Zhou Huijun 周慧珺

Zhou Huijun is certainly a master calligrapher in contemporary China, but the puzulling fact is that she is hardly known by anyone nowadays. She is perhaps due to her low-key personality.

Zhou Huijun, a native of Zhenhai of Zhejiang Province, was born in December 1939. She was the vice-chairman of China Calligraphers’ Association, vice-chairman of Shanghai Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and chairman of Shanghai Calligraphers’ Association. Currently she is the honorable chairman of China Calligraphers’ Association and Shanghai Calligraphers’ Association.

Zhou was brough up a merchant family which valued education and learning. She learned Chinese calligraphy since she was young. However, her father who loved Chinese calligraphy and painting, did not pay too much attention to her study, so she was given a free hand to study what she liked.  It was unfornate that she had rheumatoid arthritis at very young age which caused her joints to become swollen, stiff and painful. This had affected her learning of calligraphy. However, this did not deter her; instead it motivated her to work harder.

In 1974, Zhou published a book on ‘Calligraphic Works on Running Script – Selected Poems by Lu Xun’. The book was re-printed four times within a year and more than a million copies were printed. This has set a new record for the highest initial print run of any Chinese calligraphy book. Some readers commented that after reading the book in detail, it was hard to believe that it was written by a weak lady who was seriously ill. Zhou had finally overcome the adverse conditions and achieved great success in her works.

In learning calligraphy, her father wanted her to start with the Zhao stye (the calligraphy of Zhao Mengfu), but she was only fond of Mi Fu’s calligraphy. In 1975, Zhou entered the Shanghai Chinese Painting Academy and became a professional calligrapher. Like a thirsty steed dashing to the spring, she started her Chinese calligraphy study and research in the real sense. She studied each and every Chinese writing scripts, such as the standard, cursive, seal, and clerical scripts, the scripts in large and small characters, etc. In terms of calligraphic styles, started on the firm foundation of Tie (calligraphy of rubbing), she also extended her practice to include Northen Wei’s stele inscriptions, calligraphy on bamboo slips and silk, covered from model calligraphic works of Jin and Tang to those of Ming and Qing dynasty. After absorbing and learning from strong points and advantages of various caliigraphers, she finally developed her own style.

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中国当代书法家中，周慧珺肯定是大师级的书法家，可是令人不解的是，整个书坛似乎知道她的人好像不多。这可能是她为人低调的缘故吧。

周慧珺是浙江镇海人，出生于一九三九年十二月。她曾经担任中国书法家协会副主席，上海市文联副主席、上海市书法家协会主席。现为中国书法家协会与上海市书法家协会名誉主席。

周慧珺生长在一个翰墨飘香的商人家庭，从小就操笔练字。酷爱书画艺术的父亲对女儿周慧珺的学习生活并不是很关心，而是任其自由发展。不幸的是，她年轻时就患上了严重的类风湿关节炎，原先灵活的关节变得迟滞、酸痛，给她练习书法带来很大的障碍。但是，她反而练书法炼得更苦更勤。

1974年，周慧珺创作了《行书字帖——鲁迅诗歌选》，在一年之内四次重版，印数超过百万册，创下了新中国毛笔书法字帖发行数量的新纪录。有读者说，细读这本字帖，无论如何也不能相信这是一位病魔缠身的弱女子书写的。逆境中的周慧珺终于走了出来，取得了巨大的成功。

从小学书的她，父亲要她学赵孟頫，可是她独爱米南宫。1975年，周慧珺进入了上海中国画院，成为专业书法家。此时的她，如渴骥奔泉，开始了真正意义上的对书法的探索。真、草、篆、隶，大字榜书、蝇头小楷，无所不涉。并把取法范围不断地扩大，在学帖的基础上，广临了北魏碑版、简牍帛书。上溯晋唐、下及明清。博采众长，形成了自己的风格。

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An Epigraph for my Humble Room 陋室铭

The essay entitled ‘An Epigraph for my Humble Room’ by Liu Yuxi of Tang Dynasty (618-907) is one of the most written articles by calligraphers.

