绝康有为的理论，　坚持研习传统的帖派书法。作为优秀的书法教育家和学者，　他在当时略显保守。

很多书法大家（如林散之，　刘海粟，　萧娴，　沙孟海，　陆维钊等等〕　在1949年之前即已从事书法创作，　但直至文化大革命（1966-76〕之后他们已近耄耋之年才以书法闻名。原因何在？　

我们来看看中华人民共和国时期的情形。1949年之后到毛泽东去世的近三十年时间内，书法基本上不受重视。当时的人们正以极大的热情建设一个新中国。　书法被认为是旧传统的代表。有趣的是　毛泽东本人是一位非常优秀的书法家。他的书法受怀素狂草和北碑书体影响　大度开张　富于浪漫气质与领袖风　。在这三十年间，　中国大体上有三位最著名的书法家，　毛泽东，　郭沫若，　舒同。郭沫若以行草为胜　是典型的文人才子书法。舒同是军队高级官员　1981年任中国书法家协会首任主席。他的书法出自颜真卿和何绍基　 雄健豪放。

文革期间，　许多老书法家备受摧残。上海老书家沈尹默就是显例。他被迫亲手焚毁自己的许多精心之作，　包括大量书法理论手稿。但这一时期也潜藏着很多优秀的年轻书家。　他们在一种半地下的状态中潜心钻研书法（当时没有公开展览，　书法作品也无法销售〕。在文革之后书法艺术重振雄风的二十年间　这一批书家成为独领风骚的重要人物。我的老师孙伯翔先生就是他们中的优秀代表。孙先生现年64岁，　担任中国书法家协会理事，　创作评审委员会委员，　天津书法家协会常务副主席。著名书法评论家刘正成曾盛赞他的魏碑正书为近百年第一。他在八十年代初的一次书法大展中脱颖而出，　创作水平不断提高。后来他曾多次担任由中国书法家协会主办的全国书法篆刻大展评委。目前这项最为权威的国展已举办六届。

八十年代初　中国结束混乱状况　重新转入经济和文化建设　一大批书法家涌现出来。一些经过文化大革命幸存下来的老一辈书法家重新获得艺术青春，　得到人们的尊重。在文革中坚持艺术追求的年青书家也如一颗颗新星升起。这两类书家在当时主要处于两个年龄层次　60至80岁和30至40岁。老一代书法家有林散之，　陆维钊，　沙孟海，　刘海粟，　萧娴，　陶博吾，　高二适，　萧劳，　费新我，　启功，　孙其峰，　武中奇　谢稚柳，　王学仲等。年青一代书法家有沈鹏，　谢　　李铎，　孙伯翔，　尉天池，　刘　泉，　何应辉，　王镛，　周慧君（女〕等。老一代书家现在大多已经过世。最近去世的老书法家陶博吾的经历很神奇。他年近九十才被世人发现。　有点类似画界的陈子庄和黄秋园。后一批书法家现已成为当代中国书坛的骨干。因其书法大多传统功力较深,　且加入较多时代特色,　研究者通常将他们归入新古典主义流派。他们的作品最主要的特点是碑帖结合　雄强厚重与细腻流畅兼而有之　走的是前辈书家于右任　沙孟海　陆维钊等人开辟的道路。

