What are Xu Wenchang's works?

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, many versatile literati appeared in Xu Wenchang. But like Xu Wenchang, he is unique in poetry, drama, calligraphy and painting, which has left a far-reaching influence on present and future generations, but it is also quite rare. Yuan Zhonglang honored his poems as the first in Ming Dynasty, and his plays were highly praised by Tang Xianzu. In painting, he is one of the most outstanding figures in the art history of China. Zheng Banqiao had great respect for Xu Wenchang and once carved a seal, calling himself "a running dog under the Ivy League". Old man Baishi, a master of modern art, also deeply admired him. However, Xu Wenchang's life was unfortunate. Although he has a strong ambition of fame and fortune and a desire to serve his country, he didn't even pass the exam. Seven years in prison for crazy wife killing in middle age. In his later years, he made a living by selling calligraphy and painting and even books and clothes, and finally died in poverty. People love him very much, and many stories about Xu Wenchang are still circulating in Zhejiang. After more than 400 years, his former residence in Shaoxing, the Qingteng Bookstore, is still well preserved, maintaining a long-term memory of this literary artist with a civilian flavor.

First, talents are early and young, and they are not sold repeatedly.

, whose real name is Wei, has a long word. Also known as Qingtengshan people, Tianchisheng, Tian Shuiyue and so on. Ming Zhengde was born in a declining family in Shaoxing in the sixteenth year (152 1). His father, Vae, is a Tongzhi native of Kuizhou, Sichuan. He was originally a Tong family and gave birth to two sons, Xu Huai and Xu Lu. After marrying Miao, she has never given birth. In his later years, he married a concubine, gave birth to Xu Wenchang, and died one hundred days after Wen Chang was born. After that, Xu Wenchang was raised by Mrs. Di Miao until she was fourteen years old. After Miao died, she lived with her eldest brother Xu Huai until she was 2 1 year old. Although he was born in a bureaucratic family, Xu Wenchang's early life was not happy. His biological mother is a handmaid, so naturally she has no position in the family. Mrs. Di Miao raised Xu Wenchang as her own flesh and blood and had high hopes for her. But perhaps for this reason, when Wen Chang was ten years old, Mrs Miao kicked his biological mother out of the house. Losing his mother in his early years was a great stimulus to Xu Wenchang. Although he could take his mother back to his home at the age of 29, he couldn't forget it until his twilight years. Because Xu Wenchang is an unmarried woman and her two unmarried brothers are thirty years older than him, Xu Wenchang has no position in the family. He didn't take the scholar exam when he was young. In his last book, he asked the inspector for a second interview: "Learning is ineffective, so I don't trust my father and brother. And the flesh and blood are fried and the beans are burned. I look around day and night, but my body and shadow! " Looks sad and angry. As an adult, family wealth declined, and life in Xu Wenchang was certainly not so comfortable. An alert and sensitive person, who grew up in such a bumpy situation, naturally tends to develop a stubborn and extreme character.

Xu Wenchang was born very clever. He began to study at the age of six and could write at the age of nine. When he was a teenager, he imitated Yang Xiong's "Laughing" and caused a sensation in the whole city. The local gentlemen called him a prodigy and compared him to Ada and Yang Xiu. In his twenties, he interacted with famous Vietnamese people such as Chen Haiqiao and Shen Lian, and was listed as one of the "Top Ten Scholars in Vietnam". Shen Lian once praised him and said, "There is only one gate." It is said that at a banquet, the host deliberately embarrassed Xu Wenchang, pointing to a little thing on the table and asking him to give it, but secretly ordered the little boy to hold a paper roll more than ten feet long. Xu Wenchang picked up a pen and finished it in one breath, which surprised the full house.

Xu Wenchang, who has been famous for his talent since he was a child, has always been conceited and full of yearning for fame and fortune, but he has been frustrated repeatedly in the imperial examinations. At the age of twenty, he stumbled into the scholar's exam, and then took the provincial examination again and again until he was forty-one, and he failed eight times. In the meantime, he lost his wife at the age of 26, moved out of the Pan family and made a living by teaching. At the age of 37, at the invitation of Hu Zongxian, he entered the shogunate to take charge of documents. It is no accident that Xu Wenchang failed again and again in the imperial examination. When I was a teenager, I liked reading extensively and hated stereotyped writing. In addition, his personality was revealed and his feelings were publicized. I'm afraid he really can't write a qualified stereotyped writing. However, although Xu Wenchang knew stereotyped writing was useless, he always scoffed at some bureaucrats who were born in imperial examinations and had no talent, but this was the only way out for the old literati politically. Repeated failure to sell is a heavy blow to Xu Wenchang, and its future is hopeless. In his later years, he wrote "Self-abnormal Spectrum", which was specially written by Du Fu when he entered school at the age of six. This poem reveals his endless understanding of life.