A mountain doesn't need to be high; it is famous as long as there is a deity on it. A lake doesn't need to be deep; it is beautiful as long as there is a dragon in it. My house is humble, but it enjoys the fame of virtue as long as that I am living in it. The ever-growing moss turns my doorsteps green. The colour of the grass is reflected through the bamboo curtains turns my room blue. Erudite scholars come in good spirits to talk with me, and among my guests there is no unlearned common man. In this humble room, I can enjoy playing my plainly decorated musical instrument ‘qin’, or read the Buddhist Scriptures quietly, without the disturbance of the noisy tunes that jar on the ears, or the solemn burden of reading official documents. My humble home is like the thatched hut of Zhuge Liang of Nanyang, or the Pavilion Ziyun of Xishu. Confucius once said:"How could we call a room humble as long as there is a virtuous man living in it?"

唐朝（618-907）刘禹锡的短文‘陋室铭’是书法家所爱书写的文章之一。

山不在高，有仙则名。水不在深，有龙则灵。斯是陋室，惟吾德馨。苔痕上阶绿，草色入帘青。谈笑有鸿儒，往来无白丁。可以调素琴，阅金经。无丝竹之乱耳，无案牍之劳形。南阳诸葛庐，西蜀子云亭，孔子云：“何陋之有？”

赵子昂

董其昌

周慧珺

马一浮

孙晓云

华人德

田英章

陈忠康

陈海良

Yu Youren: Master of Cursive Calligraphy 于右任: 当代草圣

Yu Youren (1879-1964) was a politician and calligrapher. He was born in the town of Hedaogang in Sanyuan County, Shanxi Province north of Xian, China. He was known for his efforts in helping to overthrow the Qing dynasty and to found the Republic of China. Following the loss of Mainland China to Communist forces, Yu follows the Chinese Nationalist government to Taiwan in 1949 at the age of 71.

Devoting his life to serving the people in government office, Yu Youren’s fervent study of calligraphy is immediately apparent, for his works continue to be admired for their simple yet direct beauty. He was well known for his cursive script calligraphy and for his achievement, he was known as Comtempory Sage of Cursive Script. He left behind many works, most of which are in the form of scrolls. Of increasing attention are other works of his that were carved into stone, mostly found at Pamir Culture Park on Five Finger Mountain (Wuzhishan) in the suburbs of Taipei. In addition, Yu Youren did title plaques for a number of organizations, ranging public and private organizations to temples, clinics, and even shops.

Yu Youren also was well known for his effort in creating and promoting the Standardised Cursive Script. In 1932, he set up the Society of Standardised Cursive Script in Shanghai. In his study and research on Standardised Cursive Script, he followed strictly the principles that it must be easy to read and easy to write, the writing must be accurate and that its form must be bueatiful. The finalized result of his research was published in a book entiled ‘The Thousand Characters Essay in Standardised Cursive Script’ (first published by the Shanghai Wenzheng Publishing House in 1936), whose influence on comtemporary calligraphy is far-fetched. This book is still in print today.
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于右任（1879 -1964）是当代政治家与书法家。他出生于陕西省三元县的河道巷。他一生努力于推翻满清政府与建立中华民国。国民党在中国大陆败给共产党后，他随着国民政府到台湾，当时已经 71 岁。

在国民政府中为人民服务的同时，于右任热心于书法的学习是相当明显的，而他的书法以简朴与优美而为人所仰慕。他精于草书，而在这方面的成就使他被称为‘当代草圣’。于右任一生留下的书法创作非常丰富，其中主要以墨迹卷轴居多。此外，石刻的作品近年来亦颇受瞩目，它主要集中在台北近郊位于五指山西侧的帕米尔文化公园内。同时，于右任也曾为许多公私单位、庙宇、诊所、商店等题字。

于右任亦以创造与推广‘标准草书’而闻名于世。于右任1932年在上海创办标准草书社，以易识、易写、准确、美丽为原则，整理、研究与推广草书，整理成系统的草书代表符号，集字编成《标准草书千字文》（1936年由上海文正楷印书局初版），影响深远，至今仍在重印。

The Theory of Writing Chinese Calligraphy (1) 书法创作论（一）

The following is the article which was delivered at a lecture held at the Teochew Poit Ip Huay Kuan on 24 April 2011, by Mr Su Demao. It gives an overview on factors and things to be considered in writing Chinese calligraphy.