接下来我想谈谈中国书法高等教育与研究。受当时的浙江美术学院（现中国美术学院〕院长潘天寿之托，　陆维钊和沙孟海二教授在该校建立了中国第一个书法本科和硕士研究生专业。目前该专业已能授予博士学位。现在，　除杭州的这一专业外，　北京，　南京，　天津等其它文化中心的院校也建立了类似的专业。但杭州的这一专业迄今为止仍是最好的。该专业主要培养专业的书法艺术家和研究者。他们相信　书法是一门真正的艺术　培养书法家同样须要其它艺术形式一样的院校教育。该专业为新时期书法研究和创作做出了巨大的贡献。 前面已经提到，　文革以后中国出现了近代以来罕见的书法热。书法成了群众基础最广泛的艺术形式。从国家领导人到一般官员，从知识分子到普通群众，　全国上下数以百万计的人们在研习书法　或作为专业的艺术创作，　或作为业余的闲情逸致。中国书法家协会和地方各级书法社团组织了各类书法展览及培训。　中国书法家协会的一项粗略统计　目前全国每年主要的书法展览就有上百个。各级书法组织同时还开展了广泛的对外交流。　在日本，　韩国，　新加坡，　美国和欧洲等世界各地举办展览和交流活动。 尽管如此，当今中国书法界的艺术创作总体水平仍不容乐观。就作品水平而言，还少有能与康有为，于右任等前辈大师匹敌的书法家。更不用说王羲之，　怀素等古代大师。很难预料多少当今的书法家能最终在艺术史上获得一席之地。原因之一是　大多数书法家的学识修养远远不及前辈书家　例如在中国古典文学方面。原因之二是，　中国社会日益商业化，　人们缺乏从事书法创作所需的耐心与情绪。第三个也是最重要的原因即是，　随着电脑和印刷术的普遍使用，　书法的实用功能日渐消减，　书法正日益远离普通人的生活。 于是　一些敏锐的书法家和研究者开始忧虑书法的未来。以往的人们每天必须用毛笔书写。现今越来越多的人，尤其是年轻人，转向了钢笔，圆珠笔，以至于电脑。他们甚至都不须知道如何用手书写汉字　更不用掌握书写汉字的艺术。由此　每个人都不得不面对这样一个问题　作为汉字书写艺术的书法能否继续生存和发展。 最早严肃思考这个问题的少数人之一是王学仲教授。王学仲是绘画大师徐悲鸿的弟子。早年曾赴日本留学。现为中国书法家协会副主席。天津大学中国书画教授。八十年代初　他作为我国首位派往日本教授书法的访问学者　曾系统深入地研究日本书法。在日本期间，王学仲深刻地意识到中国书法正面临严峻的问题，亟须研究中国书法的未来发展。 与此同时　在北京也有一些人在思考这一问题。他们中的两位代表人物是人民文学出版社美术编辑古　和清华大学建筑系艺术教授王乃壮。1985年10月，上述三位艺术家偕同其他艺术家在北京中国美　馆举办了"中国现代书法首展"。展览的主要宗旨是通过各种探索性尝试（如书画结合使用色彩等〕开发书法真正的艺术特质。从艺术水平而言，　此次展览自然比较幼稚，　但其观念则十分具有开拓性与现实意义。最重要的是　他们组建了一个全国性的组织中国现代书画学会。最近　在该组织的基础上成立了一个新的组织中国现代书法艺术学会，　主题更加明显。补充一点。　我个人认为以现代书法一词来描述和概括八五以来在书法现代化与艺术化方面的探索并不十分妥切。用实验书法或其它名字可能更合适。但现代书法一词在中国已被广泛接受。不少人认为中国现代书法的产生　主要由于受西方艺术思潮和日本现代书法的影响　我则认为根本原因还是在于中国艺术家们本身渴求变革创新，　在传统书法艺术基础上开发出具有鲜明时代特色的新型艺术样式的强烈欲望。是历史发展的必然。

1989年之后　现代书法一度成为受批判和攻击的对象。但1992年以来，　情况则大为好转。中国现代书法运动有了长足的发展。　次大型现代书法展览和研讨会在全国各地成功举办　作品艺术水平大大提高。一份名为<<现代书法>>的杂志在　西南宁宣告诞生。六年多来，　这份杂志在团结全国现代书法家，　开展学术研究方面发挥了举足轻重的作用。

1992年以来　中国书坛最大的特色就是出现了一个多元而丰富的格局。各种新的流派和平共处。传统书法界逐渐认同和接受了现代书法。　一些以前纯粹从事传统风格书法创作的书家也开始改变其作品面目，　掺入现代因素。象邵岩等现代书法家的作品还在官方艺术机构中国书法家协会组织的全国展览中获奖。

