news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

Qi Gong and Shu Tong are both great masters of Chinese calligraphy. They are also the first and second presidents of the Chinese Calligraphers Association. They are extremely influential in the public's hearts!

The different backgrounds of Shu Tong and Qi Gong, as well as the differences in their times and eras, led to huge differences in the form and content of their calligraphy;

The works of Mr. Shu Tong and Mr. Qi Gong have their own strengths and weaknesses in terms of both content and form. This article will explain them one by one, so as to deepen your understanding of their calligraphy.

1. Shu Tong's calligraphy

Shu Tong has a unique historical position and social background in Chinese literary circles: first, his military life; second, he was a Red Army soldier tempered in the flames of war; and third, he was "a pen of the Party" and a "Red Army calligrapher."

Because of the different experiences, the content of the calligraphy also reflects the distinct characteristics of the times. Most of them are Chairman Mao’s poems, which express the war situation and revolutionary optimism at the time and play an inspiring role.

Shu Tong's calligraphy is called "standard font" in many media and publications. His calligraphy inherited the styles of Yan Zhenqing and He Shaoji, especially the transformation of Yan's style, making the original rigorous Yan style vivid.

His characters are square and round, mostly with round strokes, which appear simple and cute, giving people a sense of intimacy, so people call his calligraphy "Shu Tong style".

Mr. Shu Tong's handwriting is very vivid, stroke by stroke. Because his strokes are round, people laugh and say his handwriting looks like a circle.

This unique style makes it easy to recognize at a glance that this is Shu Tong's calligraphy!

The biggest feature of "Shu Tong style" is that it is winding, like a vine climbing a tree. However, in terms of content, most of it is Chairman Mao's poems. As an old Red Army soldier, he survived the war, so it is normal for him to write such a story!

Shu Tong fought side by side with Chairman Mao, both during the war and after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Chairman Mao was his colleague. Chairman Mao highly praised Shu Tong's calligraphy, calling him "the Party's pen" and "a calligrapher on horseback". Shu Tong respected and loved Chairman Mao even more, so he also wrote Chairman Mao's poems in his own calligraphy.

However, no matter how much experience a calligrapher has, his works inevitably have their limitations. And Shu Tong's calligraphy is relatively simple.

Many of his poems are about Chairman Mao, and contain many slogans and inspirational things, but people like him are rare.

When Shu Tong served as president of the Chinese Calligraphy Association from 1981 to 1984, it was a time of reform and opening up, when literature and art flourished, and the people's thoughts and ideas began to change, gradually accepting new concepts and ideas.

As the first chairman of the Chinese Calligraphy Association, Shu Tong also had to keep up with the times, be innovative, and be more diverse and inclusive in his expression.

2. Qi Gong's calligraphy

Mr. Qi Gong was an outstanding scholar, calligrapher, painter, ancient prose writer, cultural relic appraiser, educator, and poet. His calligraphy works are always filled with the fragrance of books.

Qi Gong's status in the Chinese Calligraphers Association can be said to be comparable to that of Shu Tong, but his comprehensive talent in literature and writing is even better than Shu Tong. He is the only one among all the presidents of the Chinese Calligraphers Association who, like Guo Moruo, integrates various literary and artistic talents in one.

The common point between Qi Gong and Shu Tong is that their calligraphy has a big "signature". Qi Gong's calligraphy is recognized by everyone who has something to do with calligraphy.

Mr. Qi Gong's calligraphy is known as "Qi Gong style", and many people are imitating Qi Gong's calligraphy. For example, Han Ningning, a female calligrapher from Beijing, has become a woman who specializes in "Qi Gong style" and is known as "the female Qi Gong in Beijing"!

Qi Lao's calligraphy is thin and hard, with strong contrast between light and dark, which is one of his characteristics. So many people think that his calligraphy is written with a hard pen, especially bones!

It can be said that Qi Gong is a true calligrapher. Because he has high literary attainments in all aspects, his calligraphy is extraordinary. Qi Gong's calligraphy works, through his interaction with Japanese calligraphy, have become the favorite of Japanese calligraphy fans.

Calligraphy with high level and realm is often called "having the spirit of metal and stone" and "the spirit of books". Qi Lao's calligraphy has both the spirit of metal and stone and the fragrance of books. This is the aesthetic experience of the world for Qi's style.

Qi Gong's calligraphy, like jade, has flaws. His calligraphy has also been criticized because it is too hard and lacks much charm. Therefore, his calligraphy has become hard characters.

The word "Jin" in the photo doesn't look like it was written with a brush. It looks more like it was written with a pen, which shows that Mr. Qi has a strong control, but it cannot be denied that it was written with a pen.

Sometimes I think that Mr. Qi’s calligraphy is not written with a pen, but a pen similar to an eraser, which can be used to write. However, there is a special thing used for writing, that is, the brush.

For example, the character "景" above, the characteristics of its strokes and the turning of the pen tip do not have any characteristics of writing. Instead, it looks like a pen with an eraser tip.

3. Conclusion

Shu Tong and Qi Gong are two great treasures of Chinese calligraphy art today. They are brilliant but also flawed! Such "imperfection" looks like the so-called "perfection". This is just like life. There are flaws only when there are flaws. It is okay to have flaws. It leaves some space for later generations to make up for and improve. This is the true meaning of calligraphy!