The Upright Brush

Amy McNair is professor of Chinese Art at the University of Kansas. Her previous publications include Donors of Longmen: Faith, Politics, and Patronage in Medieval Chinese Buddhist Sculpture.

出版者:University of Hawaii Press

作者:Amy McNair

页数:272

出版时间:1998-02

价格:USD 30.00

装帧:Paperback

isbn号码:9780824820022

图书标签:颜真卿书法宋history艺术·书画海外中国研究唐宋唐史

In the history of Chinese calligraphy, few are more famous than the eighth-century statesman Yan Zhenqing (709-785). His style is still taught today as a standard, and Chinese bookstores the world over stock inexpensive reproductions of his works for sale as copybooks.

Yet Yan's style cannot be called conventionally attractive. "Correct," "severe," "serious," "forceful" are terms habitually applied to describe his writing--rarely has his calligraphy been called graceful or beautiful. How, then, did Yan earn such an eminent place in the history of art?

In The Upright Brush, Amy McNair argues for the political rather than purely aesthetic basis for Yan Zhenqing's artistic reputation. She shows how his prominent position was made for him in the eleventh century by a handful of influential men who sought to advance their own position by associating themselves with Yan's reputation for uprightness. Equating style with personality, they adopted Yan's calligraphic style as a way to clothe themselves in his persona.

Sophisticated, informed, and intelligent, The Upright Brush illuminates an episode (one of many) in the history of Chinese culture where the creative reinterpretation of the past was used for contemporary political means. It will be eagerly welcomed by all scholars of Chinese culture and history, as well as by those interested in the making and reading of art.

读后感

原文首发于界面文化 “颜真卿：超越王羲之的名笔”特别展览正在日本东京国立博物馆举行。因台北故宫博物馆为此次展览出借了四件国宝级文物，包括有“天下第二行书”之称的颜真卿《祭侄文稿》，该展在海峡两岸均引起了广泛争议。 此前，界面文化（ID:BooksAndFun）曾刊文详述了...  

听书听完的，中正就是颜真卿的书法风格，小朋友书法入门的时候要写颜体，目的就是通过练字修炼正直的品格，因为字如其人，不过德艺双馨的提法实际上也是宣传的功劳。 王羲之所在的东晋是士族阶层主导的国家，不论是文体还是字体都讲究繁复优美，悠然自得的上流社会美感，文人雅...  

十几年前，从白谦慎老师绍介海外书法研究的论文中，知道有倪雅梅的这本论著The Upright Brush（白老师译为“心正笔正”），曾一度有过迻译此书的想法，也蒐集拜读了班宗华、王珅等学者关于本书的英文书评文章，但俗务缠身，因循未果。今年国庆后，看到《中正之笔》中译本由江苏...

在某电商处看到《中正之笔——颜真卿书法与宋代文人政治》有售，知道是美国专治中国艺术史的倪雅梅女士的博士论文，略翻看了下购买者的评价，几乎是骂声一片。本来不对这本书抱有购买的欲望，但想到与我所最爱的书法家颜真卿有关，所以抱着猎奇的心态下了单。心里想着：且看这...  

其实这种思路古人早有（虽然可能不算很古），叶昌炽《语石·卷七》： 自来书家之不幸，未有如绍京者也。盖南渡后讲学家高自标置，以书为游艺，必以人重。故颜鲁公书传世最多，柳诚悬亦以“心正则笔正”一语为世所称道，而咸知爱护之。殆以绍京附丽椒房，父事阉竖，而鄙之欤？惟...