“Manifesting the Path through Calligraphy”

A few months ago, my friend brought me two books written by Yixin. These two books were Manifesting the Path through Calligraphy: Hongyi-style Calligraphy by Yixin and Yixin Calligraphy Works Collection. He also invited me to write reviews on Yixin’s new book Encountering Master, after reading it.

I know that, thirty years ago, Yixin went to the city of Quanzhou to study with Yuanzhuo and Miaolian, two masters who were disciples of (Buddhist) Master Hongyi. For three years, Yixin focused his studies on Master Hongyi’s ethics and manner of living. Yixin is a second generation disciple of Master Hongyi’s lineage. In addition to Buddhism, he has been studying Master Hongyi’s style of calligraphy for more than thirty years, including the period before and after Master Hongyi became a monk.

In 2010 and 2017, Yixin held two exhibitions on the Hongyi-style calligraphy in memory of Master Hongyi: one in the Shanghai Art Museum and one in the Long Museum in West Bund, Shanghai. The two exhibits were titled differently. One was called “Ink Traces Permeated with the Fragrance of Master’s Spirit” and one was called “Manifesting the Path through Calligraphy.” This is the reason why I have chosen to give my review its title.

I want to make my intention clear from the beginning. In this review, I am attempting to trace the inheritance passed from Master Hongyi to Yixin. I also want to illustrate that Yixin was profoundly influenced by Master Hongyi’s Buddha Dharma and wisdom. In other words, Yixin’s dual goals have been to develop and promote both Master Hongyi’s Buddha Dharma and his calligraphy.

Chinese characters have evolved over time through seven styles, originating from prior to the Qin dynasty period, including jiaguwen or the oracle bone script, Dazhuan or the large seal, Xiaozhuan or the small seal, Lishu or the official style, Caoshu or the grass or cursive script, Xingshu or the running script, and Kaishu or the regular script. As the styles evolved through the dynasties to be more practical to write, read, and teach, each style was strengthened by its own unique, artistic charm.

During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, due to the awakening of the individual consciousness of literati, the relationship between calligraphy and the humanistic culture that it expressed became more and more harmonious. In particular, with the emergence of many literati and exponents of calligraphy, such as Zhong Yao, Wang Xizhi, Wang Xianzhi, Suo Jing, Lu Ji, Xie An, and Wang Sengqian, the impact of calligraphy on the lyric arts was enhanced and promoted. As aesthetic demand advanced considerably during these times, a theory of calligraphy gradually formed and matured. Calligraphy became an independent and complete art system which led to the first peak in the history of Chinese calligraphy.

The great masters of calligraphy, such as Huaisu, Zhang Xu, Sun Guoting, Zhiyong, Yu Shinan, Chu Suiliang, Ouyang Xun, Yan Zhenqing, and Liu Gongquan emerged by the Tang Dynasty. Each of these masters immersed themselves in their own style, pushing the history of calligraphy to its second peak.

From the Song, Yuan, and Ming Dynasties onward, although literati had always led the development of calligraphy, the great evolution of calligraphy was constrained by  requirements for the imperial examinations and writing memorials to the throne, which prioritized practical application. As a result, there was an excessive pursuit of structure, rules, and regulations, and insufficient room for expressing the lyrical aspects of calligraphy; this gave rise to the “Guangeti” (the royal court style). Superficially, this conventional form standardized the pattern of calligraphy. But in fact, it shackled the calligraphers, who ought to have played an active role in giving their self-expression full play. As a model for calligraphy, “Tie” had been stiff and unchanged for thousands of years; it was inevitable that it caused aesthetic fatigue. By the middle period of the Qing Dynasty, Bao Shicheng was regarded, in his work Yizhoushuangji, as the originator who promoted the Stele study (bei) and suppressed the model calligraphy (tie); by the late Qing Dynasty, Kang Youwei advocated for the Bei style (tablets of the Northern Wei Dynasty) in his book “Guangyizhoushuangji.” After that, the Stele style (bei) prevailed.

Following the discovery and excavation of a large number of ancient statues, epitaphs, and cliff and tablet inscriptions, excitement grew among a new generation of calligraphers for a simple but powerful and utterly natural style of calligraphy.   These discoveries affirmed calligraphers’ pursuit of the more aesthetic “Jinshiwei” style [i.e., a symbol of hardness and strength of the inscriptions on the ancient bronze and stone tablets] at that time. Calligraphy students paused to wander and stroll through the discoveries, keen to devour the artistic nourishments which had accumulated for millennia. Many people were studying the Stele (bei) style. Numerous great calligraphy masters emerged, which gave birth to the third peak in the history of Chinese calligraphy.

In the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, there were two representatives of the Stele (bei) style, who were the most worthy of study.

