蒋彝（Chiang Yee）（19031977），作家、画家、书法家、诗人。曾先后任教于伦敦大学、哥伦比亚大学、哈佛大学等，当选英国皇家艺术学会会员、美国艺术与科学院院士。蒋彝以"哑行者"为笔名，出版英文旅行画记十余册，图文并茂勾勒当地自然风貌和生活图景。他撰写的《中国画》（The Chinese Eye： An Interpretation of Chinese Painting）、《中国书法》Chinese Calligraphy：Its Aesthetic and Technique迄今仍是西方艺术院系教授中国书画的必读之作。
目錄：
目录：中译本序一 i中译本序二 vi中译本序三 viii序言 xi作者的话 xv壹 绪论 3贰 汉字的起源和构成 27叁 书体 55肆 中国书法的抽象美 133伍 技法 167陆 笔画 187柒 结构 209捌 练习 237玖 书法与绘画 259拾 美学原则 285拾壹 书法与中国其他艺术形式的关系 297注释 316参考文献 319Preface xAuthors Notes xivI. Introduction 2II. The Origin and Construction of Chinese Characters 26III. The Styles 54IV. The Abstract Beauty of Chinese Calligraphy 132V. Technique 166VI. The Strokes 186VII. Composition 208VIII. Training 236IX. Calligraphy and Painting 258X. Aesthetic Principles 284XI. The Relations Between Calligraphy and Other Forms of Chinese Art 296Notes 316Bibliography 319
內容試閱：
PrefaceWhen the first edition of Chinese Calligraphy appeared in 1938, I was immediately struck by its significance for the general philosophy of art, and more particularly by its bearing on certain aspects of modern art. Ever since we Westerners became familiar with Chinese civilization, we have known that the Chinese attached what seemed to be an inordinate importance to theirhandwriting. Most people probably interpreted this peculiarity in terms of scholastic discipline, for that is the way we have treated handwriting. To write what was called a good hand meant to conform to a universal pattern, to suppress eccentricities, to approach as closely as possible tocopperplate, the standard lettering of the engraver. It is only comparatively recently that a certain freedom has been allowed, and even encouraged, in schools. Another and very recent development is the popularization of Italic or Humanist script writing. This is sometimesconceived as another formal discipline, in this respect not different from copperplate; but more generally it expresses a feeling for the beauty of handwriting, and in this respect is nearer to the Chinese conception of calligraphy.Mr. Chiang, in his chapter on The Abstract Beauty of Chinese Calligraphy, describes with great clarity the aesthetic principles underlying this art. They turn out to be the aesthetic principles of all genuine art, and what is really distinctive about Chinese calligraphy is the fact that it isnot a separate and inferior craft, but an essential element in the artistic life of the Chinese people. The aesthetic of Chinese calligraphy is simply this： that a beautiful form should be beautifully executed. But the aesthetic of Chinese painting is simply that too; and so is the aesthetic of Chinese sculpture or Chinese pottery. I would say that this is a universal principle of all art, and it implies, not merely that the work of art should be formally perfect, but that it should also be organically vital. In Chinese calligraphy, says Mr. Chiang, the main principle of composition is in every case a balance and poise similar to that of a figure standing, walking, dancing, or executing some other lively movement. The beauty of Chinese calligraphy is essentiallythe beauty of plastic movement, not of designed and motionless shape.How such lively movement is conveyed by a written character, or by a painting or a piece of sculpture or pottery, is a mystery that we cannot completely analyseit is an instinctive coordination of the artists mental image and the muscular stroke with which he expresses or projects that image. It is, at any rate, a very personal faculty, achieved by continuous practice and meditation, by a discipline that is spiritual