Dai Xiaojing
2024-08-28 16:20:48艺术家提供
Preface
I came for planting flowers, When I was about to leave, they had yet to bloom. There is no doubt they have awesome colours, They are waiting for late-comers to enjoy.
Master Hongyi lodged in Jingfeng Temple in 1935. He planted a lot of chrysanthemum which filled the plot. When he was about to leave in late autumn, the flowers had yet to bloom. The master spoke impromptu the above poem. It seemed to talk about planting chrysanthemum, but actually had deeper meanings inside. Now a renowned master, people cherish his words and calligraphic works. But not many people could make a thorough inquiry into what he was pursuing, and even fewer could devote to the same ideal.
Master Hongyi was indifferent to fame and wealth after becoming a monk. His practice of arts was unintentional. Achieving greatness because of the lack of intentional pursuit for greatness, and that is the reason he is admired by the world.
Chinese society was agitated in the first half of the 20th century, brewing changes in political, economic, and cultural fields. The strong vitality in literature and arts was fully aroused, and masters emerged in great numbers like shining stars. Master Hongyi was one of the most talented artists during this period, with outstanding style and achievements. Among all art forms at which he shone, calligraphy was the one that accompanied his whole life and the one bepraised the most. His calligraphic style mirrored his legendary life: ever changing, at times with extreme splendor, homing to simplicity.
Master Hongyi has an impressive pedigree. His father Li Xiaolou was a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations of Qing Dynasty who passed the same examination with Li Hongzhang [a leading Chinese statesman of the 19th century]. Master Hongyi was educated by the family during his childhood. He grasped Chinese classical learning very well. Meanwhile he worried about his country deeply living in the late Qing Dynasty. His song Farewell and poem Parting Homeland showed his talent of literature and his grief for the era. His seal Kang Youwei Is My Teacher indicated his artistic orientation. In his early years, he devoted himself to studying the Inscriptions on the Drum-shaped Stone, Tablet of Zhang Qian, Zhang Heinü’s Epitaph, Tablet of Zhang Menglong, Cuan Baozi’s Epitaph, and inscriptions of northern Wei (368-534), such as Longmen Twenty Calligraphic Gems. He was particularly diligent in Tablet of God’s Prophecy. Because of his keen perception of arts, all his copies were appealing both in form and spirit. Such achievements not only benefited from his natural talent, but also his wide field of vision and the ability to integrate various art forms. Ahead of his time, he turned to the western world after he mastered profound knowledge of traditional Chinese culture, yearning to discover and study western literature and arts. He was the pioneer educator who introduced the western painting and music to China for the first time, a commendable stimulus for the aging and lethargic China of that time. The strict requirements on modeling of sketch in western painting elevated Master Hongyi's observance and expressiveness to a level unfathomable for normal calligraphers. Before Master Hongyi became a monk in 1918, his calligraphy had already reached a very high level, strong, magnificent, and refreshing.