近年来现代书法的重要探索者当中有三位杭州中国美术学院的书法教授：　邱振中，　王冬龄，　陈振濂。邱和陈曾作为访问学者前往日本讲学研究。王则曾在美国讲学四年。邱以书写非汉字书法及书法理论研究著名。王以在书法中引入新媒介闻名。陈在书法学科建设方面引人注目　最近又推出所谓的学院派书法，　很有影响。在中国美术学院。　另有两位较有影响的现代书法家，　白砥和洛齐。白砥是该院第一位书法学博士研究生，　传统功底很深，　创作思路开阔。洛齐本身是版画家，　曾以推出书法主义成为书法界的新闻人物。 江苏南京是六朝古都，　以传统文化之厚重驰名中外，　曾出过林散之，　萧娴，　高二适，　武中奇等书法大家。这里也是中国现代书法运动的重镇。东南大学在全国率先成立现代书画研究所　所长文备教授十多年来组织策画了许多重大的现代书法活动，　为推动现代书法的发展作出了不可磨灭的贡献。他也是国内少数　位出版现代书法作品集的艺术家之一。类似，　四川成都的卜列平近年在现代书法创作与组织方面也很引人关注。 在中国北方也有几位相当突出的现代书法艺术家。他们是古　　张大我　朱青生　魏立刚等人。古　作为中国现代书法运动的发起人之一。　至今仍保持旺盛的创作活力。　他的现代书法作品曾被大英博物馆和德国科隆博物馆等收藏。　本人也曾赴德国讲学。张大我曾在北京首都师大任教，　近年移居澳洲，　经常穿梭于二地，　十分活跃。他的作品以墨线狂舞的张力动人心魄。朱青生曾获德国海德堡大学艺术史博士学位，　现为北京大学艺术学系教授。他从八十年代初以来即从事实验艺术创作，　近年尝试将书法资源引入抽象绘画。魏立刚现居山西，　毕业于天津南开大学数学系，　是天津名家王学仲和孙伯翔的学生。魏有志于创造出立足中国汉字的抽象艺术。他独特的观念，　对新事物的开放眼量，　在传统艺术上的深刻背景，　以及对生命感觉的极为个性化的转译本能，　使我们坚信他将成为未来抽象艺域的一个热点。 最后我还想介绍两位被称为后现代书法家的艺术家，　王南溟和张强。来自上海的当代艺术家王南溟将书法元素引入装置艺术　其字球组合极具当代观念艺术精神　引发人们对书法本质及命运的思考。张强现为山东艺术学院教授，　其作品踪迹学报告以与 100 位女性合作所留下的墨迹及图文音像资料构成。　基本属于行为艺术范畴。　目前尚未完成。他们的作品本身是反书法的，　而非传统意义上的书法。这两位艺术家也以理论研究见长。 这里，　我还要提到两位在美国默默耕耘　探索和传播中国书法艺术的教授兼书法家。最近去世的王方宇先生。　早年毕业于哥伦比亚大学　后任耶鲁大学和西东大学教授，　以书画收藏和研究著名。　后期探索新体书法，　卓有影响。白谦慎先生毕业于耶鲁大学艺术史系，　获书法博士学位，　现任波士顿大学教授，　早年曾探索非汉字书法，　现主攻书法研究。他们对中国书法的现代化均作出了较大的贡献。　据我了解，　西方对中国当代艺术的研究和关注远远不够。　与西方社会对国势日盛的中国总体上的关注极不相称。比如用英文写作的西方艺术学者和批评家，至少就常常对中国当代书法不屑一顾。这种偏见使得上述身在海外的华人学者的研究分外可贵。 以上就是中国书法艺术近百年来发展的大致情形。中国书法的未来究竟如何，　没有人能作出肯定的答复。但我想，　至少两点是肯定的。　第一，　在较长的一段时间内，　传统风格的书法创作仍将与各种源自传统的新兴表现形式共存。第二，　中国书法在现代社会生存发展的唯一可能就是进一步强调和开发其艺术特质，　而不是其实用功能。 最后，　衷心感谢夏威夷东方艺术协会BertieLee女士的盛情邀请，感谢檀香山艺术博物院亚洲艺术部主任JuliaWhite女士的大力支持　感谢著名收藏家ErnestLee先生提供自清末至当代15位书法名家的珍品作为例。

Contemporary Chinese Calligraphy (1898-1998)

Lecturer: Yang, Yingshi
Time: 7:30 p.m., Monday, October 26, 1998
Place: Academy Art Center, Honolulu Academy of Arts
Sponsor: Oriental Art Society of Hawaii (OASH)

Ladies and Gentlemen: Good evening!

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to introduce to you the latest developments in Chinese calligraphy, in this paradise where Dr. Sun Yat-sen might well have enjoyed his stay a hundred years ago. Before starting my topic, which is ``New Trends in Chinese Calligraphy (1898-1998)," I would like to ask you a few very basic rhetorical questions. First: Do you regard calligraphy as a real art form or just the way of writing good-looking Chinese characters? Why? Second: How many styles are there in Chinese calligraphy? Are they really the exact personal styles of calligraphers?

My answer to the first question is: Chinese calligraphy, unlike western calligraphy, is a unique oriental art form that has long been surviving under the shadow of Chinese paleography, that is the study of ancient Chinese writings and inscriptions. For thousands of years, Chinese calligraphy has been passively using Chinese characters as its elementary vehicle and has developed itself together with the development of Chinese characters. On the other hand, to a certain extent, it has also been used as a vehicle to write Chinese characters so that people can communicate with each other. Calligraphy itself is a linear art, but its artistic value has long been misunderstood as the skillful writing of Chinese characters. There were few calligraphers who consciously created calligraphic artwork until the late century when Kang Youwei(±d¦³¬°) boldly advocated it.