以下是苏德茂老师于2001年4月24日在潮州八邑会馆的书法讲座所发表的讲稿。

---- 决定一次创作的优劣的因素

决定一次书法创作的优劣因素有哪些，孙过庭曾全面的有所考虑。他在《书谱》中写道：

“又一时而书有乖有合，合则流媚，乖则雕疏。略言其由，各有其五，

神怡务闲，一合也；感惠绚知，二合也；时和气润，三合也；纸墨相发，四合也；偶然欲书，五合也。

心遽体留，一乖也；意违势屈，二乖也；风燥日炎，三乖也；纸墨不称，四乖也；情怠手阑，五乖也。

乖合之际，优略互差。得时不如得器，得器不如得志。若五乖同萃，思遏手蒙；五合交臻，神融笔畅。畅无不适，蒙无所从。”

适合创作的因素（条件）具备时，写出的作品总能达到或略高于作者的通常水平；在理想状态下，如有适当的创作题材、适宜的书写动机、良好的创作环境，且书写的当儿，有良好的心境，能全身心的投入，而能触发创作灵感或将出现优秀作品。

神怡务闲，即精神快乐、情绪放松。神怡务闲，亦即心意闲淡，神情愉悦，没有负担的意思。

黄庭坚跋苏轼《宝月塔铭》：“塔铭小字，如季海（唐·徐浩）得意时书。书字虽工拙在人，要须年高手硬，心意闲淡，乃入微耳。”

郑逸梅随笔中曾记载有：清道人李瑞清的一段话，他说他忙于书写，手、唇都是墨，衣袖也变墨的了，为客作书，“客人索书如索债”，忙于奔命，哪里会有好的作品传留。蔡邕《笔论》（传）：“若迫于事，虽中山兔毫不能佳也。”

神怡务闲，方能做到“虚静”，唯此方能扫除杂念，保持心境虚阔、宁静专一，情思净化。此即刘勰《文心雕龙·神思》所讲文学创作的构思的前提：“是以陶钧文思，贵在虚静，疏瀹五藏，澡雪精神”。

再者，神怡务闲，书家亦须有良好宽敞的创作环境。

黄庭坚说：“余寓居开元寺之怡思堂，坐见江山，毎于此中作草，似得江山之助。”

王铎在书一件作品中，跋语中写道：“书时，二稚子戏于前，饥啼声乱，遂落龙、形、万、壑等字，亦可噱也。书画事，须深山中，松涛云影中挥洒，乃为愉快，安可得乎？”王铎为礼部尚书，东阁大学士，尚且如此。

如今中国人富裕起来了，大部书家都有良好的创作环境，已与昔时不可同日而语了。

特别，今日书法趋于大幅以适应展厅的需求，创作空间必尽可能的大，还有有花木馨香、沐浴、空调、品茶、熏香、音乐的伴奏、观赏古今名作等等。这些或者可能激发情思产生佳作吧。

感惠绚知，指的是为知己而创作。这确是值得重视的状况。

齐白石为陆俨少治印有60余方，怀着“知已有恩”的心态。傅抱石为郭沫若作了不少传世精典。古代苏东坡自己记录下一个故事：“余在黄州，大醉中作此词，小儿辈藏去稿，醒后不复见也。前夜与黄鲁直、张文潜、晁无咎夜坐。三客翻倒几案，搜索箧笥，偶得之，字半不可读，以意寻究，乃得其全。文潜喜甚，手录一本遗余，持元本去。明日得王晋卿书，云：“吾日夕购子书不厌，近又以三缣博两纸。子有近书，当稍以遗我，毋多费我绢也。”乃用澄心堂纸、李承晏墨书此遗之。”（《苏轼文集》）

“偶然欲书”实为在强烈的创作欲望指使下的一种活动。

张贤齐《洛阳缙绅旧闻记》曾记杨凝式於僧院壁题书的故事：“院僧有少师未留题咏处，必先粉饰其壁，洁其下，俟其至。若入院，见壁上光洁可爱，即箕踞顾视，似若发狂，引笔挥洒，且吟且书，笔与神会，书其壁尽方罢，略无倦怠之色。”

偶然欲书通常具有一定的创作灵感。此时宜紧紧抓住这一良好的时机，万勿错过。机不可失也。

另外，酒的微妙作用，亦为书法创作中的一个生动的元素。

最著名的是张旭的故事。《新唐书·艺文志》：“旭，苏州人，嗜酒，每大醉，呼叫狂走，乃下笔，或以头濡墨而书，既醒，自视以为神，世号张颠。”

杜甫饮中八仙歇：“张旭三杯草圣传，脱帽露顶王公前，挥毫落纸如云烟。”

苏轼说：“吾醉后能作大草，醒后自以为不及。”惜苏轼只有一件草书作品传世。

黄庭坚为作书有跋语云，“元符三年二月己酉夜，沐浴罢，连饮数杯，为成都李致尧作行草，耳热眼花，忽然龙蛇入笔，学书四十年，今名所谓鳌山悟道书也。”