Before his ordination, Hongyi had an obvious artistic ambition to form his own calligraphic style. While as a monk—“education in art follows that of the artist”—, calligraphy progressively became a means to promote Buddhism on his journey to cultivate his mind. His work, which used to be very explicit, showing off talents and edges, turned more implicit. He brushed calmly and rigorously from the beginning of each stroke to the very end. No longer striving for the originality and the lack of confinement in the external form, but to show the internal peace of practicing Buddhism, his structures were dignified and looked like a deity. The change of calligraphy style from the external to the internal was due to the enlightenment of Master Yinguang. During his early years as a monastic, Hongyi’s calligraphy still revealed the style of the Six Dynasties. He was copying the Buddhist scriptures for Master Yinguang in Putuo Mountain at that time, who once replied in correspondence, “Copying Buddhist scriptures is different from calligraphy practice. The latter focuses on the spirit, and neatness is not the purpose. But the former should use a formal font and be very strict in every detail, such as a candidate in the imperial examination. The handwriting of your correspondence can absolutely not be used.” Hongyi changed his habit gradually since then, getting rid of Six Dynasties’ style and restraining the edges. Master Yinguang corresponded later: “I received your letter. Your handwriting is very neat. You can copy Buddhist scriptures like this. . . . People nowadays copy Buddhist scriptures arbitrarily and carelessly. Their purpose is not to copy Buddhist scriptures, but to practise their calligraphy and hand down their handwriting through the ages.” Hongyi kept the words in mind and wanted to be a disciple of Master Yinguang. Master Yinguang taught him to concentrate on chanting the name of Buddha. Later Hongyi visited Master Yinguang formally several times and respected him as a teacher. Hongyi had tried to copy scriptures using his own blood as ink, making great progress, yet with his health suffering badly at the same time. He did not stop such practice until dissuaded by Master Yinguang. Hongyi once said, “We can’t match Master’s noble characters.” It indicated that the enlightenment of Master Yinguang was crucial to Hongyi’s Buddhist practice. In his later years, the spacing of Hongyi’s characters became wider, the lines finer and the style more relaxed, different from all existing styles. His calligraphy detached from daily life and became plain and innocent, without any trace of artificiality. At this level, his art transcended calligraphy, joy, savor, and all rules. He himself and calligraphy are highly unified. This was no longer calligraphy in its common sense, but the external trace of an eminent monk’s cultivation of his inner self, and a revelation that everything in the world is the manifestation of the Dharma.
Therefore, if people discuss Hongyi’s calligraphy from the perspective of calligraphy, or discuss his conversion to Buddhism from the perspective of his Buddhist practice, they "set their goal on a superficial phenomenon, what seems an inch's distance away from it actually separates them from the truth by thousand miles". In the last several decades many people studied Hongyi, but few discussed the causality of his transformation from a secular person who loved his country to a Buddhist monk who prayed to relieve all sentient beings from suffering. Similarly, many people who study art creation and evolution take Hongyi as an example, but they couldn’t explain the real reason of the transformation of his calligraphy. Limited by the external appearance, they could not discuss this kind of phenomenon. It is virtually impossible for anyone without deep Buddha-nature and roots of virtuousness (kuśala-mūla) to see the profound significance of how Hongyi promoted Buddhism with his deeds and calligraphy, and how he enlightened the world. Only a practitioner who explores and inherits his spirit at this higher level can be the true owner of the spirit of Master Hongyi’s calligraphy and the true enlightened being of his profound Buddhism.
Very fortunately, we met a descendant of Hongyi—the Master’s second generation disciple—Master Yixin.
Master Yixin has a Buddhism pedigree. His granduncle was a devout Buddhist and became a monk later. His grandma was a vegetarian for religious reasons and worshiped Buddhas at home. His mom was a vegetarian as well and chanted Buddha’s name due to the influence by the two relatives. Afterwards his sister became a nun, too. The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha are the Three Jewels of Buddhism. The fact that there was a sangha jewel in the family, it must have been the result of generations of charitable and pious deeds. Coming from this kind of family, Master Yixin can be said to have an extraordinary and unique relationship with Buddhism. He couldn’t help yearning when he heard Master Hongyi’s Farewell in school during his childhood. His sister often mailed Buddhist Classics to him, including a book named Master Hongyi’s Biography, from which Yixin got his initial understanding of the Master’s lifelong merits and virtues. He was delighted when he saw the Master’s calligraphy in the biography, and thus had his whole career determined by it. When he was 19 years old, Yixin followed two direct disciples of Hongyi, i.e., Master Yuanzhuo and Master Miaolian in Quanzhou. In his practice, Yixin studied Master Hongyi deeply and admired his superb attainments in arts, Confucianism, and Buddhism. Calligraphy occupied an extremely important position in Master Hongyi’s practice and promotion of Buddhism. It was also a never-stopping undertaking through Master’s whole life, with extraordinary value and energy. Yixin thus vowed to accomplish his own practice by studying and promoting Master’s calligraphy.