Second, from the military curtain to the prison

Xu Wenchang usually gives people the impression that he spends his birthday by talent, but he is also a person who cares about social politics and is full of patriotic enthusiasm. During Jiajing period, the southeast coast was frequently invaded by Japanese pirates. Due to the slack of military equipment and incompetence of officials, people's lives and property were greatly lost. On the one hand, Xu Wenchang sharply criticized this with his poems; on the other hand, he devoted himself enthusiastically to War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Although he didn't have a job, he put on his short coat several times, ventured to the front with the troops to observe the war situation, then recorded the course of the war, analyzed the reasons for success or failure, and put forward the general plan to break the enemy to the relevant officials. Most of these articles are very practical, which is different from the comments of ordinary scholars.

In the thirty-sixth year of Jiajing (1557), Xu Wenchang was recruited by Hu Zongxian, who was appointed as the military governor of southeast China, and entered the shogunate to take charge of documents. This is the most proud period of Xu Wenchang's life. At the beginning of the curtain, Hu Zongxian wrote "Into the White Deer Original Table", which was appreciated by the emperor. Since then, Hu Zongxian has been more dependent on him and more tolerant of his laissez-faire personality. Xu Wenchang Biography by Tao Wangling records that Xu Wenchang often drinks with friends in the market. The Governor's Office was in a hurry to find him, so he left the door open late at night. Hu Zongxian was told that Xu Xiucai was drunk and shouted loudly, but Hu Zongxian praised him instead. At that time, Hu Zongxian's weight was very dignified, and all the officials were afraid to look up when they saw him. But Xu Wenchang, wearing a shabby black headscarf and a white cloth, broke in and talked about what was going on in the world. In the Governor's Office, it is difficult to find out what Xu Wenchang has done for War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. However, as Xu Wenchang, with his curious personality and his passion for War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, it can be concluded that Xu Wenchang participated in many important projects. We can really see some pertinent opinions in his reserved articles such as "Letter to the Governor's Office"-although his skill of managing troops is a bit harsh.

Of course, the shogunate also has many unpleasant things. For various reasons, Hu Zongxian kept close contact with the powerful minister Yan Song, while Xu Wenchang hated Yan Song, and Shen Lian, his closest friend, was killed because he participated in Yan Song's lettering. However, Xu Wenchang had to write something flattering Yan Song for Hu Zongxian, which was really a tragedy of a scholar.

In the forty-first year of Jiajing (1562), Yan Song was dismissed from office and Xu Jie became the cabinet record. Under the instigation of Xu Jie, Hu Zongxian was involved in illegal activities, and was arrested and returned to Beijing the following year (after being dismissed only for meritorious service). Xu Wenchang left the Governor's Office. In the forty-fourth year of Jiajing, Hu Zongxian was arrested again and died in prison, and several of his former aides were also implicated. Xu Wenchang is a bit extreme by nature. He failed the exam year after year, and he was very unhappy mentally. At this time, he was deeply saddened by Hu Zongxian's framed death, and he was more worried about his persecution, so he was completely disappointed with his life and even went crazy. He wrote an angry epitaph for himself, then pulled out the nail on the pilaster and smashed it into his ear, bleeding like a spring, and it took several months to heal. Later, I hit the renal capsule with my spine and didn't die. Repeated attacks like this, repeated suicide nine times. In the forty-fifth year of Jiajing, he was jailed for killing his wife Zhang because he suspected that she was unfaithful.

Being in prison for the first time in life is naturally painful. Xu Wenchang was in chains and covered with lice. In winter, snow piled up on his bed, and he was shivering with cold. Even the food sent by his friend was taken away. Later, many of his friends moved around to save him and improved his treatment. One of the most powerful assistance was first Zhu Dahao, assistant minister of does, and then Zhang Yuanluan, editor of Hanlin (he was the great-grandfather of Zhang Dai, a famous essayist in the late Ming Dynasty). They are all close friends of Xu Wenchang, and they are all top scholars with high reputation. With the help of these friends, Xu Wenchang spent seven years in prison and was finally released when Emperor Wanli ascended the throne. This happened in 1573, and Xu Wenchang was 53 years old.

Third, poverty among the elderly.

