When I walked into the study room of a scholar, I saw couplets with the flavor of calligraphy and ink hanging on the wall, such as "the style of writing and the aroma of calligraphy, the poetic feeling of painting and calligraphy". When I recited them casually, I felt a sense of calligraphy. born.
There are two types of study couplets. One is those that have nothing to do with the owner of the study or the study, and are purely decorative to show elegance, such as the handwriting of famous artists, famous couplets from past dynasties, etc.; the other is related to the owner of the study. They may describe the scene of the study or express the aspirational feelings. Most of these couplets are written by the owner of the study, inscribed by himself, or given by friends. What we are talking about here is the latter couplet.
Reading the study couplets of literati, you can understand their thoughts and aspirations. There was a couplet hanging in Su Dongpo's study in his early years: "Strive to know all the characters in the world, and determine to read all the books in the world." After chewing this couplet, we can understand that the true meaning of why he became a famous writer in the Northern Song Dynasty originated from this. The famous modern writer Lin Yutang lived in a garden house on Yidingpan Road (now Jiangsu Road) in Shanghai in the 1930s. He has a study room "Youbuweizhai" downstairs in his bungalow, which is very elegantly decorated. On the bookshelf, dress-bound books and thread-bound books coexist, and a couplet written and gifted by Liang Qichao hangs in a conspicuous place: "Both feet on Eastern and Western culture, dedicated to commenting on articles about the universe." This clearly reveals the ambition of this doctor who studied in the United States.
Reading the study couplets of literati bachelors, one can also imagine their study environment and understand their study career at that time. Zheng Banqiao came from a poor family when he was young. The couplet he wrote in his study "Oliver Pavilion" is: "A hundred-foot-tall tree can hold up a bright moon, and a low house with several rafters cannot lock up the sound of books at midnight." A poor scholar stayed up to read at night. The scene vividly appeared on the paper. Sun Xingyan, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty, wrote a couplet in the "Dainan Pavilion" of his study: "One window has a beautiful view of Wang Wei's paintings, and the four walls are green mountains and Du Fu's poems." It's like smelling the strong fragrance of calligraphy and ink in his study. Deng Shiru, a calligrapher of the Qing Dynasty, wrote a long couplet in his "Tieyan Mountain House" in Huaining County, Anhui Province, which goes: "The sun on the sea, the clouds in Chicheng, the snow in Emei, the clouds in Wuxia, the moon in Dongting, the smoke in Pengli, and the rain in Xiaoxiang, Wuyi Peak, Lushan Waterfall, combined with the wonders of the universe, are painted on the walls of my house; Shaoling poems, Mojie paintings, Zuo Chuanwen, Sima Shi, Xue Tao's notes, Youjun posts, Nanhua Sutra, Xiangru Fu, Qu Zili Sao, collecting ancient and modern "Excellent art, put it in my mountain house." Listening to his words, the "Iron Inkstone Mountain House" is not only like an art gallery that "combines the wonders of the universe", but also like a museum that "collects ancient and modern art."
Reading the study couplets of literati, you can also learn about their life interests. In his early years, the modern writer Feng Zikai built the "Yuanyuan Hall" in his hometown of Tongxiang, Zhejiang Province. There is a couplet inside that says: "Have straw cups and plates to pray to and laugh, and dim lights talk about life." This is borrowed from a poem by Wang Anshi's sister in the Song Dynasty. It is said that Feng Zikai often invited old friends to chat about life in his room until the lights were turned on. The dim and peaceful light of the kerosene lamp shrouded the emotions of the people in the room, and the long night chat was poetic and picturesque. In his later years, Mr. Feng lived in the "Sun and Moon Building" on Shaanxi South Road in Shanghai. There is also a couplet in the building: "In the Sun and Moon Building, the sun and the moon are long, and the stars are rotating in the world of stars." It turns out that Mr. Feng's study is on the second floor, and there are both indoor and outdoor rooms in the building. The balcony has a south window, an east window, a southwest window, and a skylight. It can be said to be full of light and suddenly bright. You can see the sun coming and going during the day, and you can look up at the bright moon in the sky and the stars in the sky at night. Xu Wei, a calligrapher and painter of the Ming Dynasty, has a couplet in his "Ivy Bookstore": "Several rickety rooms, and a man with a southern accent and a northern accent." In just a few words, a wild and unrestrained image appeared in front of him.
There is a handwritten couplet by Liang Qichao hanging in the writer Bing Xin’s study: The vicissitudes of the world have made the mind determined; the sea and mountains in my heart are flying in my dreams.
There is another couplet hanging in Bing Xin’s study: Be content with what you have and know that you are not enough;
Liu Haisu, a master of calligraphy and painting, hung a couplet in the studio: Don't be surprised by favor or disgrace, watching the flowers blooming and falling in front of the court; leaving or staying without intention, watching the clouds rolling and relaxing in the sky.
The calligrapher and painter Guan Shanyue collected Lu Xun's poems into a couplet and hung it in the studio: chatting and drawing pictures soothes the tired eyes; only studying red ink to create green mountains.
Linguist Wang Li hangs a couplet in his study: People are painting the west of the bridge, cold incense flies up to the poem; when I wake up from wine, under the bright moon, my dream soul wants to cross the vastness.
There is a couplet hanging in the study of Yu Pingbo, a famous red scholar: There is a poet through the ages, and his articles are inspired by wisdom and wisdom; he has a house with five lakes and three acres, with green mountains as his house and water as his neighbor.
Lu You, a poet of the Song Dynasty, who lived with books as his companion, named his study "Book Nest" and wrote a couplet of his own: Ten thousand volumes of ancient and modern books disappear forever; a window of dusk sends the passing years away.