The breath-taking scenery of Hwa
Kang flows through my window;
Not only real life, but also voice and
fragrance invade the atmosphere.
I intend to understand the heavens,
the earth, and people,
And cultivate the virtues of truth
goodness, and beauty.
Covering wisdom, kindness,
and courage with my brush,
While blending spirit, vigor,
and beauty into my ink,
I can only enjoy life while
failing to heed it.
I am drunk with this paradise
all year around.
Shih Tzu-chen- A Window Painting
Looking through the wood-framed window in 70-year-old Shih Tzu-chen's residence at Yangmingshan, one is strongly stirred by the mood revealed in the old poet's lines. For more than 21 years, the aging Professor, pacemaker of multi-color calligraphy, seated over his some three-foot-square time-worn desk, close to this and other windows, has inscribed countless calligraphic works.
It is a weather-beaten faculty dormitory near the campus, and Professor Shih, pacing awkwardly, the result of a leg wound in the war against Japan, never for a moment ceases smoking, not even when talking. The colored characters Tu Lu (A Lonely Thatched Cottage) hang from the inner door lintel and testify to his withdrawal from the contemporary bustle of life. Cigarette obliquely held in his lips, Shih speaks precisely, then listens with the assistance of a hearing aid.
Shih sees Chinese calligraphy as an "art of blankness." Delicate strokes and three-dimensional feeling commanded by the starkness of white against black, stir differing emotional reflections among viewers.
In terms of historical development, the extension and enlargement of the calligraphic arts lie in each creator's innovation and conversion. In other words, the calligrapher's ultimate position and the value of his works are decided by whether he is capable of breaking the tradition al bounds and creating a new aesthetic. For example, Wang Hsi-chi's success in developing calligraphy from practical use into highly artistic presentations entitled him to the title Shu Sheng (Saint of Calligraphy). Cheng Pan-chiao was noted for interchangeable applications of his clerical and standard scripts and running hand; his free expression swept away the rigid clique of traditional strokes. "The quest for innovation and conversion should not be regarded as affectation or demagogy, but rather, as the endless pursuit of an independent art life," Shih remarked pensively.
Discussing originality in calligraphic styles, Shih noted: "A human being's greatest enemy is himself; this also applies to the artist's approach to creative work. Physical life is limited: an artist has to use an abstract medium to extend his life. If an artist imitates other's work all his life, he only extends other's lives. Emulation is merely a means, but not the end. An artist should always seek to create his own style."
In a thesis, "The transformation and comparison of script hands," submitted to an international Sinological conference hosted by the Academia Sinica in 1980, Shih compared the four major current script styles. Focusing on 10 characteristics categorized under background, growth, and presentation, he anticipated the future development of calligraphic script. Professor Cheng Teh-kun, the famous archaeologist from Chinese University in Hongkong, pointed out, after Shih presented his article, that Shih's own style is qualified as the fifth script, because the original four depend on chung feng, the middle strokes, while Shih's pioneered style is based on pien feng, the oblique strokes.
Amid a fog of choking air generated by Shih's chain smoking, the old master proudly sketched the characteristics of his pien feng, a crop havested after many years' strenuous tilling. "The effect of multiple uses of pien feng is equal to that of chung feng," Shih commented.
Shih's outstanding artistic creativity has also resulted in color calligraphy. Honoring the old theory of mo feng wu se (the color black is divided into five hues), he replaces the traditional black ink with Chinese painting colors. Using the brush to pick up two or more colors at the same time, he applies and blends them on the rice paper in a natural way. Color combination and stroke techniques are pivotal in his dramatic presentation.
Lee Lin-tsan, deputy director of the majestic National Palace Museum in Taipei, commented on negative criticisms of Shih's shift to color: "The ancient Chinese regarded calligraphy as an art equal to, if not more important than, painting. Our ancestors of a very long time ago applied cinnabar to create the oracle-bone inscriptions. And in ancient times it was quite common to imply auspicious sayings by means of cinnabar colored bamboo. Our century features versatile concepts. Try to imagine the notable passage Spring winds again green the southern river bank, presented in color calligraphy—surely a soul-stirring possibility."
According to Lee Zuei-tan, one of Shih's devoted students, Kites grazing the sky and fishes leaping in deepest waters, a line from Ta Ya (The Book of Odes), may be applied to characterize Shih's calligraphic accomplishments.
Calligrapher-artist-writer Shih—"Ready to walk steel lines"
For many years, Shih has also devoted himself to theory research. Such volumes as Colored Calligraphy, On Calligraphic History, The Art of Script, Comparative Script, and others are evidences of this quest.
Shih's coincident attainments in literature flavor all his works. As a modern poet of the 30s, Shih did not confine himself to the regulation four Chinese phonetic tones "required" for Chinese poetry. Selected Poems of Tzu-chen, a collection of his early works published by the New Moon Book Store, won the praise of contemporary writers when he was just 19 (the volume had nothing to do with the romanticism of the New Moon School, a famous literary movement of that time). Poetess Hu Ping-ching pointed out that his poetry evoked the objectivity of works from the French classical period-his motif was universal truth.
Shih declares himself a "deserter" from today's "new literature." Declaring that he lacks the courage to criticize his own poems, he was frankly critical of contemporary Chinese literature: "The accomplishments of the new literature are doubtful. Modern youths have not paid due attention to their literature heritage. Without tradition, there is no creation."
After teaching for 21 years at CCU's department of Chinese literature, Professor Shih, in most students' eyes, is a gentle, wise, and accessible scholar. He regards the university as home, the students as his children. The quiet living room of Tu Lu is often charged with youths' animated tones. One cooed compared Shih to Hephaestus, the ancient Greek God of Fire; though transformed by age, his person in no way conceals the brilliance of his artistic attainment.
Shih noted that old men like himself, who had braved through the chaotic conditioning of the War of Resistance Against Japan, could find nothing to crave in terms of material rewards. Therefore, his calligraphic works are never for sale. He sends all of them to friends or students as gifts. "I will write anything requested of me except commercial posters," Shih smiles. At the same lime, he refuses to stage exhibitions of his works.
Shih's life is filled with inks, books, and poetry. And the serenity of his simple lifestyle is embellished by visits of some of his old friends. Together, they chant poems and refresh their memories of adventures-past.
In an unpublished autobiographical poem, he concludes:
In old age, the pen and brush
should grow more round,
But mine are still sharp,
ready to walk steel lines.
The scenes of life are easy to reshape,
But my character is difficult to change.
I leave many controversies
behind to other men.