Now for the answer of the second questions: It is true that there are at least five styles(Åé) of Chinese calligraphy, or rather five basic ways of writing Chinese characters. But it sounds ridiculous that for thousands of years, all Chinese calligraphers have been creating their artwork in five, uniformed styles. They must have their individual styles, otherwise they could never establish themselves as creative artists. So there can be hundreds of individual artistic calligraphic styles.

The reason why I asked these questions is: I want to make it clear that it is the artistic value of calligraphy and the artistic elements of individual calligraphers' work that make the difference. Just writing a certain style of script skillfully or copying the work of previous calligraphers exactly can never make a calligrapher a real artist. I believe most of you want to collect calligraphy as real artwork, rather than just historic proof of the development of Chinese characters.

Ladies and Gentlemen! Now, I would like to invite your attention to the main point of my talk tonight, that is: The past whole century is the era when Chinese calligraphy has finally stood out as an independent art form, and when arduous efforts have been made to develop its artistic value by alleviating the confinement of its practical functions.

Looking back into history, we find that the way of writing Chinese characters reached its full maturity in the Tang Dynasty, when the standard Chinese characters came into being. The characters were almost the same as printed Chinese characters today. (A few words about Tang. It is interesting that the Tang Dynasty was also the most powerful period of China, in almost all aspects. It was a real super-power in the world at that time.) Almost all the best Chinese calligraphers and representative calligraphic works of the above styles appeared before the Tang Dynasty. For instance: Seal script in the Qin Dynasty, Clerical Script in the Han Dynasty, Running-cursive Script in the Jin Dynasty, Northern Wei Tablet Style Script in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and Cursive and Standard Scripts in the Tang Dynasty. The power of the nation as well as the freedom of thinking led to unusual creativity in calligraphy during these periods although calligraphers (most of them were senior officials or intellectuals) did not mean to create works of art.

A considerably harmful effect on calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty was the introduction of the imperial examination system to select officials. Since the late Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, China continued to decline in almost all aspects, including calligraphy. For almost one thousand years, people made fewer new contributions to the ways of writing Chinese characters. It is not too critical to say that there were not many master calligraphers in this period. China fell to its lowest period in the Qing Dynasty when the nation was almost destroyed by the troops of western countries. What makes the situation even worse in Chinese calligraphy was that the Qing government required intellectuals nationwide to write the so-called Guange Style (Office Style) of calligraphy, which was uniformed, smooth, dark and clear. It was a must. Otherwise, they could not pass the national imperial examinations to become officials. One of the calligraphers at that time Huang Ziyuan, who used to be a winner in the examination, even figured out 72 rules to instruct students to learn such uniformed calligraphy.

As a result of these regulations, the artistic creativity of calligraphers was greatly confined and even killed. Of course there were some calligraphic dissidents in the middle and late Qing Dynasty. Some examples were: Zheng Banqiao(¾GªO¾ô), who was also an outstanding painter and one of the eight eccentrics of the Yangzhou School, and Kang Youwei in the late Qing Dynasty.

Kang Youwei(±d¦³¬°) was absolutely one of the greatest men in his period - a great politician, a great thinker, and a great calligrapher. He was a real hero in Chinese history of politics and in the history of calligraphy. He influenced the whole century, which is the frame of my topic - from 1898 to 1998. Many people, including me, regard him as the founding father of contemporary Chinese calligraphy. Kang Youwei and his student Liang Qichao(±ç±Ò¶W) --who was also from Canton and was an excellent thinker, scholar and journalist-- helped Emperor Guangxu(¥úºü¬Ó«Ò) launch the ``One Hundred-day Reform"in 1898. The reform included eliminating the imperial examination system, introducing western education system, as well as operating the nation in a way like that of the advanced western countries. The reform movement was smashed by the conservative authority of Queen Cixi(·OÁH¤Ó¦Z), who was in real power. But a great majority of the reform was maintained, including the introduction of the new education system and the elimination of the imperial exam system later. China began to have its schools and universities where English, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and geography were taught. Students did not have to write the uniformed calligraphic style to pass exams.

