Kaleidoscopic, Two Landscape

Bao Shichen and Kang Youwei were both renowned theorists on calligraphic arts in Qing Dynasty. Bao Shichen experienced four emperors of Qian, Jia, Dao and Xian in his life, so the thoughts and culture evolving with the degradation of Qing Dynasty left a brand on him. As a calligraphic master, what about his thoughts on the calligraphic science under such a circumstance? Kang Youwei lived a time more turbulent than ever. The intrusion of western powers exacerbated the internal troubles. With the impact of various foreign thoughts and cultures and under the condition that the traditional Confucius culture was questioned or weakened, how Kang Youwei conceived of the traditional calligraphic artists?Calligraphy is a core traditional Chinese culture. During its development process for thousands of year, calligraphy experiences ups and downs with the social change, so it exhibited different characteristics of time. So, in that socially and politically turbulent Qing Dynasty, what characteristics the calligraphic art assumes in that era when the foreign thoughts and cultures rushed in? As a culture, how the calligraphic art responds to the engagement between Chinese and western cultures? As an art, what potential it develops while following its own development rule?Both Bao Shichen and Kang Youwei have a strong political awareness and ambition. They both attracted the eye of the world in their time. They received praises but also derogations. This paper takes them as a case to study the thoughts of calligraphic art in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, so as to explore the value and significance of inscribed calligraphic art and identify the change of calligraphic thoughts during that period.Their calligraphic thoughts basically belong to the scope of inscribed calligraphic art. They advocate the inscribed calligraphic art, but what about the differences in their insights in the ink calligraphic art which has been prevalent for thousands of years? And what about the differences in their insights in the inscribed calligraphic art? Bao and Kang's thoughts in calligraphic art are mainly embodied in Essays on Poetics and Calligraphic Art and Further Thoughts on Calligraphic Art. Firstly, this paper will respectively explore the source of their calligraphic thoughts, review their calligraphic thoughts from a macro and historic view, and depict an objective framework for their thoughts. Secondly, this paper will place the above two works together to compare their merits and shortcomings. Thirdly, this paper will discuss the relationship between the two works during the time span of nearly 100 years—inheritance, innovation, or both?Finally, through the comparative study on the two works, this paper delves into their respective role in the calligraphic history of Qing Dynasty, explores the evolution of the calligraphic thoughts in Qing Dynasty and then comprehensively discusses the value and significance of the thoughts of inscribed calligraphic art in the calligraphic history.