The first one was Mr. Yu Youren. His attainment lay in the introduction of cursive script into the Stele style. His writing style not only retained the vigor and robustness of Weibei, but he also integrated Wang Xizhi’s free and easy style into his artistic practice, which had influenced other Chinese literati in the history of calligraphy for almost two thousand years. Lastly, he formed his own distinct style. Thus, he became a great master by carrying on tradition and opening up a new path for the younger generation to follow.

The other important calligrapher was Master Hongyi (Li Shutong), the lineage Yixin followed. Master Hongyi is the main calligrapher I want to talk about in this review.

Master Hongyi (Li Shutong) was almost omnipotent in all areas of art. He was the first overseas student specializing in Western music and painting. He was the first educator who introduced Western painting and music into China. Feng Zikai, Pan Tianshou, Liu Zhiping and so on were all his pupils. He was the founder of Chinese drama and created many other firsts in the history of Chinese literature and arts. Undoubtedly, Li Shutong made remarkable achievements in all the arts. It was also well-recognized that he made great contributions to Chinese modern art education.

In 1918, Li Shutong was ordained a Buddhist monk and named Master Hongyi. After becoming a monk, he gave up all artistic pursuits, but he continued practicing calligraphy for the rest of his life. People regarded his unprecedented calligraphy style as the “Hongyi style,” which he formed and promoted from the age of 50 until his death. The Hongyi-style calligraphy so innovatively combined various art forms that his technical difficulty has yet to be surpassed. His calligraphy illustrates a great depth and breadth of inspiration. The Hongyi-style calligraphy is of unprecedented and landmark significance; even when considered within the whole history of Chinese calligraphy, it is praiseworthy.

As a pioneer of the arts in the early Republic of China, Li Shitong was influenced by Kang Youwei. The main focus of Li Shitong’s calligraphy study was the Stele style, but he also studied the stone drums, the eave tiles, Zhuan in the Qin Dynasty, Li in the Han Dynasty, Weibei in the Wei Dynasty and Tie in the Jin Dynasty. His deepest and best efforts were applied to studying the epitaphs as well as the statues of the Northern Wei dynasty such as Zhang Menglong and Longmen Twenty Calligraphic Gems.

Mr. Ye Shengtao once said, “Master Hongyi has made painstaking efforts in calligraphy. I saw many pieces of paper that he had practiced on from Mr. Xia Mianzun. He imitated all kinds of Bei and Tie styles from calligraphy collections. Whatever calligraphy style he practiced, his writing looked like the original ones.” (Calligraphy of Master Hongyi by Ye Shengtao).

Mr. Xia Mianzun once also said, “Master Hongyi got up at the cockcrow and began practicing calligraphy. With a quick glance at the stone Stele, he was able to quickly write an almost identical text. Moreover, he studied various kinds of calligraphy styles. In particular, he devoted himself to Tianfashenchen, Zhang Menglong, and the statues in the dynasty of Wei and Qi.”

Yixin was interviewed by Calligraphy Daily in 2017. In that interview he said, “The works that Master Hongyi benefited the most from were the Zhang Menglong Tablets. In the early stage of his calligraphy practice, he learned a lot from the front of the Tablets. He also benefited from studying the back of the Tablets for five to six years prior to becoming a monk. He was able to follow the old styles while creating a fresh approach, thus forming his own characteristics. Because of his immense talent and profound foundation, by the time he was 25 years old, he was recognized as an eminent, great master.”

Li Shutong was ordained a monk in 1918. His Dharma name was Yanyin and his Buddhist name was Hongyi. From that time on, he diligently practiced the Buddhist precepts and asceticism. Seeing decadence running wild in Chinese society, he chose to practice the Nanshan Vinaya sect (Nanshan lyzong). Eventually, he was respectfully regarded as the 11th patriarch for revitalizing of Nanshan Lvzong in China. According to Master Hongyi’s teachers and friends, we know that he lived a very simple, frugal, peaceful, quiet, and clean life keeping his precepts close. As the ancient saying goes, “The works are the reflection of one’s heart.” The birth of Hongyi-style calligraphy rose out of his strict adherence to Buddhist precepts; his calligraphic style became inseparable from his practice of Buddhism.

When we study Master Hongyi's style of calligraphy between the ages of 39 and 50, we find that his style had marks of Stele, which were changed from heavy to light. However, the glyphs and structures of his calligraphy were gradually unconstrained over time and the strokes tended to become rounded and reserved which lightened the look of knife carving seen in the Stele style. Yixin once mentioned, “Master Hongyi retained the style of Weibei until 1931, after which he never used it again. The Hongyi style emerged from its cocoon.” Master Hongyi sent a letter to Mr. Du Shenfu in the autumn of 1923, saying, “Recently my calligraphy has been focused on the Jin and Tang Dynasties. I no longer write in the styles of the Six Dynasties. Mr. Ma Yifu was full of praise and approved this transition.”

