Zheng Banqiao’s calligraphy masterpieces

Zheng Banqiao, whose name is Xie and whose courtesy name is Kerou. Banqiao is his nickname. He was born in 1693 and died in 1765. His ancestral home was Xinghua County, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province. He was born into a scholarly family. He is good at poetry, articles, calligraphy, and painting, especially bamboo painting. He occupies an important position in the history of Chinese literature. He was a famous calligrapher, painter, and poet during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. His "three unique" poems, books, and paintings are full of weird works, and even his creative theory is quite strange. He always likes to send messages, saying that his works are "articles that shake the heavens and earth, words that shock thunder and lightning, words that curse gods and ghosts, and paintings that are unprecedented in the past and the present. They are not what ordinary eyes can see." Therefore, , he is also known as one of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou".

The "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" (Wang Shishen, Huang Shen, Jin Nong, Gao Xiang, Li Eel, Zheng Banqiao, Li Fangying, Luo Pin), at that time, these eight artists had great influence on political attitude, life style, calligraphy and painting. Their creations and other aspects are different from social customs. They have obvious personalities and their works have original styles. Their calligraphy and painting have formed the "Yangzhou School of Painting" and the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou", and Zheng Banqiao is even more of the "Eight Eccentrics" The best among them.

Zheng Banqiao experienced three emperors in his life. On the road to imperial examination, it went through three stages: Kangxi scholar; Yongzheng scholar; Qianlong scholar. When he was forty-three years old, which was the first year of Qianlong, AD 1736, he passed the Jinshi examination. In the sixteenth year of Qianlong, AD 1751, he was appointed magistrate of Fan County at the age of fifty, and was later transferred to Wei County. The county is appointed magistrate. Later, he resigned due to dissatisfaction with his superiors due to disaster relief work. He lived in Yangzhou and later made a living by selling paintings.

“It’s rare to be confused” is Zheng Banqiao’s famous saying. Banqiao's "rare confusion" also has a little-known allusion. According to legend, in the 16th year of Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty (1751), Zheng Banqiao had been the county magistrate in Weixian County, Shandong Province (today's Weifang City) for many years. At that time, Weixian County was under the jurisdiction of Laizhou. He has long heard that there is a "Zheng Wengong Monument" on Wenfeng Mountain outside Laizhou. This monument is of great significance in the development history of our country's calligraphy from official to regular script. However, due to his busy official duties, he has never had time to see it. On September 19th of that year, Zheng Banqiao went to Laizhou to do business. It was still early in the morning. After being instructed by someone, he climbed up the mountain and found this monument. As if he had found a treasure, he concentrated on appreciating and studying it until night fell and the writing on the tablet could no longer be seen clearly, so he had to give up. When he came back to his senses and looked around at the darkness, he felt embarrassed. He was not familiar with the way down the mountain and could not go down. But how to spend the night in this barren mountain? After thinking about it for a long time, I suddenly found a light on the mountain. So, he walked towards the light in the dark. When he arrived, he saw a house. He called to open the door. The owner of the house was an old man. He informed him of his name and purpose of visit. It seemed that the owner of the house had already heard of him and welcomed him warmly. After dinner, the two started talking. From state affairs to civil affairs, the conversation was very speculative. Finally, the owner of the house proposed that he had a stone inkstone, but he did not have a name for it, and asked Zheng Banqiao to leave the calligraphy treasure. He readily agreed. The owner of the room took out a huge rectangular inkstone and prepared pen, ink and paper. When Zheng Banqiao was thinking about the content of the inkstone, he said to the owner of the house: "Look, I've only been talking to you, and I still don't know your name." The owner of the house said, "How can I talk about respect?" His surname is just a confused old man." Zheng Ban then wrote the four characters "rarely confused". The owner saw it and was touched in his heart, so he told his life experience. It turned out that he had been an official in the Qianlong Dynasty for several years. Later, because he was dissatisfied with corruption such as fighting for power and intrigue, and he had no way to make a comeback, he resigned and retired to the mountains and forests to spend his days. After listening to it, Zheng Banqiao felt that he still had something to say. Seeing that there was still a blank space under the four words, he wrote again: "It is difficult to be smart, it is difficult to be confused, and it is even more difficult to turn from being smart to being confused. Let it go, take a step back, and feel at ease now, not later. "It's a blessing."

