1 2 3 4 5 the relationship between tea culture and calligraphy in China
It is generally believed that before the Tang Dynasty, the word "tea" was used to represent tea, so tea scholars have always been interested in the discussion, research and development of the word "tea". At present, it seems that the early remains of the word "tea" are three ancient seal characters collected in ancient seal scripts such as "Gu Zhuan Bian". It should be a book trace in the pre-Qin period, which is rare and precious. The Tang Dynasty was a period when calligraphy prevailed and tea production developed. There are more and more records about tea in calligraphy, the most representative of which is Bitter Bamboo Shoot Sticks by Huai Su, a famous cursive writer in Tang Dynasty. This is a letter that says, "Bitter bamboo shoots and tea are particularly good. You can come by land and go to Huai Su." Although there are only fourteen words in the whole post, the overall style is vivid and radiant. Huai Su's thirst for tea can be seen.
Speaking of Huai Su, I naturally think of Lu Yu, who has made outstanding contributions to tea culture and is known as the "Cha Sheng" of the world. The Biography of Monks in Huai Su was written by Lu Yu, and there are several paragraphs about Huai Su, Wu Tong and Yan Zhenqing discussing the art of calligraphy. Huai Su and Wu Tong are cousins; Chang Congtong collected the pen. Tong said, "Zhang Xu's long history once again privately called Tong, saying,' Lonely Peng inspires himself, flying sand and taking stones, and learning to be excellent will make him an official. "The grass saints are all there." In his later years, Yan Zhenqing asked Huai Su, "How can a teacher learn from an ancient hairpin?" Ask again: "Is the teacher also complacent?" Su Yue said, "Being original, I have seen many strange peaks in Xia Yun, and I have come to learn from them. Its Xia Yun changes with the wind, impermanent, like a broken road, one by one natural. " The metaphors such as "missing marks" and "broken roads" mentioned in this book theory have inspired calligraphers to understand the wonderful methods of calligraphy, which are still talked about by calligraphers today and have a great influence on calligraphy creation and theory. Lu Yu also has an article "On Two Letters from Yan Xu". He thinks that learning books should focus on the spirit likeness, not on appearance, and he is also quite insightful. Historian Lu Yu studied hard since he was a child. "Jingling West Lake has no paper, and the words of learning books are painted on the back of cattle with bamboo." He used to have a close relationship with Yan Zhenqing. He once talked about calligraphy with his close friend Huang Furan in Lushan Mountain with the title of "A Wonder Spring on Earth". Looking at all the achievements of Lu Yu's life, The Book of Tea is undoubtedly the first, but at the same time, we can completely think that Lu Yu is still an accomplished book critic.
Song Dynasty is an extremely important era in the history of China tea industry and calligraphy. It can be said that there are many tea people and calligraphers. Tea drinking has changed from practicality to artistry, and calligraphy has changed from emphasizing law to emphasizing meaning. Many tea experts are also famous calligraphers. Cai Mo, one of the "Song Sijia", is more representative. Cai Xiang was a good tea all his life, and he must be accompanied by tea when writing a book. When he was appointed as the transshipment ambassador of Fujian Road, he improved the tea-making technology and used more tender raw materials to produce exquisite and exquisite gold-valued Xiaolongtuan Shangpin Dragon Tea. Fan Xiong, a poet in the Song Dynasty, said: "Since the little dragons came out, the dragon wind came second." Ouyang xiu also said in the preface to the record of dragon tea: "Renzong is especially precious." Although he is an assistant minister, he has never given it. " Its preciousness can be seen. Cai Xiang is not only unique in the practice of making tea, but also has an influential theoretical work "Tea Story".
The Book of Tea is the development of the Book of Tea. Moreover, Cai Xiang's Tea Story itself is a famous masterpiece, which has been praised by calligraphers of all ages. Besides, Cai Xiang also has books on tea, such as Ten Poems in Beiyuan and Fine Tea Stickers, which have been handed down from generation to generation. The evaluation of Cai Xiang's calligraphy in Xuanhe Pu Shu in Song Dynasty is: "The big characters are several feet, but the small characters are unscathed;" The position of pen power, big and meticulous, small and generous. ..... especially good at it, and it has its own flavor among its predecessors. "
After the Tang and Song Dynasties, the relationship between tea and calligraphy became closer, and there were more and more works with tea as the content. Masterpieces that have been handed down to this day include Su Dongpo's One-Night Stand, Mi Fei's Tiaoxi Poetry, Zheng Xie's Zhi Zhu Ci, and Wang Chaolin's Youfuzhai Piloting Jingxian Tea. Some of these works were created while drinking tea. As for modern products, there are even more.
There are tea affairs in all previous dynasties, and there are writers in all previous dynasties. "Wine makes a hero brave, and tea painting makes a bachelor think". Tea can trigger the creation of literati and improve the creative effect. But the relationship between tea and calligraphy is more essential, because they have the same aesthetic ideal, aesthetic taste and artistic characteristics, and show the same national cultural spirit in different forms. It is this spirit that connects the two forever.
The status of tea in life has risen from a good medicine for treating diseases, a good product for refreshing, and an elegant thing for making friends to a clear product for making arts, and a series of tea art activities have been derived, which have specific ideological connotations, which have evolved over a long period of time. Especially since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the appearance of "tea instead of wine" and "Zhang Nephew" and the combination of tea and Buddhism have gradually shown a series of symbolic meanings, such as simplicity, incorruptibility, tranquility, elegance, indifference, abstinence, harmony and mutual respect. Therefore, the spirit of tea art and its aesthetic pleasure are always inseparable from these contents. In the final analysis, it is a kind of cultivation of human character and morality. China's writing mentality and artistic features have much in common with this. China's calligraphy art focuses on seeking rich ideological connotations in simple lines and rich and colorful effects in simple tone contrast, just like tea and water. Do not seek the beauty of appearance, pay attention to the inner sense of life, and show charm from simplicity. For calligraphers, it is necessary to enter the creation with a calm mind, eliminate all distractions and keep the spirit in the chest.