明末清初诸家，如黄道周、倪元璐、王铎、傅山书法都以气势胜，他们所形成的风格特征在书法史上大放光彩，影响及至今日。现代学习书法者由于大多注重书法本体语言，将书法视为一种纯艺术，而忽视人之修养锤炼在书法学习中的重要性;同时由于现代社会各种利益对人的强烈诱惑，使人要形成一种以国家、民族振兴为己任的艺术思想变得越来越不易。随之的书法风尚便以讲求精致、追求装饰性为特色，即使强调艺术本体者亦多着眼于点画姿致、斜正摆布，并以之为能事。

　　王铎和傅山是明清之际最具特色的书家，但他们对书法有着不同的认识。相对而言，王铎强调书法之艺术性，傅山着眼于书法的社会功用。但他们于书法的理解都超尘拔俗。王铎的书法以求奇、求怪始，归于正而和;傅山以平整入，达于巧与变。王铎晚年的作品完全没了他早年的剑拔弩张，观之全是一种隐韧的感觉，点画的含蓄圆润，结体的端正大方，都反映出作者阅尽人世沧桑而渐入平和的心境。傅山蔑视沉于艺事双耳不闻窗外事的“书生气”，这是基于他的时代责任感和“天下兴亡、匹夫有责”的思想，因而他的作品中，有一种不平之气在涌动，点画振拔，章法狼藉;但由于他深沉的感情和卓绝人格修养，点画虽放而不显野，相反，细审之却有一种外争内和的感觉。

　　徐洁近年来用心于王铎和傅山书法。她的作品豪放大气，凛凛然如伟丈夫，点画厚重、行笔奔放，没有时下那种着意做作，全在细小处用心的习气。从她的作品中可见其人潇脱痛快之性格，这和近些年展览中只见近似书风，而看不见作者不同处的现象有强烈反差，从中可侧见她对书法的理解：是将书和人始终视一，人书双修的。她先写王铎、后傅山的路径亦透露出他的取向，是由收到放的变化。王铎和傅山书法有互补性，王之精到、傅之放逸，若能兼之，可趋有成。而这一切的前提是学者先须培植“大”的心性，练习书写技法更须练气、练胆，先将字势、章法能展开。徐洁的书法中的“大气”与痛快，可谓取了傅、王之真髓。而且她的行笔都很自然从容，少做作痕迹，佳处亦具苍茫感，这是超出时辈学傅、王者的。从她的字中，能感到作者饱满的热情，是情随点画由内向外发，不像诸多习书者只着意点画练习，而程式化的点画、章法却成了困情之枷锁。

　　当然，和王铎、傅山比，徐洁书法仍有许多可着意处：如放和收仍须有反复递进的过程，以期达到“真放在精微”的境界;二是吃透王、傅更须明其书法之优缺及来处，如于晋、唐、宋诸家的取法等;另外，超越时风影响，是真正走向“大”的前提。这些，相信徐洁都是很清楚的。

　　人们都常叹息这个时代书风不振，能与古代大家抗衡的书家鲜见。其实，书风不振之日正是大家孕育之时，只有那些中流砥柱才能在急流中挺立，不随流俗。这是颠扑不破的真理，古代那些大家们无一是逐流的。这，我相信徐洁也是清楚的。

　　真心祝愿已能将字写“大”的徐洁女史能在此道上走得更远，她应是具有这个潜力的。

　　2006.2.28于上海

　　A Heroic Female Artist Shines

　　- Reading of Xu Jie’s Calligraphy

　　Sun Jiafu

　　The master calligraphers in the late Ming Dynasty and the early Qing Dynasty, such as Huang Daozhou, Ni Yunlu, Wang Duo, and Fu Shan, won out by the imposing momentum of their calligraphy, the style and characteristics formed by them shine resplendently in the history of calligraphy, with their impact up to this day. Calligraphy learners in modern times regard calligraphy as a pure art as they mostly lay emphasis on the “Eight Principles of Yong” of calligraphy, and neglect the importance of the character cultivation and tempering in calligraphy learning; meanwhile various interests of modern society have a strong lure for people, and this makes it become increasingly difficult to induce them to form an artistic thought of taking on the duty of national rejuvenation. The consequent calligraphy is accordingly characterized by the attention to delicacy and the pursuit of decorativeness; even those who emphasize the noumenon (“thing-in-itself”) of art mostly focus on the pretentious posturing of strokes and the obliqueness or uprightness of arrangements, and take them as what they are particularly good at.

