Chapter 640 "Yong Huai"
The place where the old man lives is also a small courtyard, but it is in the western suburbs, so it is still a bit far away by bicycle.
The old man’s wife left a few years ago, and the couple had a deep relationship. Since then, the old man has been single.
I heard that there were admirers who recommended themselves for pillow mats, but the old man refused as a joke, saying thank you for your sacrifice.
Of course, this happened after the old man’s calligraphy works caused a sensation when they were exhibited overseas, and the auction price was so high that one calligraphy could be exchanged for a building.
It's not an exaggeration, because the old man came back and donated the proceeds from the auction to the school, built a building, and established a scholarship.
In the Internet age, where everyone in later generations dares to question even the loudmouth king, Lao Tzu, the old man’s calligraphy once attracted a lot of criticism, saying that the changes were not enough and the law was too rigorous.
What’s even funnier is that a group of people say that the old man’s calligraphy does not pay attention to changes and does not conform to modern people’s aesthetics.
The other group of people said that the old man's calligraphy was too "kitsch" and that he had given up his proper "character" in order to please modern people's aesthetics.
The most ironic thing is that the old man himself is the honorary chairman of the Chinese Calligraphers Association, the president of Xiling Seal Society, the initiator and judge of the upcoming first national calligraphy competition.
The funniest thing is that the old man first came into contact with Chinese studies through painting. It was only because his teacher disliked that his childhood paintings lacked a "literary atmosphere" and were more like showman's work, so he began to study calligraphy diligently.
He was discouraged in the middle. It was the old lady who had been quietly putting away his homework, and at the critical moment, she took it out to him and said, look at what you wrote first and what you are writing now, there is still a big difference in progress. It's obvious.
This inspired the old man’s fighting spirit, continued to work hard, and finally became a great man.
As for those who criticize him, hehehe... the words written by him may not be acceptable to his family members.
Zhou Zhi gets along very well with people like the old man, because Mr. Wang, Mr. Gu, and his fourth cousin are actually the same kind of people.
Zhou Zhi dare not say that he is also this kind of person, but he admires and is close to this kind of people.
The old man does not limit himself by category or status at all. After hearing that Zhou Zhi was Gu Youwen's most recent disciple, he actually took out a book and asked Zhou Zhi for advice.
"Manuscript on Rhythm of Poetry" frightened Zhou Zhi to the point of being terrified.
No problem, Chinese painting and calligraphy have always been inseparable from poetry. The National Calligraphy Competition advocated by the old man later became the most authoritative competition for Chinese calligraphy. There is a special bonus item, which is encouragement. Among calligraphy works, he writes poems and articles by himself.
Therefore, the old man himself is also an expert in ancient prose, and he has always been good at poetry creation. He has two monographs on poetry, "A Theory of Rhythm in Poetry" and "Rhyme".
The old man's poetry style is also interesting. Most of his early works are excellent works in Zhou Zhi's opinion.
For example, "Jintai":
The leisure guests on Jintai are full of vines, and the orioles are spending their time every year. Therefore, the people in the garden are sparse and lonely, and the spring evening green in Pingwu is desolate. The crows are noisy on the ground, and the clouds and cranes are not roosting on the outside. I love Li Gongqiao Road the most. Huang Chen has not reached the west of Fengcheng.
This poem was written after the fall of the capital. The golden platform was left by King Zhao of the ancient Yan capital to seek scholars. It later became the name of Yanjing. The meaning of the first couplet is very clear, that is It means that things in the world are difficult to understand and cannot be understood clearly.
The two-part couplet arias about the desolation of BJ after the fall.
The three couplets are very ironic, implicitly satirizing the corrupt state affairs and the crows croaking, and the leader's image but unable to unite people's hearts. The last couplet refers to the Fu Jen University where he teaches near Li Gongqiao in the west of the city. It is a missionary school and has not yet been ruled by the Japanese invaders. It is the most gratifying thing to be able to temporarily escape the Japanese invaders' control when going to work every day.
The whole poem is extremely tortuous and implicit, it can be said to be dancing with shackles, and it can be regarded as a masterpiece that chants the fallen scenery and fallen life in despair.
When the old man reached the later stage, the style of his works completely changed.
For example, the old man drew up an epitaph for himself: middle school student, associate professor. If you are not good at reading, you will not be thorough in your expertise. Although the reputation is great, it is not enough. If you can't achieve high, you can't do low. Paralyzed and moved to the left, faction once moved to the right. The face is slightly round and the skin is not thick. His wife is dead and he has no descendants. The mourning is still new and the illness is still the same. Sixty-six means longevity.
This is the "vulgar" style promoted by the old man in his later years, but Zhou Zhi believes that this is not so much a "style" as a joke with ridicule and self-deprecation.
"Vulgarization" itself is indeed a style, especially when it is reflected in lyrics, and it is not easy.
Li Qingzhao, the leader of the graceful school in the Song Dynasty, is one of the best. Common sayings and colloquialisms come from Yi'an's poems, but they are surprisingly wonderful.
"Do you know whether you should be green, fat, red, and thin?" is a saying that has rarely been compared in five thousand years.
But the old man's "vulgarity" is obviously no longer in this category.
Many literati nowadays go out of their way to write papers and lick the old man, forcibly elevating the old man's game to the level of Li Qingzhao's "vulgarization".
Zhou Zhi is quite honest in this regard. Of course, he will not make blind compliments like those people. Instead, by discussing the rhythm of poetry with the old man, he made a tactful criticism of the old man, expressing that poetry is a medium for conveying intention. It can bring beauty and touch to people's hearts.
Mr. Qi didn’t argue with him. Instead, he patted Zhou Zhi on the shoulder cheerfully: "I know this. This is actually a problem I suffered from when I wrote a big newspaper."
It's very funny to say that the old man was decentralized back then, but he escaped disaster by relying on his good calligraphy. People everywhere asked him to write for big newspapers, and sometimes he was too busy and had to rewrite.
The reason is very simple, because the calligraphy is so beautiful, it was taken away as soon as it was posted.
Therefore, writing vulgar works that are full of the "smell of oil" is probably the root cause of his illness back then.
Zhou Zhi quickly comforted him: "Among Mr.'s poems about love, there is one that is a masterpiece that blends elegance and vulgarity with sincerity."
"Which one?"
Zhou Zhi chanted. : "The coins are pouring out, and there is no need to burn them if they are used by the widow. The family is used to worrying about a few meters away, but today they are tired of sharing money. The wine is drunk and the flowers are spent. Nong Xing is old, and there is no way to repay him. Who can make peace with the seven characters and pay them to a group of geese in the cold sky? "
This poem is one of the eighty-two poems of the old man, and the postscript in the collection is called. "Stuck up in the middle of the night, counting the money with the basket in my hands, feeling sad and creative" is a poem written with deep feeling in the middle of the night when I miss my deceased wife and can't sleep, and I get up bored and count the money.
Zhou Zhi believes that this poem is quite similar to the Tang Dynasty Yuan Zhen's "Three Poems for Sorrow and Wishfulness Part 1", and the writing style combines old and new, elegance and vulgarity are mixed, and the feelings are sincere. When it comes to "vulgarization", this poem can be regarded as a poem. The best work after "secularization".
"Poems to be recited to people, this one is different from the others..." The old man sighed, a little lonely, but turned around and smiled, patting Zhou Zhi on the shoulder again: "The same goes for the elbow. Those who know poetry, many people dare not mention it in front of us, but you can actually recite it"
(End of this chapter)