Liu Hongbiao
In 353 AD, Yinshan Lanting, the last festival, gathered 42 celebrities, who practiced calligraphy and washing to eliminate evil and disaster, and talked about their intimate relationship through winding water. The Lanting Ya Ji left 37 sentimental Lanting poems, "the first running script in the world" and "the preface to Lanting" for future generations, which created a thousand-year-old calligrapher Wang Xizhi and became a glorious event in the history of calligraphy in China.
When I was a teenager, I wrote down the reputation of Wang Xizhi as a book saint. For decades, I have admired Shen Feng in The Preface to the Lanting Pavilion, hoping to make friends with the literati with the elegant style of Lanting. Since the mid-1980s, Chinese and foreign calligraphers have gathered in Lanting, Shaoxing, always fascinated by it. In recent years, the book circle in Beijing has followed the book saints and Lanting, and salons have mushroomed and elegant collections have continued. Since the opening day of the 22-person Calligraphy Exhibition in Beijing in 2004, Hua Bao Ji Ya has been involved in organizing and experiencing Ji Ya in Zhuyuan, Ji Ya in Xiaotangshan and Ji Ya in Daxing for many years, making new friends, obtaining new information, listening to new ideas and giving birth to new ideas, which has benefited a lot. In 2005, I got together with Qiu Zhenzhong, Wang Youyi, Song Li, Hu Kangmei, Liu Wenhua, Zhang Xuguang, Ceng Xiang, Wang Xueling, Zhang Jizhu, etc., and collected many books, or drew lots to limit rhymes, or recited poems, or concentrated on works, evaluated each other, or found the right ones online, all of which were frank and enjoyed. In the end, it appeared in Beijing with the "Five Bodies and Ten Artists Exhibition", which attracted a flood of audiences and became a great event in the book world. This kind of communication and interaction between fellow travelers is conducive to enhancing friendship, encouraging each other and cultivating both poetry and books. For those who have lived alone for a long time and stayed together, it is really a good opportunity to broaden their horizons, broaden their minds and broaden their thinking.
However, every time I get together, I think of Lanting and Shusheng. The so-called elegant collection, "collection" is a form, relaxed; "Elegance" has many connotations, and it is also difficult. I am always waiting for a suitable opportunity to meet the book sage purely and feel the Wei and Jin demeanor quietly; Enjoying Lanting leisurely, I got the spirit of QiLanting silently. I don't want to casually and carelessly waste my first trip to Lanting. This is why I have never set foot in Lanting Resort. Unexpectedly, my first Lanting came quietly.
A friend told me by phone that I was included in the shortlist of 200 people for the 42-person exhibition of Lanting Ya Collection in China Book Circle, but I didn't care. I am organizing a series of activities in Yiwu with all my colleagues in the cursive professional committee of China Calligraphy Association. Someone told me that I have become one of the short-listed 100 calligraphers, and I am still not interested. I didn't know the ins and outs of the event until I read the invitation letter from the organizing Committee. I can also perceive the high-standard, large-scale and strong camp of the event from the organizers and hundreds of famous artists. At that time, although I was caught in the rush of flying all over the sky and running around, I sent away two hastily written manuscripts on the day of deadline to show my appreciation for this special event. Soon after, it was reported that "Lanting Ji Ya Forty-two People Exhibition" was scheduled, and I ranked tenth. The top ten candidates were "Lanting Seven Children" evaluated by the organizers. It is planned to hold an academic defense in Lanting in late August, and then according to the scores of the works and defense, the top seven "Lanting Seven Sons" will be awarded.
After receiving the reply notice, I suddenly felt a little stressed. Generally speaking, the bottom should squeeze into the top seven. If you don't perform well in defense, it is almost impossible. Look at the other nine people, or doctors and masters; Or a calligraphy teacher; Or a representative creative master of various books in today's book world; He is also the champion of Lanting Award, the highest calligraphy award in China; Or a book elite who has won many national exhibition awards; Or a new star who has been in the limelight frequently in the past two years. As for me, I have been engaged in pen and ink for decades. I have no family history, no teacher's instruction and no professional training. I walked along with enthusiasm and tenacity, rowing alone, touching the blind and touching the elephant. In terms of education and strength, they are all below others, so there is no doubt that they will compete and act as "sparring partners." However, I want to go and make a green leaf and decorate it with some red flowers. However, as we approached the departure, things changed. The only two candidates out of ten who are older than me can't go for some reason and give up the competition. In this way, I will become the first "old age" among the eight candidates, and eight people will eliminate one person, which is likely to eventually become a "green leaf". This is really a bit lonely and embarrassing. Going or not? I'm in a dilemma, and I'm struggling.
I never care what prize or title I have won. It is a great honor to be selected into the list of 200 people. It is even luckier to stay in the front 100; It is not easy to re-enter the Ji Ya camp of 42 people; Being named one of the ten candidates is a great honor. Besides, if I quit, the remaining seven people will lose their meaning. What's more, once he quits, the oldest candidate is 45 years old, which has almost become a competition for young calligraphers, and the age composition of the members of the "Seven Sons" has also been missing for a whole year. Also, I participated in the finals as a self-learner, which may be enlightening to a considerable number of self-learners among many calligraphy lovers in China.
After careful consideration, I made the decision to "go out to Beijing to catch the exam", and together with seven other candidates, I stepped onto the defense desk of Lanting one after another. In this way, I completed the long-awaited but sudden trip to Lanting for the first time. I once joked that this behavior "forced Lanting".
My first trip to Lanting is over. I only stayed in Shaoxing for half a night, so I didn't have time to pay homage to the book saint and read Lanting carefully. However, this strange trip left a heavy mark on me. In Lanting, I hurried through the winding path and water between Maolin and Zhuxiu. Hurriedly passed through a stone with the ink of Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong. Hurriedly walked through the "Etang Monument" composed of books by Xian and his son; I hurried past the "military and civilian monument" carved by Emperor Kangxi in calligraphy. Over the years, thousands of tourists have destroyed and restored this monument ... these have been deeply engraved in my heart.