In spite of his partial failure in politics, Kang Youwei made great success in his research on calligraphy, planning for a relatively trivial reform-- in calligraphy. This reform proved to be very successful. In middle and late Qing Dynasty, there were a lot of archeological discoveries in China. Among the discoveries were tombstone tablets and carvings found in northern China. Many of the tombstones were made during the Northern Wei period, bearing very raw but powerful and unique Chinese calligraphy. Some art scholars found in the calligraphy a dynamic artistic world that had never been touched before. So they tried to advocate it. Following earlier scholars Ruan Yuan(¨¿¤¸) and Bao Shichen(¥]¥@¦Ú) in the late Qing Dynasty, Kang wrote a book, or rather a long article, Guang Yi Zhou Shuang Ji (¼sÃÀ¦àÂù·ª), to advocate this old and new but very dynamic calligraphy. He had two main purposes: the first was to reinvigorate the artistic creativity of calligraphers by providing them a different scope; the second was to encourage people to break away from the confinement of calligraphy standards widely followed since the Tang Dynasty.

A new era began. The calligraphy world of the whole Republic of China period at least was dominated by Kang's theory. Many people followed Kang's theory to find new resources of calligraphy in the stone tablets and to free their creativity by making very bold experimental efforts in their work. Before Kang Youwei, most calligraphers did not realize that they were creating artwork. (Of course, some artists like the Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou of the mid-Qing Dynasty had already begun to make bold attempts in this respect. ) When Wang Xizhi(¤ý¿ª¤§) of the Jin Dynasty, a master calligrapher in Chinese history, was writing Lantingxu (Äõ«F§Ç), his masterpiece, he was just writing an article or report on a gathering among his friends. Many famous calligraphic works in the history were just tombstone inscriptions to commemorate the deceased. But after Kang Youwei, most calligraphers realized they were creating artwork and calligraphy became an independent art form equal to Chinese painting, rather than something just used to write inscriptions on paintings.

Kang Youwei developed his theory by himself and also influenced four outstanding students - Liang Qichao(±ç±Ò¶W), Xu Beihong(®}´dÂE), Liu Haisu (¼B®üµ¯), and Xiao Xian(¿½¼_). Kang Youwei was famous for his calligraphy but always claimed to be a better connoisseur than a calligrapher. All excellent calligraphers, Liang was more well-known for his thoughts and articles while Xu and Liu for being master painters instead. Xiao Xian was the best woman calligrapher in the past century. Li Ruiqing(§õ·ç²M), who used to be one of painter Zhang Daqian's(±i¤j¤d) calligraphy teachers, became famous in early this century by studying the Northern Wei Tablet style of calligraphy but his work proved to be unsuccessful. He focused too much on the rough and forceful side while ignoring the delicacy and fluidity of the lines. Some very successful masters were Yu Youren(¤_¥k¥ô), Li Shutong(§õ¨û¦P), Zeng Xi(´¿º³), etc. Their works were both forceful and fluid, with delicacy in roughness. Yu Youren was the most influential calligrapher in this period, who succesfully merged in his work stone tablets calligraphy and cursive script. Li Shutong (Monk Hongyi/¥°¤@ªk®v)'s work was influenced by the composition of western painting, Buddhist taste and the stone tablets of Northern Wei. His student Feng Zikai(¤¥¤l·_) was a good painter, calligrapher, and essayist whose calligraphy is of tremendous artistic and human interest, just like his paintings. Wu Changshuo(§d©÷ºÓ), a master painter in Shanghai, was also distinguished for his calligraphy in Shigu script, a very ancient style of calligraphy carved on stone drums, and cursive script. His students were very prominent in contemporary Chinese calligraphy world - Pan Tianshou(¼ï¤Ñ¹Ø), Sha Menghai (¨F©s®ü), Lu Weizhao(³°ºû°x)( indirect), Tao Bowu(³³³Õ§^)(indirect. The first three played a substantial role in establishing China's modern academic education on the art of calligraphy, as I will talk about later. One exception at that time was Shen Yinmo(¨H¤¨Àq), who avoided the influence of Kang's theory and stuck to his efforts of learning from traditional ink scripts, which is fluent and fine. He was also an excellent calligraphy teacher and scholar but was somewhat conservative.

Many master calligraphers currently in China, such as Lin Sanzhi(ªL´²¤§), Liu Haisu(¼B®üµ¯), Xiao Xian(¿½¼_), Sha Menghai(¨F©s®ü), Lu Weizhao(³°ºû°x), began to be involved in calligraphy before 1949 but did not become famous for that until after the ``cultural revolution''(1966-76) when they were in their seventies or eighties. What's the reason?

