| Dong Qichang,an influential Chinese calligrapher and painter of the Ming Dynasty.That,together with his great vision and consciousness of theoretical development,brought him remarkable achievements in painting,calligraphy and theory.As a connoisseur in the field of calligraphy,Dong tried his best to revitalize the Yunjian Calligraphy Genre during the turbulent period of the late Ming Dynasty(1573-1644)and was well-known in China,especially around the Songjiang region(today’s Shanghai).After his death,Dong Qichang’s calligraphic style was still popular during the Qing Dynasty(1636-1912)and deeply loved by Emperor Kangxi,firmly dominating the calligraphy field.His influence has declined since the reign of Emperor Qianlong.Overall,Dong continued to exert his influence on the field.The reason why Dong Qichang was appreciated in the Qing Dynasty and further influenced the calligraphic style for over a hundred years lies in the Emperor Kangxi’s appreciation for Dong.On the one hand,Dong’s style adapted to the traditional Confucian aesthetic standard of the upper rulers.His elegant and simple calligraphic art was popular in the late Ming Period and then it has been admired for hundreds of years.It is roughly because his calligraphy has met the mentality of traditional Chinese scholars-the Doctrine of the Mean,which is the main vein of traditional Chinese calligraphy.The gentle and composed style is widely applicable to imperial examinations and daily writings.On the one hand,Emperor Kangxi’s appreciation of Dong was a necessity for his political rule.Dong Qichang,a high-ranking official in the Ming Dynasty,had a wide influence in the calligraphy and painting.He was a model and leader of the literati class,especially among the literati in the southern Yangtze area.Therefore,promoting Dong Qichang was significant in gaining cultural recognition from the Ming dynasty’s adherents.Kangxi’s appreciation of Dong,along with his actions such as selecting scholars,six visits to the southern Yangtze area,and paying respects to Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang’s tomb(the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty),was all aimed at appeasing the old and young adherents of the Ming Dynasty and consolidating his rule.After Emperor Kangxi was in power,he learnt calligraphy from Shen Quan who was a disciple of Dong Qichang,in order to create his "gentle" image,attached great importance to literature and calligraphy,and strengthened his study of calligraphy.As a result,Kangxi’s appreciation of Dong was also influenced by Shen.Not only did Kangxi learn from Shen Quan,but also from various famous masters of the Tang and Song dynasties,forming a dignified and elegant style.However,due to his imperial status,he was busy in official affairs.Consequently,his calligraphy could not reach the level of Dong Qichang.However,Kangxi’s appreciation of Dong greatly influenced the calligraphy field at that time,and the study of Dong’s calligraphic style was popular throughout the country.His style became the official standard at that time.Kangxi highly praised Dong Qichang,studied his calligraphic style,and frequently rewarded his courtiers with his calligraphy works,or bestowed the works on foreign envoys.Calligraphy played a political role in improving the relations between monarchs and subjects.The emperor’s love for calligraphy led to the formation of love-and-practice-calligraphy culture among scholars from top to bottom.Kangxi’s appreciation of Dong Qichang facilitated the imitation of Dong Qichang from the officials,but due to the difficulty in grasping his calligraphic style,it gradually became rigid and spiritless after the mid Qing Dynasty.Evaluating Dong Qichang’s calligraphy from the sequence of history development,objectively examining and analyzing the effects and factors behind Kangxi’s appreciation of Dong’s calligraphic style to restore the exact role of Dong Qichang’s calligraphy will provide a new perspective for studying the history of calligraphy. |
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