Zhang Rongqing, born in 1938, is a native of Anguo, Hebei Province. He passed away in Beijing on March 14, 2024, at the age of 86. Before his death, he was a doctoral supervisor of the Chinese Academy of Arts; Deputy Director and Director of the Research Department of the China Calligraphy Association, Director of the 3rd and 4th Directors, Secretary-General of the Academic Committee, Member of the Education Committee; He is a member of the Expert Committee of the National Art Museum of China and a visiting professor of the Academy of Arts and Design, Tsinghua University. During his tenure at the China Calligraphy Association, he organized and planned major calligraphy academic activities such as the 2nd to 5th "National Calligraphy Symposium" and the "95 International Calligraphy History Academic Symposium". He has long been committed to the study of ancient calligraphy history, calligraphy theory, and calligraphy commentary, etc., and is diligent in writing. This journal publishes the memorial poems, essays, and couplets of Mr. Zhang Rongqing's old friends and students' descendants to remember Mr. Zhang Rongqing.
-- The editor
Farewell to Mr. Zhang Rongqing
■Wu Zhenqi
The calligraphy association works with Changhong, and the trip to northern Hebei is gentlemanly.
The exhibition is open upstairs and downstairs, and the leisure is retreating to the west and east of the house.
Shimen will be in love for a while, and the new crown has not met for three years.
When the Jiuziwen is delivered, can the crane return to the west be passed?
Mourn to Mr. Zhang Gong Rongqing
■Wang Xueling
Spring is turbulent and cold at sunset, and the gray hair is three thousand early.
Every time the article is good, it will be chanted and announced.
Teaching once sent cranes, but in the end it became a fate.
If the illusion is like a teacher, sad and tearful.
Deeply mourn the memory of our teacher, Mr. Zhang Rongqing
■Zhang Xuguang
A breeze across the river to increase the elegant rhyme,
The five meridians are rainless and moisturizing.
In memory of Mr. Zhang Rongqing, a master of calligraphy
■Li Yuandong
Songyun is full of thoughts, and the peach and plum are full of yin and scholarly style.
The post road is long and flying horses, and the sound book is cold and lonely.
Slightly blank as if outside the water clouds, Xiao scattered suspicion from the depths.
Wenzao's life is really simple, and the wind vane is wonderful.
Mr. Zhang Rongqing drove the crane to the west to pay respects
■Ye Pengfei
Looking up at Yanshan, the thoughts are endless, and a crane rides the long wind.
The stream is far away from the clouds, the peaks are clogs, and the Han Yu is high and the inkstone is high.
When the exhibition is clear and the moon is bright, it is often left in the blue sky.
Thinking about the events of the past 30 years, I read the Yao note letter and communicated.
Mourn Zhang Gongrong Qingfuzi
■Lin Feng
For ten years, the scholar gentry followed Zimo, and once drove the crane to the blue.
I still remember my relatives and father-in-law, and I am sad and sad.
The heart is close to Bodhi and deserves the Buddha, and the road leads to the world and cherishes the elves.
The scholar is fortunate to be stained with the legacy, and it is the motto of my family.
。
Thin and hard, he retreated
——100 Days of Mr. Rongqing's death
■杨明臣
In the blink of an eye, Mr. Rong Qing has been away from us for more than three months, and the "100 days" is an important sacrifice day in traditional Chinese sacrifices. On the morning of the farewell to Mr., the cold wind in the early spring in Beijing was precipitous, and colleagues from the book industry who came from all over the country to pay their respects gathered in front of the small mourning hall on the south side of Babaoshan early, waiting for the final farewell to Mr. When I came to Mr.'s funeral with the condolence procession, I unconsciously stopped and carefully looked at Mr.'s remains, which was so quiet, kind, pure, and kind, and Mr.'s decades-long past suddenly came to mind, and tears flowed down my cheeks. When I walked out of the mourning hall, I couldn't hold back my tears anymore, but my friend Youlai and several other students of Mr. came forward to comfort me, and I slowly stopped my tears and crying. On the way home, my wife asked me, what did you think when you saw your husband crying? I said, I didn't think about anything, I just couldn't help it, it was the true feelings in my heart, and there was no such elder who took us to talk about calligraphy and calligraphy, isn't it painful!
After the death of my husband, I have been haunting my husband's voice and smile, from time to time to take out his collection of works to look through the writing, constantly reminiscing about the past with my husband, more and more I feel that an old calligrapher like Mr. who has a high level of attainment in calligraphy, both persistent and pure, is too precious, we miss him today, miss him tomorrow, and miss him forever, all in order to learn and inherit his personality spirit, artistic ideas and exquisite skills.