If the early Hongyi-style calligraphy had some traces of the Jin and Tang Dynasties,  by the middle and late period of his calligraphy practice these traces were gone.

As Master Hongyi himself said, “While I was practicing calligraphy, the strokes, the brushwork, the power, the structure, the verve, even the schools of Bei (the stele) and Tie (model calligraphy) were all removed. I also never put effort into considering them.” (From A Letter to Mr. Ma Donghan, the Seal Engraver, in 1938.)

The Hongyi-style calligraphy was completely solitary and independent after the age of 56. At that time, it was so unique that it was reminiscent of a gentleman who could sit and talk with an easy grace and calmness at a banquet; it was also like the transcendental growing of a lotus, unstained. Master Hongyi once said in his later years, “My calligraphy expresses a sense of calm and quiet and transcendence.”

I once had the chance to appreciate his 16 screens, namely The Amitabha Sutra, in Tianjin Museum, which were written in the early summer of 1932. While I was appreciating them and following the Master’s brushstrokes, my breath was slowly rising and falling, and my thoughts were gradually clearing away, as if I were experiencing a quiet and solemn journey to the Buddhist kingdom.

Yixin said, “A genuine Dharma practitioner cultivates the mind. Through the discourses of the great masters, we learn how to cultivate and use our mind and how to conduct ourselves as a good human being.” As a second generation disciple of Master Hongyi, with a deep perception of his teachings, Yixin cultivated his mind.  Yixin also respectfully and steadfastly followed in Master Hongyi’s calligraphic footsteps.

When Yixin was 15 years old, his father taught him calligraphy. The calligraphy works that he imitated were as follows: Seals such as the Shiguwen, Yishan Tablet; the official style such as Yiying Tablet, the Cao Quan Tablet, the bamboo slips and the wooden tablets in Han Dynasties. He also learned tablets in the Wei Dynasty, such as the Longmen Twenty Calligraphic Gems, and the back and front of Zhang Menglong Tablet. He also studied various statues and epithets.

In addition to following Master Hongyi’s habit of calligraphy practice, he also studied Wang Xizhi’s Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion, his Seventeen Posts, Wang Xianzhi’s Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River, and so on. He also studied regular scripts of the Tang dynasty, such as Ouyang Xun’s The Stele in the Jiucheng Palace, The Huadusi Stele, and so on; Yu Shinan’s The Stele of Confucius Temple, The Epitaph of Princess Runan, and so on; Chu Suiliang’s The Ling Bao Scripture, Ni Kuan Zan (Comments on the Biography of Ni Kuan) , and so on; the Magu Shan Xiantan Ji and Yan Qingli Stele, and so on by Yan Zhenqing; Liu Gongquan’s Diamond Sutra, the Xuanmi Tablet, and so on. He also studied Sun Guoting’s Treatise on Calligraphy, Shi Huairen’s Preface of Holy Doctrine, Li Yong’s Tablet of Genenral Yunhui, Yang Ningshi’s Jiuhua Stele, Su Shi’s The Cold Food Observance, Huang Tingjian’s Wind in the Pines Hall, and so on. The depth of his hard work and the breadth of his practice is incredibly remarkable.

Yixin began to study the Hongyi-style calligraphy in 1985; since 1990, he has focused solely on it until this day. I have some sense of Yixin’s feelings when he practiced Hongyi’s style. One of my friends, who also learned the Hongyi-style calligraphy, once said, “When you are writing, you should calm the mind and quiet the breath, and enter a state of inner peace with no ripples or waves. Sometimes I feel like I am melting into nothingness; a sense of inside and outside disappears.”

Yixin told a story in one of his lectures. He once had an exhibition on the Hongyi-style calligraphy. A visitor came to the exhibition twice. On the first visit, his mind was flighty and he could not appreciate the exhibition. So he went a second time. This time, the more he observed, the more he was fascinated. Afterwards, he asked Yixin, “The more I absorbed the works on display, the more quiet and peaceful I became, but I totally failed to understand them the first time. Why did I have such a different experience?” Yixin replied, “When you enter an exhibition, whether you are viewing it as art or from a perspective of the Dharma, it is an expression of your state of mind. Intentions are not only reflected in things that we do, but also in everything in our life. No matter how we behave or what we do, we must diligently use our mind. If we use our coarse mind, we are unable to see the treasure. Only by using our pure, quiet, and respectful mind, can we discover the beauty in everything around us. Only after that, can we experience the positive and beneficial attributes of our mind.”