Let's look at the situation in the People's Republic of China during that period. For almost 30 years, since 1949, calligraphy basically was not encouraged by the government when Mao Zedong(¤ò¿AªF) was in power. Chinese calligraphy was basically regarded as representing the old tradition by the mass of Chinese people who were enthusiastically building a totally new China. But it is interesting that Mao himself was a very excellent calligrapher. He was especially excellent in cursive style of calligraphy, influenced by Monk Huaisu(Ãh¯À) of the Tang Dynasty and inevitably by the Northern Wei Stone Tablet Styles advocated by Kang Youwei. In almost 30 years, there were basically only three well-known calligraphers: Chairman Mao Zedong(¤ò¿AªF), Guo Morou(³¢ªj­Y) (vice premier and No. 1 intellectual then), and Shu Tong( µÎ¦P)(a general with the PLA who later became the first chairman of Chinese Calligraphers Association in 1981.)

Many old calligraphers suffered a lot during the "cultural revolution." The veteran calligrapher Shen Yinmo(¨H¤¨Àq) in Shanghai, for instance, was forced to burn a lot of his excellent calligraphy work and manuscripts on calligraphy theory with his own hands. But this 30 years, especially the "cultural revolution" period, was the time that hid a large amount of potential calligraphers who have became prominent in the past twenty years, when calligraphy has become extraordinarily popular again. They studied calligraphy on a semi-underground basis and had no chance to exhibit or sell their artworks. One best example was my teacher Sun Boxiang(®]§Bµ¾). Sun, 64, is now acting president of the Tianjin Calligraphers Association and national board director of the Chinese Calligraphers' Association (CCA)(¤¤°ê®Ñªk®a¨ó·|). He also serves as one of the 10-or-so judges of the CCA's evaluation committee for calligraphy creation. The committee consists of the country's best mid-aged calligraphers in art creation, most of whom I listed among the 50 representative contemporary calligraphers. Sun is also one of the committee members for the most authoritative National Exhibition of Calligraphy and Seal-carving, which is now in its sixth year.

A lot of calligraphers appeared in the early 1980s when the country ended the chaos and turned to economic and cultural development. Some old calligraphers who luckily survived through the period recovered their artistic creativity and obtained respect from people again. The younger generation of calligraphers who stuck to their pursuit for art in the ¡§cultural revolution¡¨ emerged after the chaos. These two categories of calligraphers were mainly in two age groups at that time: 60-80 and 30-40. The first group includes: Lin Sanzhi(ªL´²¤§), Lu Weizhao(³°ºû°x), Sha Menghai(¨F©s®ü), Liu Haisu(¼B®üµ¯), Xiao Xian(¿½¼_), Tao Bowu(³³³Õ§^), Gao Er'shi(°ª¤G¾A), Xiao Lao(¿½³Ò), Fei Xinwo(¶O·s§Ú), Qi Gong(±Ò¥\), Wang Xuezhong(¤ý¾Ç¥ò), Sun Qifeng(®]¨ä®p), Wu Zhongqi(ªZ¤¤©_), and Xie Zhiliu(Á¸X¬h).The second group includes: Shen Peng(¨HÄP), Xie Yun(Á¶³), Li Duo(§õÅM), Sun Boxiang(®]§Bµ¾), Wei Tianchi(±L¤Ñ¦À), Liu Yunquan(¼B¶³¬u), He Yinghui(¦óÀ³½÷), Wang Yong(¤ýó`), Zhou Huijun(©P¼zÖs, F). Most calligraphers of the first group have passed away now. Tao Bowu(³³³Õ§^) was unusual. The veteran calligrapher was not discovered until his 90s, similar to painters Chen Zizhuang(³¯¤l²ø) and Huang Qiuyuan(¶À¬î¶é). And the latter group of calligraphers has become the backbone of calligraphers in China today. Scholars usually mention them as being of the Neo-classical School because they base their art on calligraphic tradition and add a lot of contemporary elements. A major characteristic of their work is the combination of Northern Dynasties stone tablet style that are strong and powerful and the traditional ink scripts that are delicate and fluid, a road developed by older generations of calligraphers such as Yu Youren, Sha Menghai and Lu Weizhao.

Now, I would like to say a few words about China's academic research and training in calligraphy on the college level. Lu Weizhao and Sha Menghai, encouraged by Pan Tianshou, who was president of the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts in Hangzhou, established China's first calligraphy BA and MA program in the famous art school. The program now offers a doctoral degree. China has since added many calligraphy degree programs at art schools. They are in Beijing, Nanjing, Tianjin, and other major cultural centers. The Hangzhou program is so far the best. The program was established to train calligraphers as specialized artists. They believe calligraphy is a real art form and to be a calligrapher needs academic education like other art forms. The program has made great contributions to the research and creation of calligraphy in present day China.