祝允明亦云：“乘酒漫为书之”、“小值杯酒，谈笑久之，不觉至醉，应书旧作”。

那种为醺的感觉正是酒带给人们最常见的兴奋且不妨碍行动的状态，或许神品亦在此时产生也？傅抱石在其优秀作品上常铃“往往醉后”可见端倪。

王铎在《草书杜甫诗跋》中有：“丙戌三月初五，夜二更，带酒，微醺不能醉，书于北都琅华馆。用张芝、柳、虞草法，拓而为大，非怀素恶札一路。观者谛辨之，勿忽。”或乃书家之自负者若此。

如上，是书家创作当儿的情景。但书家在创作前的准备，即对所将要产生的作品的设想并没有涉及。这种构思或称设计、布置对其作品将起成败的决定作用。

布置的第一步是预设字形。王羲之《笔势论》（传）“夫欲写书之法，先乾研墨，凝神静思，预想字形大小、偃仰、平直、振动，令筋脉相连，意在笔先，然后作字。”此预想字形，意在笔先的思想影响整个书法史。

关于意在笔先说，较为深刻的诠释在唐韩方明《授笔要说》中已经完成。他说：“夫欲书先当想，看所书一纸之中是何词句。言语多少，及纸色目，相称以何等书令与书体相合，或真或行或草，与纸相当。然意在笔前，笔居心后、皆须存用笔法，想有难书之字，预于心中布置，然后下笔，自然容与徘徊，意态雄逸。”

宋曹《书法约言》：“ 凡作书，要布置，要神采。布置本乎运心，神采生于运笔。”

这种预想为全面安排，为避免创作时匆忙，忽视而不及落实，须打小样。小样中，要尽可能体现诸多设想。古云：“凡事予则立，不予则废。”做事如此，书法创作亦如此。

对于作品的予想构思，哪一种艺术都是需要的。画画、篆刻、雕塑等等。

书法的特殊性使其对布置，具有更多的企盼。

文字书写是日常的。大量的操作，自由放任可以做到熟练，但对水平的提高全无保证。

其次，它一次性完成，如果不能准确地把握，成功率很低；

此外，随着人们对经典作品临习、研究的深入，创作前对作品的样式、效果都有所设想。

这些都注定了随着书写自觉意识的提高，布置必然会成为书写中广泛运用的手段。

弘一法师，由于学西画的影响，立足于现代观念将布置与传统相结合，精心安排处理结构、协调章法，使其作品匀称、宁静；他说：“朽人写字时，皆依西洋画图案之原则，竭力配置调和全纸面之形状。于常人所注意之字画笔法、笔力、结构、神韵，乃至某碑、某帖、某派，皆一致摒除，决不用心揣摩。故朽人所写之字，应作一张图案画观之，斯可矣。不惟写字，刻印亦然。”（林子青《漫谈弘一法师的书法》）这种观念，我们应该有所借鉴。

中国有一青年才俊，一年内自云除临帖外只创作一件作品，就是反反复复调整自己的构思与设计，使之完整。（见邱振中召集青年书法家兰亭论坛文集）。在中国为参加一次国展，一件作品反复书写毫去一刀纸是司空见惯的事。我的一个朋友为国手，全国展多次得奖，为参加一次展览准备3、4个月，为拿出一件作品，也竞写20余次！

“布置”或者说“构思”，看来与“自然”，“天真烂漫”互相冲突，其实不然。矛盾也许永远有在，但解决的方法就是：变知识为习惯，变习惯为本能，便可以在某种程度上回到无意识的状态。

真正的进入创作要自由，但最成熟的书家也讲布置。

我们既然明白了“无乖五合”说，在书法创作中，就要充分利用和创造“五合”，而避免和改造“五乖”，使创作呈现最好状态。

好的作品的产生，通常绝非一蹴而就的。既然有充分的创作前准备，在创作期间，也要有不断的调正、改进过程。下面，将我的另一次讲稿“如果完善创作”附于此，作本次讲演的结束。

