Bi Yuan’s Calligraphy Thought Research

During the period of Qianlong and Jiaqing,under the guidance of the style of study,Bi Yuan had a strong interest in the inscriptions,and had been devoted to the visit,collection and research of the inscriptions in Shaanxi,Henan and other regions.He also sorted out the time,content and artistic style of the inscriptions in detail,and compiled the inscriptions in Guanzhong and Zhongzhou successively.As a scholar of Qianlong and Jiaqing dynasties,Bi Yuan’s book title is not obvious,and there is no related book theory published in the world.However,the calligraphy thought expressed in his works,as well as the influence and value of the thought are worthy of our in-depth study.Taking Bi Yuan’s calligraphy thought as the research object,this paper discusses the specific content of Bi Yuan’s calligraphy thought through literature research,field investigation,comparative analysis and other methods.Under the academic background of the prosperity of Qianjia’s epigraphy and Philology,his writing thought sprouted.Bi Yuan was good at making friends,making friends with friends,discussing and appreciating steles,at the same time,he played different roles in the formation and dissemination of his calligraphy thoughts.Under the catalysis of these external environments,Bi Yuan formed the evaluation criteria of "six books" on steles,historical research on steles,and worshipping steles by law.He attached great importance to the relationship between calligraphy and characters,so he took the "six characters" as the basis of measuring inscriptions.On this basis,from the perspective of the history of calligraphy and the actual situation of the inscriptions,this paper makes a historical textual research on the date of the inscriptions,the author of the elixirs and the authenticity of the inscriptions,and expounds the reason why the calligraphers do not show the title of the book.At the same time,his aesthetic tendency of stele inscriptions also has an impact on his view of law.In his early years,Bi Yuan advocated the calligraphy thought of "taking the best method"--calligraphy is Xixian.With the improvement of appreciation ability of inscriptions,the wide perspective of professional aesthetics and the sensitivity to inscriptions,he completed the transformation of the calligraphy thought from "calligraphy is Xixian" to "calligraphy is not as good as inscriptions".History has proved that Bi Yuan’s idea of "calligraphy is better than stele" in his later years conformed to the development of calligraphy history.His idea of stele played a leading role in the establishment of calligraphy stele in the middle and late Qing Dynasty,and had an important impact on Ruan Yuan,Qian Yong and other generations’ view of calligraphy.The author believes that through the study of Bi Yuan’s calligraphy thought,can understand the process of the transition from calligraphy to stele in the middle and late Qing Dynasty,and also reflect the contribution of Bi Yuan and other scholars in Qianjia period to excavate the value of stele history,art and calligraphy.At the same time,Bi Yuan’s thought of inscriptions had an important influence on the rise and formation of the theory of inscriptions in Qing Dynasty.It can be seen from the side that the shogunate calligraphers with him as the core played a role in promoting the revival of Zhuan and Li in the Qing Dynasty,as well as Bi Yuan’s calligraphy thought of "six characters" on the stele,which has practical significance for the writing standard in our contemporary calligraphy creation and calligraphy(Literature)education in Colleges and universities.