As I mentioned earlier, calligraphy has become the most popular art in China since the end of the "cultural revolution". Millions of people, ranging from government leaders to intellectuals to ordinary people, enjoy practicing calligraphy either as a means of art creation or just as a spare time hobby. The Chinese Calligraphers Association (CCA) as well as regional calligraphers associations have organized various exhibitions and training programs. A survey by the CCA indicated that there are more than 100 major calligraphy exhibitions in China each year. They have also organized exhibitions and exchange programs in Japan, Korea, Singapore, Europe, the United States, and many other places around the world.

Generally speaking, the artistic level of calligraphy in current China is not optimistic. Few works can match with earlier masters like Kang Youwei and Yu Youren, let alone the ancient calligraphers like Wang Xizhi and Huaisu. It is hard to say how many of the contemporary calligraphers can eventually obtain a place in art history. One reason is that many calligraphers are not as knowledgeable as the previous generations of calligraphers, for instance in classical Chinese literature. Another reason is that China is getting more and more commercialized and people do not have the patience and mood needed to practice calligraphy. The third and most important reason is the practical functions of calligraphy are decreasing and calligraphy is getting far away from the daily life of ordinary people as the country is getting more and more computerized and printing is everywhere.

So, some perceptive people, both calligraphers and researchers, have begun to worry about the future of calligraphy.

Unlike people in the old days who needed to use brushes to write everyday, more and more people, especially young people, are turning to pens and then computers. They do not even have to know how to write a character by hand, let alone the art of writing Chinese characters. So a question that everybody has to face is --  Can calligraphy, as an art of writing Chinese characters, survive and progress?

One of the first few people who considered this question seriously was Professor Wang Xuezhong(¤ý¾Ç¥ò). Professor Wang was a student of master painter Xu Beihong and studied painting in Japan when he was young. He is now vice chairman of the Chinese Calligraphers Association and a professor of Chinese calligraphy and painting at the Tianjin University. In early 1980s, Wang was again sent to Japan by the government as the first visiting professor to teach Chinese calligraphy there. He did a lot of research on Japanese calligraphy there. It was in Japan that he realized Chinese calligraphy was facing some serious problems and it was high time to study the future development of Chinese calligraphy.

Gu Gan(¥j¤z), an art editor at the People's Literature Press, and Wang Naizhuang(¤ý¤D§§), a professor of art at the Qinghua University, were two of the people in Beijing who were also thinking of this problem at that time. Later, in October 1985,  the three artists invited some other artists to hold a group exhibition of modern calligraphy in Beijing. The theme of the exhibition was to develop the real artistic value of the art, instead of as a way of writing characters, by making different attempts, including writing a few characters in a painting-like way and using colors. The exhibition was certainly naive in its artistic achievement but the concept was very significant and innovative. Most important of all, they established an organization named China Society of Modern Calligraphy and Painting(¤¤°ê²{¥N®Ñµe¾Ç·|). Recently, the organization has been transformed into a new body named China Society of Modern Calligraphic Art(¤¤°ê²{¥N®ÑªkÃÀ³N¾Ç·|), hoping to concentrate more on the new artistic movement of modern calligraphy. I serve as deputy secretary-general and national board director of the new organization. Personally, I do not think "modern calligraphy" is the right and exact term to describe the new art expressions derived from traditional calligraphy since early 1980s. I believe it sounds better to use the term "experimental calligraphy" or other more appropriate name.  But, anyway, the term "modern calligraphy" has been widely recognized in China. Most people take it for granted that modern calligraphy resulted from the influence of western modern art and Japanese modern calligraphy. I, however, hold that the artistic movement should be attributed more to the strong self-motivation of Chinese artists who hope to develop new art expressions of their era on the basis of traditional Chinese calligraphy.

After the 1989 Tian'anmen Square Incident, modern calligraphy, for a while, was besieged   for its liberal motivation.  But, since 1992, the situation has improved remarkably and there has been a lot of new development in the artistic movements of modern calligraphy. Several national exhibitions were organized with the artistic level improving. A national magazine named "Modern Calligraphy"(²{¥N®Ñªk) was published in Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The magazine has played an important role in organizing the modern calligraphers nationwide and carrying out academic research in the field.