Mr. has the spirit of a high man and the style of a gentleman. Mr.'s fast name is called "retreat", and those who retreat have the righteousness of retreating, retreating, not fighting with others, not admiring Rongli, and being indifferent and self-controlled. Mr. interacts with people, whether it is a social elite or a post-graduate child, he is always so calm, unyielding, not excited, and slow. In his eyes, as long as he is a lover of books, acquaintance is fate, friendship is friendship, never attached to power, does not climb to the rich, does not talk highly, and does not despise posteriority. To himself, he never thinks of himself as everyone, thinking that he has always been a primary school student during the journey to ancient times, "writing until he is fifty years old, he has only touched a little doorway". I have known Mr. for more than 20 years, whether he lives in Fuxing Road, Songjiazhuang, Changping, Fangshan, every time he visits, Mr. always sits opposite with a smile, hands a cigarette, makes a pot of new tea, and then talks slowly, the topic of conversation always revolves around calligraphy, never involves socially sensitive issues, does not discuss right and wrong, and does not talk about people. When it came to the meal, Mr. either led the restaurant or cooked a bowl of hot shredded pork noodles with green onions. Many of the book friends who have been to Mr. have eaten this kind of noodles, and the fresh fragrance of the noodles and the richness of affection are in it, and the style of the elderly, the sense of closeness, is unforgettable. Mr. has a quiet and tranquil personality, is sensitive to thinking and speaks, which is in line with Zeng Wenzhenggong's motto of "living in groups and guarding your heart". When talking in a small area, he always talks to people at a low frequency and at a slow pace, and when there are many people, he listens calmly, rarely speaks loudly, does not interrupt others, does not steal people's conversations, does not refute different points of view, and sometimes laughs at gossip arguments to show tolerance. This kind of cultivation seems to be unremarkable, but it can not be cultivated overnight, if there is no full reading of poetry and books, there is no insight into life and world affairs, it can never be done, it is really "looking at it as a person is not customary, and there is an ancient style of working with it".
Since the Wei and Jin dynasties, the aesthetic style and technical system of calligraphy represented by the "two kings" have become the main vein of calligraphy, and calligraphy has become the common spiritual garden of literati in all dynasties. What is the Rantei Spirit? Although there is no official explanation, many scholars have explained it in their writings, which can be summed up as inheriting the spirit of learning and art of inheriting the sages, following the law, and striving for perfection; The pioneering spirit of learning from others and adapting to the past; The spirit of the times that should meet the needs of the times, serve the society, and keep the integrity and innovation.
Mr. has adhered to the right line of calligraphy all his life, and is a loyal practitioner and propagator of the spirit of Lanting. He is fond of the "two kings" in writing, writing, teaching, and participating in and organizing calligraphy activities, all of which are practicing the spirit of Lanting. His dedication to calligraphy is pure beyond ordinary people, and his circle of friends is almost uncomplicated except for those who love calligraphy; The questions he thinks about involve all aspects of calligraphy, but he seems to be indifferent to things that have nothing to do with calligraphy, and sometimes he is almost dull; He is a good collector of books, with tens of thousands of books, and he can't read books, all of which are directly or indirectly related to calligraphy; He reads diligently and writes, every time he has an idea, he often makes annotations or writes on cards, reading notes and cards are bundled in boxes, until his later years, he often has a large ink book "Lanting Preface" on his desk, and he figured out the mystery of penmanship and made illustrations, I visited several times, and he talked about the new discovery of Lanting's penmanship.
He is good at teaching calligraphy, and he is well-known in the capital and even in the whole country. He rarely talks about empty theories at length, but teaches people according to their needs and prescribes the right medicine. For beginners, he will help you choose the direction of the way to take the way, so that they can get on the right path and avoid detours; If you encounter a bottleneck in your studies, you will be guided to adjust; For the submitted works that try to participate in the exhibition, we will support you from all aspects of rules and techniques. What he often talks about is "picking", "adjusting" and "being generous", but in fact, it is to guide the author how to keep improving, how to seek innovation and change, and how to write easily and naturally. In 2003, when the whole army held a calligraphy creation class, he hired Mr. as a tutor to live in the class for a week, he walked around the class every day, observed everyone's creative state, and put forward adjustment opinions one by one in the last two days, under the careful guidance of Mr., the vast majority of the students in this class were selected for the eighth national calligraphy and seal carving exhibition.