　　Wang Duo and Fu Shan were most characteristic calligraphers in the Ming and Qing dynasties, but they had different understandings of calligraphy. In contrast, Wang Duo emphasized the artistry of calligraphy, while Fu Shan focused on the social function of calligraphy. However, both of their understandings of calligraphy were otherworldly. Wang Duo’s calligraphy, starting with pursuing strangeness and weirdness, concludes with uprightness and harmony; Fu Shan’s, beginning with neatness, results in adroitness and flexibility. Wang Duo in his late years had his works less explosive than those in his early years, as viewed they all present an impression of forbearance and tenacity, the dots and strokes are implicit and fully mellow, the structure upright and liberal, all this reflects the author’s mental state of gradual entering a moderate attitude after having experienced all vicissitudes of human affairs. Fu Shan despised the “bookishness” of being submerged in art affairs and oblivious of the outside world, this is due to his sense of responsibility for the times and thought that “Everyone should be responsible for the prosperity of his country”, therefore there is a discontent surging in his works, the dots and strokes emerge freely and vigorously, and the composition is completely natural and unrestrained; however, because of his profound emotion and outstanding personality cultivation, the dots and strokes, unrestrained though, do not appear wild, on the contrary, you will have a feeling of outside struggle and inside peace after a careful review.

　　Xu Jie has been devoted to the calligraphies of Wang Duo and Fu Shan in recent years. Her works, unrestrained and magnanimous, are awe-inspiring like those by a great man, the dots and strokes are heavy and the brush running moving and forceful, without the bad practice of deliberate pretension and concentrated attention to minutiae nowadays. Her forthright, free and easy personality can be seen in her works, this forms a sharp contrast with the phenomenon of only similar calligraphic styles appearing and no author’s differences being seen in exhibitions in recent years, we can see her understanding of calligraphy: always identifying calligraphy with the person (personality), and cultivating both the person (personality) and calligraphy. Her path of learning from Wang Duo at first and then Fu Shan also reveals that her orientation is a restrained-to-unrestrained change. The calligraphies of Wang Duo and Fu Shan are complementary, and if one can combine Wang Duo’s refinement and Fu Shan’s easy-goingness, a success then may be expected. However, the precondition for all this is that learners must cultivate the temperament of “bigness” at first, practicing handwriting techniques needs to practice the “chi” or vigor and courage, and to be able to unfold the momentum of characters and the arrangement of composition at first. Xu Jie has obtained the essence of Wang Duo and Fu Shan’s calligraphies for the “magnanimity” and unrestraint in her calligraphy, so to speak. In addition, her brush running is very natural and unhurried, indicating little pretension, beside there is a sense of vastness in good places, and this is beyond those who are learning from Wang Duo and Fu Shan nowadays. In her characters, you can feel the author’s full enthusiasm, which emanates outwardly from within along with dots and strokes, this is unlike many calligraphy learners who just focus their attention on the practicing of dots and strokes, yet stylized dots, strokes and methods of composition become the shackles that trap emotions.

　　Of course, compared with Wang Duo and Fu Shan, Xu Jie still has many places needing to pay attention to in her calligraphy: for example, the withholding and releasing still needs a repeated progressive process so as to achieve the state of “free withholding and releasing in profundity and subtlety”; secondly, to fully understand Wang Duo and Fu Shan still needs knowing the merits/demerits and origins of their calligraphies, like learning techniques from master calligraphers of the Jin, Tang, and Song dynasties; besides, transcending the influence of the times’ prevailing practices or trends is the precondition for truly going towards “bigness”. About these, I believe Xu Jie is very clear.

　　People often sigh that the calligraphic style of this era is at a low ebb, and very few calligraphers can rival those in ancient times. In fact, it is just when the calligraphic style is at a low ebb that great masters are bred, only those like a firm rock in midstream can stand up in torrents, not following current fashions. This is an indisputable truth, and none of those great masters in ancient times went with the tide. About this, I believe Xu Jie is also clear.

　　Let me pray with cordiality that Ms. Xu Jie, who has already been able to write characters “big”, can go further on this road, and I believe she possesses this potential.

　　February 28, 2006, Shanghai

作者：孙稼阜