The most significant characteristic of China's calligraphy world since 1992 is that there came a plural and diversified period where different new trends coexist, almost peacefully. The traditional calligraphy circle has gradually accepted modern calligraphy and many calligraphers who used to be entirely involved in creating traditional styles of calligraphy have begun to change their styles and use modern elements in their work. Works of modern calligraphers like Shao Yan(ªò©¥) have even been given awards in national exhibitions organized by the Chinese Calligraphers' Association, a government-run art organization.

Among the most important explorers in recent years are three calligraphy professors from the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts in Hangzhou (now China National Academy of Fine Arts ¤¤°ê¬ü³N¾Ç°|): Qiu Zhenzhong(ªô®¶¤¤), Wang Dongling (¤ý¥VÄÖ) and Chen Zhenlian(³¯®¶¾ü). Qiu and Chen have been to Japan as visiting professors and Wang to the United States. All three were graduate students of professors Lu Weizhao and Sha Menghai. Qiu is famous for his calligraphy without writing readable Chinese characters, believing the value of calligraphy lies in its lines instead of characters. Wang is famous for introducing new media in calligraphy, influenced by western contemporary art. Chen, who used to be famous for academic research in calligraphy, has got extra fame recently for launching the so-called "academic school calligraphy" together with some of his students. Bai Di(¥Õ¯¡), who is China's first Phd degree student in calligraphy at the art school, and Luo Qi(¬¥»ô), a print-maker-turned modern calligrapher at the academy, are also distinctive in developing new expressions to calligraphy.

Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province and former national capital, has long been famous for its profound cultural heritage. It is also an important center in the artistic movement of modern calligraphy. The Southeast University(ªF«n¤j¾Ç) in the city established the nation's first research institute on modern calligraphy and painting. Wen Bei(¤å³Æ), director of the institute, has been quite influential for organizing many important activities to promote the development of modern calligraphy. He was also one of the few artists in China who published albums on modern calligraphy. Similarly, Bu Lieping(¤R¦C¥­), another modern calligrapher in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, is also conspicuous for his art creation and organizing work in the movement.

Still there are some other distinctive artists in modern calligraphy in northern China. They are Gu Gan(¥j¤z), Zhang Dawo(±i¤j§Ú), Zhu Qingsheng(¦¶«C¥Í), and Wei Ligang(ÃQ¥ß­è). They use calligraphic techniques and conceptions in their abstract art. Gu Gan, one of the launchers of the modern calligraphy artistic movement, has maintained active creativity in recent years. His abstract art works based on calligraphy were collected by the British Museum and the Cologne Museum in Germany and he himself was invited to lecture in Germany for several times.  Zhang Dawo used to teach at the Beijing-based Capital Normal University and moved to Australia a few years ago. His work is characterized by the powerful, dancing calligraphic lines.  Zhu Qingsheng, a professor at the Art Studies Department of the Beijing University who got his Phd degree in art history from Heidelberg University in Germany, uses calligraphic sources in his experimental art. Wei Ligang, a student of Wang Xuezhong and Sun Boxiang who now lives in Shanxi Province, also merges  calligraphic images and lines and various media in his abstract art. He is regarded as one of the most potential young artist in modern calligraphy.

The last two artists I will mention are two "post-modern" conceptual artists: Wang Nanming(¤ý«nÞH), an independent contemporary artist and critic from Shanghai, and Zhang Qiang(±i¾Ê), a professor of art at the Shandong Art Institute. Actually Wang's work "Balls of Characters" is installation art and Zhang's work "Report of Traceology" is performance. Their works are anti-calligraphy rather than calligraphy.

Here I need to mention two Chinese calligraphers and professors in America: Wang Fangyu(¤ý¤è¦t), a recently deceased art collector and scholar who used to be a professor at Yale University, and Bai Qianshen(¥ÕÁ¾·V), who got his Phd degree in calligraphy from Yale and is now a professor of art history at Boston University. They both played a significant role in developing modern expressions to calligraphy in their research and creation. I feel it a pity that the West tends to ignore contemporary Chinese art, as compared with their keen interest in a growingly powerful current China as a whole. It seems to me that most art researchers and critics who write in English, at least, never bother to work more on contemporary Chinese calligraphy. This has made the work of the Chinese artists and scholars mentioned above especially valuable.

So this is the basic picture of how Chinese calligraphy has developed in the past century. What will Chinese calligraphy be like in the future? Nobody knows. But two things are certain:  In a relatively long period of time, traditional styles of calligraphy will co-exist with new modern expressions derived from traditional calligraphy. And, the only way for Chinese calligraphy to survive and to develop is to stress and to explore its artistic value, instead of its practical significance, in a modern society.

Thank you.