He is willing to build a platform for future students to learn and communicate and make progress together, and often calls several like-minded book friends together to discuss calligraphy, observe works, learn from each other's gains and losses, draw inferences from one another, and benefit from each other. The "Shangsi Elegance Collection" he initiated and organized lasted for ten years, at first it was a small-scale discussion, writing, and reading works, and later the scale became larger and larger, especially the "Bohai Elegance Collection", "Huier Elegance Collection" and "Quyang Elegance Collection", with hundreds of invited participants. He used his calligraphy and personality charm to bring together so many influential and accomplished people, not only to find sponsors, but also to convene, but also to make keynote speeches, organize work exhibitions, on-site pen meetings, seminars, etc., students, family members all went into battle to help, but the protagonist has to be sung by Mr., this is not easy for an old man! This activity has persisted for ten years, and the participants have benefited a lot, which is still praised. This activity and the "Lanting Collection", although different from time to time, have the same effect, and have played a positive role in promoting the development of contemporary calligraphy. It was not until after the age of 80 that his eyesight, energy, and physical strength were exhausted, and this activity was discontinued.
Mr.'s calligraphy is golden and jade, thin and hard, ingenious, and high. Mr.'s works, from a macro point of view, are full of ancient style, but I can't see which school or faction it looks like, it is completely a new look of learning from the ancient without a trace, and melting all families in one furnace. He often said that "old and new", and there is no new meaning without ancient meaning. From a micro point of view, its dot painting brush, glyph gesture, and chapter layout have independent and unique beauty. The lines are flexible and elegant, the muscles and bones are full, and the steel wire is full of elasticity, toughness and tension, and the folding is continuous, and the twist is not chaotic, which truly embodies the supreme realm of the pen of "cone painting sand", "printing mud" and "folding hairpin strands". He is an architecturally born in architecture, and his research on knots is as rigorous and serious as a building, paying attention to both sturdiness and stability, as well as beauty and chic. In a work, some of the glyphs are broad and towering, some are stocky and elegant, and some are even trapezoidal and triangular, which are naturally formed and interesting when put together, like a patchwork of ancient houses, and like a group of European country houses, which makes people never get tired of looking at it for a long time. Mr. has always emphasized the rules and regulations in his writings, whether it is a high-screen masterpiece, or a small sketch, no matter how many words are spoken, or a small number of words, it is not a simple code word, but because of the style of the text, carefully created, as much as possible to enhance the artistic appeal. Mr. has a small collection of works, only about 20 works, some of which are written on scrap paper and wrapping paper, and the small works are only a few lines of words, but the chapter forms are different, which is wonderful.
Mr. calligraphy, for the contemporary calligraphy to provide a novel, unique aesthetic style of calligraphy, this is a kind of creation, is not different from the ancients and not similar to the people of the time of the independent style, is a high standard, is a valuable spiritual wealth for our later learning.
Demonstrate by example, and be outstanding to everyone
——In memory of Mr. Zhang Rongqing
■Miao Peihong
I am deeply saddened by the sudden passing away of Mr. Zhang Rongqing in March 2024. Then he wrote a couplet: "Keep the right and bring forth the new, self-cultivation and truthfulness, and the art of calligraphy will be passed down through the ages; Help others to set an example, teach the industry with the spirit of sincerity for thousands of years. In order to express his condolences. For months, the feeling of remembrance has been haunting me, and I can't help myself.
I have been friends with Mr. Zhang for more than 30 years. The first time we met was in the first student training class of the China Calligraphy Association Training Center. At that time, he was the director of the research department of the Chinese Calligraphy Association. Since then, we have been in contact quite a lot. Since I had served as a division leader in the army for a long time in the past, he had always addressed me as "Commander Miao" and modestly said that the relationship between us was that of both teacher and friend. Although I did not formally apprentice to him, he was a guide on the path of learning that I greatly respected.
Mr. does not like to be public, has always been low-key, modest, does not speak quickly, a little slowly, disdainful and impassioned and generous, and often on the lips of the vernacular. Especially when looking at our homework, he found that he was impatient and did not use the pen carefully, so he said, "Pick a little more carefully", "Don't be in a hurry, calm down", "Write solidly in place". Although it is a local dialect and a common saying, it is also a big truth, telling the trick of learning books and the essence of writing skills. Over the decades, my husband has been helpful and tireless, and I have benefited a lot. To sum up, there are the following points:
1. Read more and write more to lay a solid foundation
Originally studying architecture, he understands the importance of a solid foundation. The same is true for learning, only when the foundation is solid, there will be better development. Mr. emphasized that to read more is to read more posts. Look at the post, to find out what era the post was produced, who wrote it, what content, what are its pen and knot characteristics, and what imagery and charm are shown from the post. I was deeply impressed by his teachings and suddenly enlightened. After many years of reading and writing, I have some experience in writing the "Holy Order", so I wrote the book "The Copying and Creation of the Holy Order", and taught it in the "Famous Tablet Post" column of the calligraphy and painting channel. A few years ago, I summarized my experience of reading posts, highlighted that reading posts is the first step in learning calligraphy, and wrote an article entitled "My Views on Reading Posts" and published it in the "Calligraphy Newspaper". All of this is thanks to his teachings.
