Encountering Brush and Ink:
Notes on Three Calligraphers of the Canglang Society
Calligraphy has a long and continuous history of over three thousand years in China. From ideographic signs which functioned as characters for writing there gradually evolved established scripts, strokes, set character compositions and consciousness of writing’s aesthetic qualities until, ultimately, calligraphy in China became a pure art capable of expressing an artist’s creativity. Over this long period of time, not only did such different forms of writing emerge as the seal, clerical, cursive, semi-cursive and standard scripts, but also a rich assortment of personal styles as well as elaborate attempts to explain calligraphy’s secrets in theory and method. In China, calligraphy joins painting to form the “twin jewels” of the visual arts. Outside of China it stands as one of the great fine arts of the world ¯ a fitting symbol of the splendors of Chinese culture.
Chinese calligraphy’s emergence as a fine art capable of realizing profound depths of personal expressiveness is closely tied to both the unique qualities of Chinese characters and the writing brush. A Chinese character combines shape, design, sound and meaning in one individual graph, so that nature’s forms and ideas are reduced and abbreviated into a few simple brush strokes. Each individual character becomes a complete picture of its own. As for the brush, though simple in appearance, this writing tool possesses tremendous flexibility: sharpness, smoothness, roundness and strength are among its characteristics. Properly handled, the brush imparts a three-dimensional quality to the characters. Its movements are limitless, its sensitivity to the writer’s actions spontaneous, and for this reason the brush taps the very source of the calligrapher’s creative powers. Once the basic rules and methods are mastered, the brush moves with the freedom of a celestial horse galloping across the sky. The interaction of strokes and dots, subtleties of composition and such qualities of brush handling as lifting, pressing, pausing, stuttering and speed all present to the viewer a sense of power and beauty in a limitless world of imaginary space. Those who are able to read the characters can share in the subtle meanings. Those who do not can still follow the movements of dots and strokes and sense the circular energies that traverse the columns of writing, thus losing themselves in the pure delight of abstract beauty. The degree of experience one may bring to the viewing of calligraphy may vary, but there is no difference of quality in our enjoyment.
In traditional China, the practice and transmission of calligraphy was closely tied to the practical necessity of becoming literate and the exams that led to an official career. For this reason, the art of calligraphy became something broadly shared and appreciated in Chinese society. In twentieth century China, however, with the rising importance of the sciences and the pursuit of modernity, the traditional Chinese brush gradually became replaced by pen and pencil, so that now it is common to hear the lament that few truly appreciate and understand this art. Yet, because the art of calligraphy has its roots in the written language, it is also true that calligraphy has deeply entwined itself into the everyday experiences of the common person. From the simple notes we write to one another to commercial shop signs and advertising to the titles and encomia on tablets and gateways at famous sites ¯ when written well all such things awaken the aesthetic sensibilities of the Chinese so that they linger with pleasure, savoring the beauty and force of the writing. In fact, the attraction of Chinese calligraphy is not limited to China alone. For centuries this art has been followed and practiced in Korea and Japan, and it is said to have played an inspiring role for the Abstract Expressionist painters of the West. Even those who do not read Chinese have found themselves captivated by calligraphy’s abstract beauty and rhythmic movements. From this we know that Chinese calligraphy transcends time and space and possesses a certain modern sensibility.
Earlier in this century there were a number of excellent writers who continued calligraphy’s transmission as a fine art, including Wu Changshi (1844-1927) and Shen Meisou (1850-1922). After mid-century, however, the practice of calligraphy had weakened noticeably. It is only in recent times that calligraphy has again been reinvigorated, and this, in no small measure, is due to the efforts of Hua Rende of Suzhou. In 1987, Hua Rende organized some of the best young and middle-aged amateur calligraphers and seal carvers of China to form the Canglang Calligraphy Society. The members of the Canglang Society come from various professions, many of which have little if anything to do with the arts of calligraphy and painting. These are all modest individuals ¯ private scholars bound by a common love for calligraphy. Every year they gather at some historical site in China in order to share their gains and discoveries in research and art with one another, paying their lodging costs by writing calligraphy and carving seals for the proprietors. It has been common practice for all of the individuals in the society to donate their art so that the proceeds from a sale can help in the publication of a group or individual catalogue. These actions, reminiscent of the generosity and devotion of traditional society, deserve our deep respect. In recent years members of the Canglang Calligraphy Society have had a number of exhibitions, both in China and abroad. Their work has attracted much attention and praise, to the degree that many consider the group’s art to be the best among relatively young calligraphers today, and an emerging pillar upon which the future of Chinese calligraphy will be built.
This exhibition of three members’ work came about as a result of a fortuitous visit to the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology by Hua Rende, the founder of the Canglang Society. The three participants all live in relative proximity to one another in the general region of Lake Taihu in Jiangsu Province: Hua Rende hails from Suzhou, Hu Lunguang from Wuxi and Chu Yun from Yixing. Hua Rende is recognized and admired as a solid scholar as well as calligrapher. He is a graduate of Beijing University and currently works as the librarian of Chinese rare books at Suzhou University. In addition to his talents as a calligrapher, Hua Rende is an outstanding historian and an excellent writer. His calligraphy follows the archaic styles of writing known from stelae inscriptions and letters of pre-Tang dynasty date. He excels in all of the scripts, but his clerical script writing is particularly noteworthy, combining brushwork that is strong yet calm in appearance with tightly compact character compositions. Hua Rende is blessed with a mild, gentlemanly disposition, and he possesses a keen interest in Buddhism (his style name is Weimo, after the famous Indian Buddhist layman Vimalakirti). Earlier in his development as a calligrapher he modeled himself after the talented Buddhist monk and calligrapher Master Hongyi (1880-1942), whom Hua Rende admired tremendously. For all of these reasons, Hua Rende’s calligraphy bears an air of quiet detachment. It is a relaxed yet profound style of writing, just like the person, and bears witness to the old adage in China that calligraphy is a picture of the writer’s heart.