书法创作作品第一稿已经产生，接着如何去不断完善、改进？

一：所写的内容是否有错字。

此点很重要。查对是1。个人写错，2。原资料印错。

所依据原资料将字印错，是常有的事。查对中去查可信的版本。一般地说中国上海古籍出版社和文物出版社的版本可信程度高。

二：繁简体的混淆。

汉字简化为普及文化有意义，但简化却破坏了汉字造字的科学体系，而造成了混乱，为继承中华文化传统带来了不少麻烦。如今电脑的繁简互化功能的不完善，又产生不必要的错误。

书法中汉字的写法，篆、隶、真、章、草的书写，可以说经已过千、百年的筛选，符合审美的需要。为适合艺术创造的载体，原则上要继承。当然也不反对创造，如个别的草法，等等。

通用繁体字为书法创作中的首选。

三：不断地完善、改进与调整。

1. 大小
2.  结字正、倚
3. 曲直
4. 正侧（中锋与侧锋的使用）
5. 夸张与含蓄，伸与缩
6. 用笔的方、圆
7. 笔画的粗细：用笔的重按与轻提
8.  草书中的虚实：实连与虚连（牵丝）
9.  字间、行间的距离与错落
10. 断连
11.  疏密
12. 字脚齐平与错落
13. 隔行不断
14.  主字与主笔
15. 重复字写法的变异
16. 结体调整、字形的变化：移位、夸张与含蓄、伸与缩
17. 规范化：如写甲骨文、金文、篆、隶、草书，力求规范，避免杜撰。
18.  黑白     墨色和谐：浓淡枯润，涨墨与枯涩、飞白
19. 章法的完美自然：字、行、行间布白、款、印的合理、整幅作品黑、白块面的视觉效应等等。

苏德茂

2011.4.24

于潮州八邑会馆讲过

Bamboo and Wood Slips 竹简与木简

The small-seal script is said to be the first standardised Chinese writing. It also represents the last stage of old Chinese writing. A new writing script known as the clerical script began to change into the standard script (kaishu) during the latter part of the Han dynasty, and in that form became dominant with the advent of printing technology in the late Tang and early Song dynasties.

The early form of clerical script was written on bamboo and wood slips, which are called jian in Chinese, the earliest form of books in China.

The practice of writing on these slips began probably during the Shang Dynasty (l6th -l1th century BC) and lasted till the Eastern Han (AD 25-220), extending over a period of 1,600 -1,700 years.

The Records of the Grand Historian, the first monumental general history written by the great historian Sima Qian(145 or 135 BC – 86 BC), consisting of 520,000 characters in 130 chapters and covering a period of 3,000 years from the legendary Yellow Emperor to Emperor Wudi of the Han, was written on bamboo slips. So were other well-known works of ancient China, including the Book of Songs (the earliest Chinese anthology of poems and songs from 11th century to about 600 B. C.) and Jiuzhang Suanshu (Mathematics in Nine Chapters completed in the 1^st century AD., the earliest book on mathematics in China).

Excavations in 1972 in an ancient tomb of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC – AD 25) at Yinque Mountain, Linyi, a Shandong Province, brought to light 4,924 bamboo slips. They turned out to be hand-written, though incomplete, copies of two of China's earliest books on military strategy and tactics: The Art of War by Sun Zi and The Art of War by Sun Bin. The latter had been missing for at least 1,400 years.

Heavy and clumsy as they were, the ancient books of bamboo and wood played an important part in the dissemination of knowledges in various fields.
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小篆可以说是最早的标准化中文书写系统。它也是古文的最后发展阶段。一种新的隶书字体开始演变，大概在汉朝后期形成楷书。随着印刷技术在后唐初宋期的应用，楷书一直是汉字的主要字体。

最早的隶书字形是书写在竹简与木简上的。这些‘简’就是中国最早的书籍纸张。

以简来书写的习惯可能可以追溯到商朝（公元前16至11世纪）直到汉朝初期（25-220年），共计大约一千七百到八百年的时期。

伟大史学家司马迁所写的52万字与130章的《史记》，中国第一部由神话中的黄帝写到汉朝的武帝的不朽通史，就是写在竹简上的。其他有名的古籍，例如《诗经》（中国最早诗集，收集了公元前11世纪到大约公元600年的诗歌）与《九章算术》（大约写于公元前1世纪，全书有九章，是中国最早的一本数学书本）也是写在‘简’上面的。

1972年在山东临沂银雀山考古挖掘的古汉墓中发现了4924个竹简。这些竹简，虽然不完整，原来是用手书写的两本中国最古老的军事战略与策略书《孙子兵法》和《孙膑兵法》竹简。《孙膑兵法》已经失传了最少1400年。

这些‘简’书虽然很笨重，但是在古代传播不同邻域的知识中，却扮演了重要的角色。