Yixin studies Master Hongyi comprehensively. He learns about the life of the Master, comprehends Buddhism, explores the aesthetics of arts, and sorts out and copies Master’s styles in various periods to explore the profound meaning inside. Having accumulated years of deep studies, all his copies of the Master’s works are appealing both in form and spirit. Comparing Yixin’s work and Master Hongyi’s, it is difficult to distinguish between the original and the imitation. Nobody who studies the Hongyi-style calligraphy can surpass Yixin nowadays. As the saying goes, calligraphy reflects the calligrapher. It is difficult to get the essence of calligraphy by only pursuing its external form. One must start with an understanding of the original artist as a person, followed by a detailed study and appreciation of the artwork, and through an enlightened soul gradually approach the state and rhythm of the artist when the artwork was created. That is the only way to proceed from mere formal similarity to true spiritual unity. As Sun Guoting commented in A Narrative on Calligraphy: People only see the beauty of success, and fail to understand the reason for it. This is a common problem for the ordinary. To find out the “reason” is the key point. What is the “reason”? Many people often “describe the external appearance and confuse the internal reason”. “Heart is the reason". We can only see the reason clearly by going straight to ultimate source and avoiding all distractions out of our heart. Throughout his process to learn from Master Hongyi, Yixin was experiencing with his heart, and that is exactly what the ordinary people can’t do.
“The most universal has to be the simplest.” The grandest and most profound things often show the most common appearance, abandoning tangible skills, and entering a plain and simple state. Master Hongyi’s calligraphy is plain and innocent in his later years, resonating the rhythm of life in a tranquil silence. Master Yixin intentionally promotes Master Hongyi’s calligraphy and Buddhism, but has no intention to spread his own fame. Seemingly unintentionally, his almost ethereal temperament naturally seeps through his work, which in turn gathered him more and more fame day by day. Someone once suggested that he could break away from the Master’s style and create his own, since the value of art lies in originality, and to form one’s unique style is the highest goal of any artist. However, having experienced Buddhist education, Master Yixin did not waver and has always been sticking to his original intention. He once said that 50 years after Master Hongyi's passing, he saw a couplet written by the Master for old Master Zhuanying “mainstay of Southern Fujian, fortified city of Dharma”. It had left such a deep impression on Yixin from then on, that he was always dreaming of it. 30 years later he wrote the couplet from memory and it was exactly like the original. The predetermined binding force is miraculous. Had it not been for such a bonding, he could not have possibly done it. He thus always reminded himself to protect and cherish his consciousness. In his belief, his very mission is to pass down the Hongyi-style calligraphy: Insight and attainment are not separate self-entities. Whoever can see this no longer needs anything to attain. It best demonstrated life’s calmness, the kind of freedom from happiness or grief. All the fame and benefits would have been fetters had he pursued them purposely. Thus he buried himself in practicing calligraphy for ten years and wore out ten thousand brushes. Currently less than 50 years old, with one eye almost blind and the cervical spine deformed, Yixin doesn’t stop.
Yixin’s cultivation is pure and sincere and his determination is solid and deep. In 2010 an exhibition “Ink Traces Permeated with the Fragrance of Master’s Spirit” was held in the Shanghai Art Museum. In 2017 another exhibition “Manifesting the Path through Calligraphy” was held in the Long Museum in the West Bund, Shanghai. Both were dedicated to promoting Master Hongyi’s calligraphy and Buddhist wisdom. The former traced the inheritance passing from Master Hongyi to Yixin and showed Yixin’s individual mission from the perspective of calligraphy art. The latter demonstrated the vast and subtle realm of Buddhist world with calligraphy that gave calligraphy higher and farther meanings. The exhibition “Encountering Master” melds calligraphy and insight into humanity’s original essence as one. What we enjoy is Master Yixin’s calligraphy, and spiritual manifestation is both what Master Hongyi had and what descendants of Hongyi showed when they promoted Buddhist wisdom, and what we encounter eventually are our “true reality” in our heart which participates in it.
Through the exhibition of “Hongyi-style” calligraphy, Master Yixin shows not only his own practice journey into the inner world of Master Hongyi, but also “the worldly Dharma” to guide the public in the chaotic world to search their own original self. His merits cannot be covered by literary heritage.
On the way to learn Master Hongyi, everyone will meet himself, and everyone is a descendant of Hongyi.
Dai Xiaojing at Three Happiness Room, Shanghai in the cold month of Geng-Zi Year
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