The word "rarely confused" is a word of anger, which means that a sober person will never be able to understand the darkness of the world at that time, and can only make himself confused. In order to avoid being idle. But upright people can never be confused, so confusion is even more rare.

Zheng Banqiao wants to be confused but cannot be confused. The reason is that he is an extremely smart person and can see everything clearly. He cannot be confused.

Originally, it is difficult to pretend to be confused when you are not confused. In particular, it is difficult to grasp when to be confused and when to be awake. So Banqiao lamented that "it's rare to be confused"! The four words "rarely confused" contain a lot of emotion, a lot of sighs, a lot of heaviness, a lot of sadness, a lot of dissatisfaction, and a lot of complaints.

Therefore, the wisdom of "rarely confused" actually contains a kind of worldly sophistication of keeping a low profile, or it is called the technology of adapting to the world. When people are in a dangerous situation and are helpless about the situation, "confused" wisdom can play a role in coping with the situation and getting out of trouble. It can also contain a lot of sadness and heaviness.

Zheng Banqiao's "rare confusion" is providing people with a kind of philosophical and wise enlightenment. In fact, "It is rare to be confused" is a wise saying made by a philosopher in the face of the obsession of all living beings. It is like a Zen verse that needs to be understood with heart. Banqiao wants people to realize that on the road of life, don't be too sophisticated, be too good at maneuvering, and don't just fight for fame and fortune. Being "confused" can give people a kind of peace, a kind of relaxation, a kind of magnanimity, a kind of leisurely and a kind of freedom.

Zheng Banqiao's words "It is rare to be confused" became treasures. Therefore, many literati, dignitaries, and businessmen at that time respectfully wrote "It is rare to be confused" as banners and hung them. Above the hall, he enshrines aphorisms and worships them.

It is Zheng Banqiao’s principle to be an official with integrity and serve the people. When he was fifty years old, he served as the magistrate of Fan County, Shandong Province, and was later transferred to the magistrate of Weixian County (today’s Weifang City, Shandong Province) for seven years. During his tenure, he was honest in government, cared about the sufferings of the people, settled cases fairly, and did some good things for the local people. For example, when there was a famine, he surveyed the people's situation day and night. In order to save the lives of the people, he decisively opened the granary to provide relief to the victims before he had time to report to his superiors. For another example, he also used his salary to pay taxes for the poor people. To this end, he wrote many poems, such as: "Escape from Famine", "Return Home", "Orphan's Journey", etc., which are all excellent works that care about the country and the people.

Zheng Banqiao was cautious as an official, fearing that he did not understand the people's sentiments and did wrong things. As an official, he was dedicated to serving the country, being virtuous to the people, caring for the people, and sympathizing with the people. These thoughts are reflected in his poem "Wei" This is revealed in the "Bamboo Painting in the County Office Presenting Nianbo Bao Dazhong Chengkuo".

"I lay in the Yazhai and listened to the rustling bamboos, which were suspected to be the sounds of suffering among the people. These little Caozhou county officials are always concerned about every branch and leaf."

He lives in the county government office, and at night Sleepless, I heard the rustling sound of the bamboos blown by the wind, and I thought of the sufferings of the people. I said with deep emotion that although I was just a small seventh-grade Zhima County magistrate, I was unable to solve the problem of the people. The various sufferings of the people are lingering heavily in his heart.

When Zheng Banqiao was the magistrate of Weixian County, in order to help the victims survive the famine years, he organized a large-scale labor service, built cities and dug ponds, used work as relief, and recruited hungry people to eat and go to work; in order to fully enshrine local heroes Granary, and ordered large households in the city to open factories to cook porridge and supply it in turn, thus saving countless victims. These political achievements are described in detail in Zheng Banqiao's representative work "Cheng Xiu Ji" in running script.

The inscription of "City Repair" can be divided into four parts. The first part: "If there is spring in the world, there must be autumn; if the country is governed, there must be chaos." Banqiao used a dialectical point of view to analyze nature and society. development rules. Part 2: "Weixian County is bounded by the seaside and is known as the rich of Yin. If something happens, anyone who bites and bites the tiger will eat him up." A fair evaluation of Weixian County and the importance of building a city. significance. Part Three: "This county was the first to advocate it. The first city construction work was sixty feet, and the cost was three hundred and sixty thousand." Banqiao set an example and took the lead in donating funds to build the city. Part 4: "The rest are assigned to each section, each repairs and works, and the county does not handle a single thing or money." Banqiao used the "contract responsibility system" method to build the city by sections, while he himself had nothing to do. Spotless. "City Repair" only uses more than 200 words to comprehensively explain the purpose and significance of city repair. To this day, this "City Repair" has been highly praised by people.