Over the years, Yixin has curated more than ten large and small solo exhibitions of his Hongyi-style calligraphy. In the year 2000, in commemoration of the 120th anniversary of Master Honyi’s birth, solo exhibitions on the Hongyi-style calligraphy toured Beijing, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou. Before the Beijing opening, Yixin paid a visit to Mr. Ye Zhishan, who is the eldest son of Mr. Ye Shengtao and the husband of Xia Manzi, the youngest daughter of Mr. Xia Mianzun. Upon viewing the art, Mr. Ye Zhishan put his hands together and gave the following praise, “It is almost like the returning of Master Hongyi!”

Together with Mr. Ke Wenhui, Yixin also had paid a visit to Mr. Xie Yun, who was from the China Calligraphers Association. When Mr. Xie Yun finished enjoying the pictures at the exhibition, he was stunned and said, “I didn't expect anyone could write the Hongyi-style so well!” In Hangzhou, Mr. Liu Xueyang, Mr. Liu Zhiping’s son, was also amazed at the works in the exhibition. “There are so many people studying Master Hongyi’s calligraphy,” he said to Yixin, “but you are the best. It’s not easy!” There were many examples of praise like these. All the professional elders in the field of fine arts and calligraphy who viewed his work gave Yixin the same high praise; it was certainly no surprise. Although I have not seen Yixin’s original calligraphy, from viewing his collected publications, I can see that Yixin has a full hearted understanding of the essence of the form and spirit of Master Hongyi’s styles throughout each period and has achieved a superb level of execution.

Generally, it is difficult for the average person to imitate the Hongyi-style calligraphy. It is also rare to find someone who can not only master his style but capture its essence. Everyone says it is difficult to learn the Hongyi-style calligraphy; this seems absolutely true. However, Yixin is able to create his works by freely using all of Master Hongyi’s styles, including those from his secular as well as monastic periods.

Yixin’s calligraphy evokes “purity, quietness, and respect” within the viewer’s heart, which proves that his characters have obtained the samadhi of Master Hongyi. It would not be difficult for Yixin to create his own style with his traditional skills and understanding. Yixin says, “There are a lot of people who have inherited traditions and created their own style. But Master Hongyi’s calligraphy is a tight coupling of calligraphy and mind cultivation. His calligraphy is a reflection of his Buddha Dharma. At the same time, his Buddha Dharma is also reflected in his calligraphy. The value of Hongyi-style calligraphy cannot be simply measured from an artistic perspective. This is why the Hongyi-style calligraphy is so hard to study. It is extremely difficult to imitate his calligraphy, let alone continue and propagate the Buddha Dharma contained within. As it is so difficult, I feel a call to that duty. If it is not me, then who? I am willing to sacrifice my little self to accomplish the big self of Hongyi-style calligraphy lineage.”

Compared with a more common creative drive, Yixin’s spirit of selfless pursuit of the Buddha Dharma is even more precious.

In conclusion, from the foundation of Master Hongyi’s calligraphy, I want to use language to highlight the special characteristics of Yixin’s calligraphy.

First, by observing Yixin’s characters, his writing seems slightly faster and more vigorous than Master Hongyi’s. His sense of flow and fluency is slightly more obvious. Besides the difference in age, Master Hongyi’s writing has a slow movement similar to meditative breathing; the slow movement may have been influenced by his environment and his unique method of cultivation. It is normal to see a difference in style as circumstances vary with each calligrapher, even though they are on same path of cultivation.

Even Master Hongyi, a mortal human being, in his final calligraphy, Sorrow and Happiness Interwined, still made people feel a sense of the vicissitudes of being human. When Yixin imitated these four characters in large font, the sense of vicissitudes was reflected even more fully. One calligrapher even commented in the exhibition: “To appreciate the calligraphy of these four characters, from its form, structure, and brushwork, I feel that the whole piece of calligraphy is very close to the Master’s state of extreme physical weakness before he passed away at the end.”

Second, as for Yixin’s brushwork, especially when he begins and finishes one character, you can clearly feel that he retains some style of the Steles in Wei Dynasty and the Official scripts. Perhaps this is the reason that he tried to intentionally seek his personal style in art during the process of practicing and evolving the Hongyi-style calligraphy.

Master Hongyi made great achievements in art, Confucianism, and Buddhism. Moreover, the Hongyi-style calligraphy was the crystallization of his lifelong compassion and wisdom, which is the essence of the “Hongyi spirit.” His invaluable spiritual wealth was waiting for sages to further expand and illuminate it for the world. Looking at Master Hongyi’s disciples, who continue his unique and high-level calligraphy and Buddha Dharma, I think Yixin is the most qualified candidate.

“Ink Traces Permeated with the Fragrance of Master’s Spirit,” “Manifesting the Path through Calligraphy,” and “Encountering Master” are like footprints on a journey of great hardship, stretching forever and beyond the bright, full moon.

Li Xianting, September 20, 2020.