After so many hardships, Xu Wenchang no longer has any political ambitions, but his concern for state affairs has a long history. After he was released from prison, he first traveled to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, climbed mountains near the water and made many friends in poetry and painting. In the summer of Wanli four years (1576), Xu Wenchang was a friend of his youth. At this time, Wu Dui, who had been the secretariat of Xuanhua and shouldered the heavy responsibility of the northern frontier defense, invited him to the north, and he gladly went. Xu Wenchang served in Xuanhua Shogunate for less than a year, but he left many poems describing the scenery, folk customs and military life in the north. In the preface of Many Officials, he likes to talk about political affairs, especially the border defense strategy. At that time, Zhang presided over the court affairs and adopted a policy of appeasement to Mongolia, which was well appreciated. He was respected in the Fifth Team, but in poor health, so he had to go back to his hometown by way of Beijing the following spring.

At the age of 60, Xu Wenchang went to Beijing at the invitation of Zhang Yuan Tuan, but their relationship quickly deteriorated. According to Zhang Dai's description, Zhang Yuan Tuan is a person who strictly abides by ethics, while Xu Wenchang is a person who indulges in nature and is unwilling to be bound by traditional ethics. Zhang Yuan Tuan often used feudal ethics to restrict Xu Wenchang, which made Xu Wenchang very angry. He once said to the Zhang Yuan delegation: I killed someone when I died, but I got a knife in the neck. Now you have to chop me into pieces! Due to his bad relationship with old friends and unequal treatment with bureaucrats, Xu Wenchang suffered from a relapse of depression, which made it easy for him to return to his hometown after living in Beijing for three years. Since then, Xu Wenchang has never left Yin Shan.

In his later years in the countryside, Xu Wenchang became more and more disgusted with the rich and polite people. Most of his friends were former friends and disciples who followed him. It is said that someone came to visit, but Xu Wenchang didn't want to see him, so he pushed Chai Men away and shouted, "Xu Wei is not here!" He has been dead all his life, and his money is easy to disperse. At this time, he had to make a living by selling calligraphy and painting. But with a little money, I refused to do it again. Is a group of younger generation students and friends, who often cheat or rob to get his masterpieces. Xu Wenchang seems to like crabs very much, and many poems on paintings record how friends exchanged live crabs for his paintings. In the last few years, Xu Wenchang suffered from various diseases, so he could not paint often, and his life was even poorer. Xu Wenchang's Collected Works contains poems such as Selling Minks, Selling Piano, Selling Paintings and Selling Books, which shows the bleak future of this great writer and artist. 1593, Xu Wenchang died at the age of 73.

Fourth, various artistic achievements.

Xu Wenchang's literary and artistic creation covers a wide range of fields, but it can be pointed out that they have a common feature, that is, they never rely on others in art, like originality, have a strong personality and unrestrained style, and often show their love for folk literature.

In the poetry circle of Ming Dynasty, due to the advocacy of the former and the latter seven scholars, there appeared a trend of archaizing. Although they all have undeniable achievements, this tendency to learn from others obviously hinders the development of poetry art. Xu Wenchang was deeply dissatisfied with this and made a sharp criticism. He said: birds learn from human speech, and nature is still a bird; If you imitate your predecessors with all your heart, writing poetry is nothing but flowers and birds, and it has no real value. His own poetry creation pays attention to expressing personal actual feelings about social life, and his style is slightly close to Li He's, asking about learning and prospering the Tang Dynasty, and taking the Southern Dynasties in and out of the Song and Yuan Dynasties without losing himself. This tendency was inherited by the public security school, which advocated the expression of spirit in the later period, and it was of great significance to the change of poetic style in the late Ming Dynasty. Yuan Zhonglang, the commander-in-chief of the Public Security School, made a wonderful evaluation of Xu Wenchang's poems: "A long man has no ambition and a teacher, so he indulges in wild waves and landscapes ... What he saw was that mountains rushed to the sea, clouds rose in the sand, trees sang in the wind, and most of the valleys were people, fish and birds. Everything was shocking and shocking, which was expressed in the poems. There is an indelible smell in his chest. The protagonist is lost and helpless, so it is a poem, such as anger, laughter, underwater sound gorge, unearthed, widow crying at night and chilling. It will be thousands of miles away when it is released; Occasionally it is deep and steep, and there is a ghost anger in autumn. " In Xu Wenchang's prose, Ego Epitaph is the best. In addition, many letters are also very distinctive, pungent and humorous, and their writing style is far from first-class by Jin Shengtan, but overall, their achievements are not as good as poetry.

