呂傳彬
The manuscript Elegiac Address to My Nephew by Yan Zhenqing, the calligraphy master in Tang Dynasty, revealed the tragic and miserable experience of the Yan family in the An Lushan Rebellion. It was written by Yan Zhenqing in his 50s for his nephew, Yan Jiming, killed by the rebellious army. Yan Zhenqings brother, Yan Gaoqing, served in the army against An Lushan, and when the rebel army conquered the town he guarded, they threatened to kill his son Yan Jiming to surrender him. Yan Gaoqing refused, and Yan Jiming was beheaded. In that war, the Yan family lost more than 30 people. In the gigantic sorrow, Yan Zhenqing wrote the manuscript in cursive handwriting, which fully displayed his drastic emotional transitions. For the calm and steady strokes at the beginning to the passionate and frantic curves at the end, one can feel the tremendous pain and anger of the writer. The critics in Yuan Dynasty regarded it as the top 2 cursive writing in the history of calligraphy.
唐代顏真卿《祭侄文稿》(現(xiàn)藏于臺北故宮博物院)仿佛是一出紀錄安史之亂與顏氏家族的悲壯史劇。一言一字出于至情,驚天地而泣鬼神;深摯情感,化為筆墨,沉郁悲切,天真爛然,為后人所傳唱不已……顏氏以其忠烈凜然的宏闊氣格,突破唐人承晉余緒的秀媚;剛強端謹?shù)娘L(fēng)神,有其對儒家道德理想人格的實踐。
天下行書第二
《祭侄文稿》為顏真卿五十歲時,為侄兒顏季明所寫的一篇祭文。由于此稿是未謄寫過的初始草稿,勾抹涂寫顯得自然而率意;而行筆的錯綜變化,仿佛彈撥琴弦,隨著內(nèi)在情緒變化而頓挫屈郁,猶如鳴奏著悲愴的交響樂章。
元鮮于樞于此稿的跋文中,稱譽此帖為“天下行書第二”,可謂繼王羲之后,顏真卿成為中國書法史上第二顆耀眼閃亮的巨星,帶起了中國書法史上的第二次高峰。
顏季明為顏真卿二哥顏杲卿之子,顏真卿為季明的“第十三叔”。當時安祿山謀反,顏杲卿揭旗起兵拒賊時,季明常往返于常山(今河北唐縣西北)與平原(今屬山東樂陵平原一帶)之間傳遞信息。當時顏杲卿派季明前往平原傳信,原擬約集常山與平原兩郡,聯(lián)合阻擋叛軍南下的退路,切斷叛軍的歸路。
未料賊臣王承業(yè)于叛軍圍攻常山時,袖手旁觀,未能派兵援救,最后城陷,顏杲卿被擒。父親罹難,兒子亦不能免于一死。
當時顏杲卿為叛將蔡希德所俘,賊將把季明帶到顏杲卿面前,脅迫投降,若不降,即殺其子;顏杲卿不屈從,季明當場即被斬首。后來顏杲卿被解送到洛陽,他面斥安祿山有負朝廷,安祿山怒之,命屬下割其舌,顏杲卿終至壯烈成仁。
后來郭子儀收復(fù)了常山,顏真卿即命侄兒泉明到河北尋找親人尸首。泉明找到父親的尸體以及季明的首級攜回蒲州,當時顏氏家族共有三十余人遇害。顏真卿于文中悲憤寫道:“撫念追昔,令人淚水縱橫,悲痛切骨,只待將來擇墓安葬。若亡靈有知,也請不要以流落異鄉(xiāng)作客為悲,真是哀慟啊,請享用祭品吧!”
草稿真實自然
此卷作品文辭凄切動人,流暢的筆觸,仿佛將糾結(jié)于心的悲慟傾瀉而出,字字血淚,觸動人心。全文由書寫時的情緒平穩(wěn),而至行文中的激憤與悲切,到最后痛徹心扉的頓挫郁屈,禿筆飛白涂改隨意,筆奮墨悲,令人駭目。此種不計工拙,隨心所欲,忠義憤發(fā)之氣,足以震爍古今。
元張晏曾為此帖題跋云:“告不如書簡,書簡不如起草。”一般書寫文告是官場上使用的,書寫要求端整謹嚴,有其規(guī)范,因此不如書信來得意興酣暢,不拘形式。然書信仍有修飾,又不如草稿來得無心而真實自然。是以《祭侄文稿》令人動心駭目,真行草三法兼?zhèn)?,尤見高妙,無怪乎鮮于樞將之譽為繼《蘭亭序》之后為“天下行書第二”。(責編 賀雷)