Resigning from office and living in seclusion to paint Qingzhu was Zheng Banqiao’s final destination. When Zheng Banqiao was the county magistrate, he litigated cases for the people, organized relief, truthfully reported the disaster situation, exempted and exempted all farmers from taxes, and opened the national treasury to release grain for disaster relief. However, because other local officials concealed the disaster situation in order to claim credit, Zheng Banqiao was an upright official and refused to help others. In the end, he was criticized by "big officials" and opposed by big households because of his disaster relief work. He also felt deeply that he had "nothing left to do", so he had no choice but to "let it go and take a step back." Therefore, in the eighteenth year of Qianlong's reign (1753), he angrily resigned from the county magistrate and returned to his hometown of Yangzhou. He was already sixty-one years old at that time.

When he resigned from office, the people of Weixian County came out to see each other in tears, which moved him deeply. Banqiao said goodbye to the elders of Weixian County. He once painted a bamboo poem and wrote a farewell saying: "I will not serve as an official if I throw away the gauze." , The bag is rustling and the sleeves are cold; I write a thin bamboo and use it as a fishing pole on the river in the autumn wind."

As a local official, Banqiao was spotless when he left Fan County, and his sleeves were refreshing when he bid farewell to Weixian County. This is a sign of loyalty and nobility. The sentiment is indeed commendable. Therefore, for many years after he left, people in Weixian County placed portraits of him in their homes to express their admiration.

After Zheng Banqiao returned to his hometown of Xinghua County, Jiangsu Province (now Xinghua City), he stayed for a while and then moved to Yangzhou to make a living selling paintings.

Zheng Banqiao is good at painting, especially bamboo. After he painted a picture that he was proud of, he also liked to inscribe a poem or write a few sentences to express his feelings and experiences. He would also often describe relevant things or trigger some discussions. His poems on paintings are very distinctive. It matches the painting perfectly and complements each other. The language is fresh and simple, and the sentences are vivid and expressive; philosophical aphorisms are common in the poems, like pearls and jade, shining brightly. Orchids, bamboos, chrysanthemums, and stones are written. There are sentiments and scenery, and the scenes blend together, permeating the painter's strong emotional consciousness, and the reading is long-lasting and memorable.

Why is Zheng Banqiao willing to paint bamboo? This is because there are so many lovely things about bamboo. It has a green and tall appearance and can be viewed for viewing; its shoots can be eaten, its branches can be used to make utensils, and its leaves can be used as medicinal materials. It has many practical values. In addition, it has many qualities that can be used to describe human character: hollow branches, which is called "humility"; straight segments, which are called "strength joints"; not withered by frost, and brave in the wind and snow, showing the character of being cold-resistant; No filth, no attracting insects, clean conduct, and so on. As a result, bamboo has become a symbol and sustenance of people's ideal moral character. It is called a "gentleman" and is regarded as a "good friend". Therefore, literati painted bamboo, which became a trend.

Zheng Banqiao's bamboo painting has a unique artistic style, which is different from the denseness of Wen Tong of the Song Dynasty and the plumpness of Wu Zhen of the Yuan Dynasty. It is simple, clear, straight and strong. He often uses simple brushwork to express his freehand brushwork in one branch, one leaf, three poles and two poles, showing his spirit and charm, as well as his own thoughts and character. The simpler the pen and ink, the more accurate and refined it is, the more it requires a high degree of generalization, concentration and appropriate exaggeration. It must be ingenious and meticulous in order to achieve the artistic effect of "one is equivalent to ten". Zheng Banqiao worked hard to pursue this state. He wrote a poem "Inscribed on Bamboo", which said: "For forty years, I have been painting bamboo branches, and I have spent my days thinking about them at night. I have eliminated the redundant and thin, and I have painted them when they are still alive." He was creating while creating. , while thinking, delete the redundant branches and branches that only express the appearance, and protect the strong knots and beautiful leaves that can convey the charm. New ideas constantly appear in the pen, forming its own unique style. When it often feels unfamiliar because of the novelty, then It is the true maturity, which expresses the artist's own artistic experience of "painting bamboo branches for forty years" and summarizes the law of artistic development.