Xu Wenchang's drama creation includes four independent dramas: The History of Crazy Drum, Cui Xiang's Dream, Female Mulan and Female Champion. "The History of Crazy Drum" is about the feeling that Yan Song killed Shen Lian, showing the arrogant spirit of resistance. The latter two plays are all stories about women disguised as men, which reflect Xu Wenchang's view on women and have certain anti-feudal significance. These works broke the fixed format of zaju and opened the door for the diversification of drama forms. In drama theory, he advocates "true colors", that is, the drama language should conform to the identity of the characters, and the authenticity of the characters should be guaranteed by spoken language and colloquialism, while opposing elegant parallel language and excessive modification. These views are very insightful. In addition, he also wrote "Narrative of Southern Opera", which is the first theoretical monograph of Southern Opera in China and is of great significance in the history of drama.

Xu Wenchang once said: "My book is the first, my poem is the second, my writing is the third, and my painting is the fourth." This is probably the usual trick of literati, that is, to put their most valued art in the last position to raise others. In fact, he is a great master of freehand brushwork in China, which has influenced Badashan people, Shi Tao, Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics and even Wu Lushuo and Qi Baishi. He has a high position in the history of art. He is best at flower painting, indulgent with his pen, full of vigor and charm, poetic lyricism and rhythm, and is highly respected by people. His calligraphy is better than cursive script. Although Xu Wenchang ranks first, his achievements seem to be inferior to those of painting.

In addition, the zaju Dai Xiao and the novel Yun He Qi Zong are also said to have been written by Xu Wenchang. These are two excellent works, but their copyright seems to be very problematic, so I won't comment here.

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Xu Wei was born in Shanyin County, Zhejiang Province (now Shaoxing City) in the 16th year of Zheng De in Ming Dynasty (A.D. 152 1). He was brilliant in water. When he was a teenager, he wrote an article "Interpretation of Destruction" imitating Yang Xiong's "Laughter". A little longer, learn from fellow scholars. Ji Ben is a student of Wang Yangming, the founder of psychology. Therefore, Yangming's theory of mind has a great influence on Xu Wei's life through the teaching of the collection. The main point of Yangming's theory of mind is that "the mind is rational, but the mind is unreasonable". This is the recognition of conscience and intuition, which is related to Buddhist thinking and transcendental thinking, and also to Zen. The appearance of Yangming's theory of mind itself is a rebellion and challenge to Answer 7b and Zhu Neo-Confucianism, which were dominant at that time. During this period, philosophy, literature and art all showed a tendency to pursue individual liberation and express their feelings directly. Xu said that he naturally participated in this trend.

Since he was a scholar at the age of 20, Xu Wei has made friends with mentors. Although he tried many times, he failed. Among these teachers and friends, there are registered officials, retired Xiang Kun, secluded in the mountains and backward teenagers. They talk about art and encourage each other. Later, together with Xiao Mian, Michael Chen, Zhu, Qian Bian, Liu Lin, Zhu and Lu Guangsheng, they were called "Ten Scholars". Michael Chen's plays, paintings and Ke Yang's calligraphy all had a certain influence on the "Seven Days Theory".

In addition, he also made friends with famous literati painters in Suzhou and Hangzhou. Such as Chen Chun, Xie, Shen Shi, Liu and Shen. Xu said that in his contacts with these literati, Paopao became a genius who combined poetry, writing, calligraphy, painting, drama and military science.

When Xu Wei was in his thirties, his zaju Si Sheng Ape was praised by Tang Xianzu, a contemporary drama master.

Xu Wei was full of military talents and was appreciated by Japanese Governor Hu Zongxian at that time. At the age of thirty-seven, he was hired as an aide to the Hu Zongxian government. And designed to let Hu Zongxian lure the enemy to catch the thief Wang Zhi, completely eliminating the Seven-Day Sea. On one occasion, Hu Zongxian captured Bailuyuan and asked Xu Wei to write "Entering Bailuyuan Table" and present it to the DPRK. Emperor Shizong of Ming Dynasty and Dong Fen, a bachelor, praised the article, and Xu Wei was paid more attention by Hu Zongxian.

Hu Zongxian was involved in Yan Hao's fall from power and influence. He was imprisoned twice and finally died in prison. Xu Wei was also afraid of being implicated by Hu, and unexpectedly "led the giant cone to be harsh for several inches; The renal capsule was broken with the vertebra, and no one died. " (Biography of Wen Yuan in Ming Dynasty) committed suicide nine times. At this time, his inner anger and pain can only be vented in strong self-abuse. He is really crazy. Later, it developed into manslaughter of his wife and was imprisoned for it. In prison, his spirit calmed down a little, but he didn't recover. The crazy genius was saved by his compatriots. He was fifty-three years old when he got out of prison.