rather than physical. Only a few great masters attain perfection. What specially interested me when I first read Mr. Chiangs book was the analogy between this aesthetic and the aesthetic of modern abstract art. I use the word analogy because modern artists in general have not made their principles sufficiently clear bythe perfection of their works, and as a result the public is still confused and even antagonized by such art. I believe that the best of the Western abstract artists are groping in the right direction, and a great painter like Paul Klee had certainly found the illumination that comes from a perfect understanding of abstract beauty. But so many abstract paintings aredesigned and motionless shapes; of how few could one say, as Mr. Chiang says of a Chinese character, that if any part had been wrongly placed the whole would appear to totter?In the last few years a new movement of painting has grown up which is at least in part directly inspired by Chinese calligraphyit is sometimes called organic abstraction, even sometimes calligraphic painting. Soulages, Mathieu, Hartung, Michauxthese artists are certainly notunaware of the principles of Chinese calligraphy, and they try to achieve the first two essentials of good calligraphy which are also the first two essentials of good Chinese paintinga simulation of life in the strokes and a dynamic equilibrium in the design. Sometimes they succeed, but more often they seem to me to be hampered by the relatively coarse and heavy materials of Western painting. Nor, perhaps, have they that intimate relationship to nature which, however hidden, lies behind every Chinese character.Chiang Yee writes simply and clearly about matters which are subtle and difficult to understand. Not the least valuable aspect of his book is the charm of its style. Mr. Chiang has written many books since this one was first published, and has greatly extended our knowledge, not only of Chinese artand civilization, but also of art and civilization in general. He is one of those rare foreigners who help us to understand ourselves. Herbert Read序言《中国书法》第一版于1938 年问世时，我立即被它对一般艺术哲理的意义，特别是与现代艺术某些方面的联系所吸引。自从我们西方人熟悉中国文化以来，我们就知道中国人似乎超乎寻常地重视他们的书法。大部分人可能会根据学校训练的方法来解释这一特殊的现象，因为那正是我们以往对待书法的方法。从此出发，要写所谓的"好字"，就得遵循通用的规范，严禁各种怪癖，并尽可能写得像制版工人镌制的标准印刷体"铜版字体"。只是在近年，某种"自由"才得到了学校的允许，甚至鼓励。此外，就是近年发展起来的斜体字、又名人文主义者"手稿体"的流行。这种字体有时被视为另一种形式的规范，就此而言，它与铜版字体毫无区别；但总的来看，它抒发了一种追求书法美的感情，因而更接近于中国人的书法观念。在《中国书法的抽象美》这章中，蒋彝先生透彻地阐述了这一艺术的基本美学原则。它们实际上也是所有真正的艺术的美学原则。此外，中国书法的独特之处在于它并不是一门孤立的、等级低下的技艺，而是中国人艺术生活中的一个基本组成部分。"简单地说，中国书法的美学就是：优美的形式应该被优美地表现出来。"而中国绘画的美学以及中国雕塑和中国陶器的美学也是如此。我要这样说，这是一条适用于所有艺术的普遍原则。同时，它意味着艺术品不仅应该具备完美的形式，还必须富于有机的生命力。蒋先生写道，中国书法中，结构的主要原则在任何情况下都是平衡，就像人体在站立、行走、舞蹈或者做其他一些充满生气的运动时保持平衡一样。"中国书法之美实质上就是造型运动的美，而不是预先设计的静止不动的形态美。"一个书写下的汉字、一幅画、一件雕塑或陶器，何以表现这种"充满生气的运动"，这是我们无法完全解开的谜它是艺术家心中的意象与借以"表达"或"投射"该意象的由肌肉支配的笔触间本能的契合。不管怎么说，它纯属个人的才能，它来自于持之以恒的实践和领悟，来自于精神的训练而不是体格的训练。只有寥寥无几的大师方能臻其完美。第一次拜读蒋先生的著作时，使我特别感兴趣的是这一美学与现代"抽象"艺术的美学之间的相似之处。我之所以用"相似"一词，是因为现代艺术家普遍未能（用他们尽善尽美的作品）清晰地阐明他们的原理，因此，公众依然为这种艺术所困惑，甚至对其抱有反感。我相信，西方最优秀的抽象艺术家们正朝着正确的方向进行探索，像保罗克利1 这样的大画家已经由充分理解抽象美而得到了启示。然而，大量的抽象画却属于"预先设计的静止不动的形态"，其中属于蒋先生对中国汉字的评价那样，只要任何一部分被安排错了，整体就会显得摇摇欲坠的作品，实在是很少的。近年来，兴起了一个新的绘画运动，这运动至少在某种程度上是由中国书法直接引起的它有时被称为"有机的抽象"，有时甚至被称作"书法绘画"。苏拉吉2、马蒂厄3、哈同4、米寿5这些画家当然了解中国书法的原理，他们力图获取"优秀书法作品的两个基本要素：奉师造化，静中有动"（优秀的中国绘画作品也是如此）。他们虽然时而获得成功，但据我看，他们更多地受阻于粗糙笨重的西方绘画材料，或许也由于他们对每个汉字内含的本性并不熟悉所致。蒋彝先生对一些微妙难解的问题阐述得既简洁又清晰。他那优秀的文笔也相当可贵。自从此书问世以来，蒋先生撰写了许多著作，大大地充实了我们的知识，不仅是有关中国艺术和文化的知识，甚至是有关于整个艺术和文化的知识。他是属于为数不多的帮助我们了解自己的外国人中的一个。[英] 赫伯特里德
購物車/收銀台(
0
) | 在線留言板
| 付款方式
| 聯絡我們
| 運費計算
| 幫助中心 |
加入書簽
HOME
新書上架