Hu Lunguang always signs his work with the sobriquet Master of the Double View Hall. This is borrowed from Liu Xizai’s book Shu gai (Outline of Calligraphy), in which it is said that calligraphy has two views: the view of objects and the view of oneself. Coincidentally, there are also two equally splendid accomplishments to Hu Lunguang’s art to be viewed ¯ calligraphy and seal carving. Hu Lunguang’s calligraphy is rooted in a deep study of the archaic seal scripts known from bronze vessels of the ancient periods as well as calligraphy found in Six Dynasties Period stelae and devotional inscriptions for the making of Buddhist images. He, too, is skilled in all scripts, and has successfully evolved his own personal style of writing. Hu Lunguang wields the brush with slow, deliberate movements to form densely constructed characters whose assemblage of interacting strokes present a slightly unusual flavor. Hu Lunguang’s seal carving also stems from a careful study of ancient precedents. He bases his style on the seals of the Zhou, Qin and Han dynasties, supplementing this with a keen awareness of more recent interpretations from later periods. His study of the early scripts, ancient roof tiles, grave inscriptions and devotional inscriptions have also long exposed Hu Lunguang to the images that commonly accompany such writing. For this reason, he is often inspired to playfully carve both religious and folk images on the sides of seals as well as on bricks. These images are composed of lines of a decidedly antique flavor. Strong and tense, the impression is one of timeless endurance. One other characteristic of Hu Lunguang’s work should be mentioned. He often combines his seal and brick carving together with his calligraphy to make a new kind of pictorial ensemble. Integrated in form and content, his work is at once brimming with a sense of antiquity while presenting an entirely modern form of inscribed devotional image.
Chu Yun’s calligraphy also looks back to the Six Dynasties Period and earlier for inspiration. He is primarily influenced by writing known from Northern Wei Period and Han dynasty stelae. Chu Yun is particularly interested in the draft-cursive script (zhangcao), which he has studied from archaeologically discovered scraps of writing on paper and bamboo strips from the western regions of China. These serve as the basis for his own highly personal style of writing ¯ a mixture of cursive and semi-cursive which is characterized by a kind of stuttering brushwork that is weighty yet uninhibited. Chu Yun studies the writing of the ancient dynasties, Shang and Zhou, which he often assembles into matching couplets. He paints landscapes, following the manner of the great master Huang Binhong (1865-1955), which, like his calligraphy, are infused with the hoary, substantial qualities of antiquity. Moreover, because he lives in Yixing, home of the distinctive purple-clay ceramic used for tea ware, Chu Yun often displays his talents by carving calligraphy and pictures on teapots. The Chinese have a saying, “the world within a pot,” and one could say that Chu Yun’s inspired work with the Yixing teaware continues this idea of the paradise world in miniature.
These three calligraphers all have their individual styles and strengths, but they also have certain points in common. The most important is an approach that looks back to the “metal and stone” (jinshi) school of calligraphy that was dominant in the late Qing dynasty and early Republican period. The metal and stone school sought to go directly back to the original writings of earlier times as they were discovered on ancient bronze vessels (metal) and old stelae (stone). Hua Rende, Hu Lunguang and Chu Yun basically ignore the well-trodden path set down by the famous calligraphers of the Tang and later dynasties and push back to the origins of early writing ¯ an attempt to dig out the secrets of the ancients. They thus gain most of their inspiration from ancient bronze inscriptions, stelae and other sources of early writing. Moreover, the three calligraphers approach this early calligraphy with a genuine seriousness of purpose. They are not content simply to copy the outer forms of their models, stroke by stroke, but rather seek to gain the essence of the writing, whether in brush movement, composition or abstract force. To this they combine their own habits of brushwork, pursuing the natural qualities of plainness and (seeming) awkwardness that is associated with early writing. In this way, the three calligraphers are able to assimilate and transform their models into their own personal styles of writing. Looking at their calligraphy and seal carving, our feelings for antiquity are aroused ¯ we follow them on their inspired journeys through history to the brilliance of early writing. At the same time, each work is itself a special individual effort that provides immeasurable viewing pleasure. These ensembles of pictures and writing possess a sense of the modern ¯ a visual feast for all.
These three calligraphers all have their individual styles and strengths, but they also have certain points in common. The most important is an approach that looks back to the “metal and stone” (jinshi) school of calligraphy that was dominant in the late Qing dynasty and early Republican period. The metal and stone school sought to go directly back to the original writings of earlier times as they were discovered on ancient bronze vessels (metal) and old stelae (stone). Hua Rende, Hu Lunguang and Chu Yun basically ignore the well-trodden path set down by the famous calligraphers of the Tang and later dynasties and push back to the origins of early writing ¯ an attempt to dig out the secrets of the ancients. They thus gain most of their inspiration from ancient bronze inscriptions, stelae and other sources of early writing. Moreover, the three calligraphers approach this early calligraphy with a genuine seriousness of purpose. They are not content simply to copy the outer forms of their models, stroke by stroke, but rather seek to gain the essence of the writing, whether in brush movement, composition or abstract force. To this they combine their own habits of brushwork, pursuing the natural qualities of plainness and (seeming) awkwardness that is associated with early writing. In this way, the three calligraphers are able to assimilate and transform their models into their own personal styles of writing. Looking at their calligraphy and seal carving, our feelings for antiquity are aroused – we follow them on their inspired journeys through history to the brilliance of early writing. At the same time, each work is itself a special individual effort that provides immeasurable viewing pleasure. These ensembles of pictures and writing possess a sense of the modern – a visual feast for all.
Hui-shu Lee