After he was released from prison, Xu Wei wandered in Jinling, Xuanliao and Beijing. From his release from prison to his death at the age of 73, he was poor, lonely and lonely. In these twenty years, he spent his life in a sober and abnormal state. According to his own records, he said: "It is repeatedly said that there are signs, and Geling will turn to old age." He can record it himself, which shows that although he is often insane, he is sometimes sober.

Xu Wei's paintings not only have certain knowledge, but also can break through the previous rules and regulations to express his own nature. His figure painting is influenced by Liang madman's pen reduction in Song Dynasty, which is concise and vivid. Landscape painting was influenced by Shen Zhou and Wen Zhiming. Flower-and-bird painting has taken a step forward on the basis of freehand brushwork by Lin Liang and Chen Chun. In the history of painting, he and Chen Chun are both called "Ivy" and "Poplar", and are regarded as the founders of the school of freehand brushwork.

Xu Wei pays special attention to the "rhyme" and "vividness" of painting. This is in line with the first method in China's painting-vivid. He once mentioned in a poem: "I don't want to look like a rhyme of survival. The roots are planted with my five fingers." In the book Xie Yuanming Volume, Ge Gongdan pointed out: "The disease of painting is not the lightness and weight of ink, but the vividness and emptiness." He thinks that if a painter wants to express his own temperament, chest order and feelings, he must choose the corresponding theme, which is suitable for his own temperament, chest order and feelings. When he was writing an ink peony, he mentioned: "Peony is a rich flower with a dazzling main color. So many people used to be good at hooking up. Today, this is a splash of ink. Although there is business, it is not the true face of this flower. Jade is a human being, and its nature is similar to Mei's, and it is rich and prosperous, if it is irrelevant. " From his point of view, he is really sober sometimes. It was his brilliant ideas when he was awake that made him show superhuman courage in his crazy works.

Among Xu Wei's paintings, ink painting can best show his arrogance and indifference to the past and present. The Nanjing Museum and Beijing Rong Baozhai each have a volume of Xu Wei's ink and flower drawings, and it is said that there are three volumes in the United States now. One of the best is "Nanbo Miscellaneous Flowers Long Scroll". Thirteen kinds of peony, pomegranate, lotus, sycamore tree, chrysanthemum, pumpkin, lentil, crape myrtle, grape, plantain, plum blossom, narcissus and bamboo are painted in this volume, dripping with ink and wash, Wang Yang is wanton, wet and dry, and natural. This volume has been published many times and printed together with a book. There are nine kinds of * * paintings in the "Ink Flowers" volume of Rong Baozhai Collection, among which there is a poem that is often quoted next to "The Map of Shi Mei": "I have never seen the plum blossom spectrum, and I am handy and have my own god. If you don't believe me, try to see thousands of trees. When the east wind blows, it becomes spring. " It not only shows that he is unwilling to stick to the rules and create boldly, but also shows his masturbation mood that he can put pen to paper and become spring.

The word "spring" is often mentioned in Xu Wei's paintings in his later years. For example, "ink dyeing is shallow and even, and painting is also a reward for youth." ("Mo Peony") "Fifty-eight years of poverty, have you ever missed Luoyang Spring?" "How much strength can you get from the spring breeze and take your children to heaven?" "Then you can stay in Chunma and watch the child break the net." (Poetry of the Wind and the Kite) and so on. There are also some words such as rouge, lips and posture. Whether this is related to Xu Wei's repressed sexual subconscious in his later years because of widowhood being vented through artistic creation.

Xu Wei's resentful, depressed, lonely and desolate inner world, and the poem inscribed on the painting "Ink Grape Map" reflects his inner self-confidence: "Half a lifetime of being down and out has become an Weng, and the wind whistling in the evening. The pearls at the bottom of the pen have nowhere to sell, but they are thrown into wild vines. "

After Xu Wei's death, his works were more and more appreciated by some people of insight. Shi Tao, Xi Shi, Badashan people and even the Eight Eccentrics in Yangzhou were all deeply influenced by it, and they performed outstandingly in the painting circles at that time. Until modern times, Tao Wei's works still exude dazzling brilliance.

In the Qing Dynasty, Zheng Banqiao once exchanged 500 gold for a pomegranate in Tianchi (decorated by Xu Wei) and was willing to be a lackey under the ivy.

Qi Baishi, a contemporary painter, boasts that "hate was not born 300 years ago" and "grinds ink and manages paper" for the green vine.