Mr. said to write more, that is, to post more. Insist on daily classes, and transform the results of seeing more into the ability to write. I've loved writing since I was a child, and I'm complacent that I can write well. Looking back now, I scribbled a lot back then, and I didn't put in the effort to make a good post. When my husband saw my situation, he said that to learn calligraphy, one is to write tablets, and the other is to learn post. The stele also came from the post, and in the future, I will concentrate on writing the post, and learn from the two kings! Since then, I have concentrated on studying Wang Xizhi's "Orchid Pavilion Preface" and "Holy Religious Order" and other famous posts. Perseverance, inkstone cultivation. The study of books has made great progress and achieved certain results. All of these are poured into the work of Mr. 's education.
2. Take the ancient as a teacher and inherit the classics
Mr. advocates the classics and takes the ancient as his teacher. He has held a solo exhibition at the National Art Museum of China, with the theme of "Journey into the Ancients". Therefore, learning the classics and taking the ancient method is his way of learning. It also had a big impact on me at this point. He often said that taking the ancient method is to read more, write more, think more, and ponder, in Sun Guoting's words, "those who observe it are still fine, and those who imitate it are expensive." In the past, I ignored this point, only paying attention to the appearance, not paying attention to the subtleties, and not appreciating its charm, so the writing was always unsatisfactory. Under the guidance of Mr., I realized the true meaning of the post.
There was a time when some people in the calligraphy world thought that the two kings were outdated and advocated seeking innovation and change. My husband advised me that Erwang is the peak in the history of Chinese calligraphy, and it is difficult for people today to surpass. We don't have to follow the trend, we don't have to follow the trend, we don't have to be grandstanding, we must stick to the two kings. My husband's words made me feel more skeptical, and I adhered to tradition and admired the classics, and I was universally praised along the way.
Mr. often said that "to learn calligraphy, you must enter the ancient and not mud the ancient", and he emphasized that learning from the ancients should write new ideas, so that the ancient is new, and the purpose of entering the ancient and bringing out the new. How to do this? He admonished us to learn to be flexible in our studies, just as Sun Guoting said "general knowledge". I understand that to learn calligraphy, we must learn to take the ancient as a teacher, and not be rigid and ancient, and not think about flexibility. To ascend to this advanced stage is to reach the highest artistic realm. Sir has set an example for us in terms of flexibility. Mr.'s big characters are thin and straight, the opening and closing are sparse, the structure is rigorous, and the writing is smooth; The small characters are more distinctive, the knot is wide, steady and strong, the pen dot painting is solid, the weight is measured, so that the turn is natural, the change does not lose the law, simple and elegant, fresh and soft, giving people a pleasing feeling.
3. Read more books and improve your skills
Mr. is well known as the "champion of book collection" in Beijing. He spares no money to buy books, loves books like his life, and reads like an idiot. He said that when I was young, I read "Strange Tales from Liaozhai", and my classical Chinese was considered to be passable. He often told us that we should study more to improve our academic attainment and increase our cultural heritage. If you pass the technique, you can only be regarded as a calligrapher, and you can't be called a calligrapher without cultural support. Practice has proved that it is relatively easy to learn calligraphy techniques, but if you want to go to the next level, it is difficult to move forward without improving your cultural literacy.
Following Mr. Wang's teachings, I have read a large number of classics of Chinese culture for more than 20 years, and I feel that the opening of the book is beneficial, which has played a double effect on improving the skill of calligraphy outside the characters.
He is highly respected in the contemporary calligraphy industry, cultivating talents, writing books and theories, and achieving fruitful results. Twenty years ago, he organized the "Shangsi Elegant Collection" for ten consecutive years, exchanging calligraphy with everyone, talking about the experience of learning calligraphy, working hard and resentfully, making calligraphy activities in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei flourish and flourish, and further promoted the prosperity and development of Chinese calligraphy. What a great achievement!
The Si people have passed away, but the style lives on. Mr. Zhang Rongqing will always live in people's hearts!
Finally, I would like to conclude with a poem "In Memory of Mr. Zhang Rongqing" that I wrote recently:
The fairy world is endlessly happy, and the clouds and cranes swim in the blue sky.
The paper dragon and snake are staggering, and the iron painting exhibition is red.
The stage name is far away from his peers, and Xinde will remain in the annals of history.
After 30 years of teaching, Chunhui bathed in the heart.
Zhang Rongqing: Xingshu is the heart of the Buddha
Zhang Rongqing wrote the Heart Sutra to fight the party