Article | Sun Xiaoyun

The Resolution of the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee pointed out that "cultural confidence is a more fundamental, broader, and profound confidence, and it is the most fundamental, profound, and enduring force in the development of a country or a nation. Without high cultural confidence and cultural prosperity, there can be no great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation

Standing at a new starting point, we need to be more firmly aware that the excellent traditional Chinese culture with a long history is a prominent advantage of the Chinese nation and the foundation for us to stand firm in the global cultural turmoil. Chinese calligraphy is a unique symbol and spiritual symbol of Chinese culture. We must firmly rooted in this rich soil of excellent traditional Chinese culture, strengthen cultural confidence with calligraphy, and stimulate strong spiritual power.

Carrying cultural confidence through calligraphy is a spiritual force drawn from the 5000 year history of the Chinese nation. Cultural confidence stems from our profound historical accumulation. As a vast country with vast territory and abundant resources, China has gone through five thousand years of ups and downs, creating a brilliant historical and cultural legacy, and accumulating rich literary and artistic achievements and ideological elites. Especially under the leadership of the CPC, the Chinese nation has ushered in a great leap from standing up, getting rich to becoming strong, which is unparalleled in any era. Today, culture is also facing an unprecedented new situation, which requires us to learn from the past and the present, and draw wisdom from Chinese history. As Wang Xizhi once said in his "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection", "In the future, we will look to the present as we look to the past." This ancient saying reminds us to think about yesterday, today, and tomorrow in the long history of inheritance.

Chinese characters are the root and soul of Chinese culture. The unique spiritual charm of Chinese calligraphy embodies the genes of Chinese culture. Whether it is oracle bone bamboo slips, stone tablets, block printing, or movable type printing, it cannot do without writing and calligraphy. In any past era, calligraphy, as a historical recorder and cultural disseminator, was indispensable. Books carry the message and words are like heart paintings. Whether composing poems or recording history, the dissemination of culture and the continuation of national spirit are all historical missions that require generations of literati, literati, and skilled craftsmen to continue and complete.

Those who fall in reality think of their trees, while those who drink their flow cherish their roots. Only by not forgetting the path of the past can we take a good path towards the future. In terms of writing tools, in just a few decades, we have undergone a historic transformation from brushes, pens, and signature pens to computers and voice input. However, no matter how the form changes, Chinese history is recorded and passed down through written records, and we still use the words left by our ancestors to this day. In Chinese culture, writing and writing are parallel. The Chinese civilization and spirit formed through thousands of years of writing are given by Chinese calligraphy. Cultural confidence includes confidence in Chinese calligraphy. This confidence has always inspired me and made me remember that I can never lose my brush.

Calligraphy, as a form of literature and art, also shoulders the heavy responsibility of drumming and calling for the advancement of the times. In addition to the function of recording words and history, calligraphy also has silent charm, charming composure, and special infectious power. Traditional calligraphy embodies the common aesthetic and emotional values of the Chinese nation, especially the character and ideas it embodies, which play a role in cultivating moral character and strengthening spirit for contemporary people. Contemporary calligraphers should have a clear understanding of the historical mission they have undertaken. We need to carry forward and inherit calligraphy, awaken the recognition of the spirit and aesthetics of the entire nation, play a role in cohesion, unity, centripetal, and establishment, inspire and inspire everyone to raise their spiritual sails in a more firm, confident, and full state of mind on the path of struggle in the new era.

Inspiring cultural confidence through calligraphy is an urgent need to meet the new expectations of the people for a better life. Cultural confidence is not a slogan, it has very specific content. The revival of traditional Chinese culture must first start with 'me'. Entering a new era, better meeting the new expectations of the people for a better life includes a higher demand for spiritual and cultural life. With the increasing cultural awareness and confidence of the entire nation, the enthusiasm for learning traditional calligraphy is also growing. In the hearts of the people, what are their requirements and expectations for calligrapher? What kind of works do people like? We contemporary calligraphers should truly pay attention to social needs and provide more and better spiritual food for the people.

I grew up in a family where traditional culture, revolutionary culture, and advanced socialist culture coexist. My sincere love for calligraphy since childhood was my original intention. I have joined teams and served in the military, and these grassroots work experiences have allowed me to have a long-term understanding of what the people most need, like, and yearn for. For decades in a row, I have actively organized and participated in cultural benefits, charitable donations, calligraphy lectures, signature book sales, etc., which have made me truly feel the great enthusiasm and sincere love of the people for traditional culture. Seeing so many people love calligraphy is both a motivation and a confirmation. At the same time, I also understand the evaluations and suggestions of the people towards me, and I will make further efforts and corrections. Through such interaction and progression, the purpose of making calligraphy Serve the People has been strengthened, and I firmly believe that calligraphy is the common spiritual home of all Chinese people.

& nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; In the past five years, I have participated in the "Advocating Virtue and Art, Being Believing, Emotional, and Responsible New Era Literary and Art Workers" tour organized by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles. During these five years, I and several other artists have visited more than 20 provinces and cities, including Xinjiang, Guizhou, Qinghai, Guangxi, Yunnan, Shandong, Guangdong, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, and the military, With the titles of "Inheriting Chinese Calligraphy through 60 Years of Calligraphy Practice" and "Writing the Great Era with One Pen and One Painting", we had face-to-face exchanges with grassroots literary and artistic workers. In many remote areas, wherever they go, they are warmly welcomed. It turns out that so many people sincerely love calligraphy, and I deeply believe that calligraphy is truly the most deeply rooted and specific way to evoke cultural confidence.

To make calligraphy more deeply ingrained in people's hearts, we not only need to create more elegant and popular works that are widely appreciated and dignified, but also to spread the beauty of calligraphy more widely, allowing calligraphy to enter schools, families, halls, venues, hang in study rooms, studios, conference rooms, and even roll on fluorescent screens, curtain walls, etc., making calligraphy no longer a minority art, but a daily life that Chinese people must touch every day, Let calligraphy truly become the spiritual symbol and symbol of traditional Chinese culture, and let the beautiful Chinese characters convey the Chinese spirit, which is the most concrete manifestation of our cultural confidence.

Promoting cultural confidence through calligraphy is a conscious pursuit of contemporary calligraphy workers in practice and action. At present, the new era we are living in is magnificent and magnificent. As a calligrapher, one should integrate their personal artistic pursuit with the development of the times, paint portraits of the times, establish biographies for the times, and clarify the virtues of the times. Calligraphy should play its role in recording history, reflecting historical changes, and depicting spiritual maps. This year, the Chinese calligrapher's Association held the "Great Cause - Calligraphy Exhibition Celebrating the Centennial of the CPC" in the National Museum and the National Library, so that the calligraphy art can be integrated into the grand narrative of the centennial history of the party, so that the individual calligraphy career can devote itself to the task of the goal of the great era, and write calligraphy works loved by the people, appreciated by both refined and popular people, recorded and praised the era.

It is the responsibility of literary and artistic workers in the new era to write with the heart of the "great nation" and closely follow the significant historical nodes of traditional Chinese culture and the times. In recent years, I have written "Four Books", "Tao Te Ching" and family rules and instructions of all generations, which are the essence of traditional culture that everyone is familiar with; The poem "Poetic Jiangnan" uses traditional ink to depict the images of Jiangnan, praising the land of fish and rice in Jiangnan on the way to a moderately prosperous society; The "Chinese Fu" is a classic Ci Fu that describes the beauty of the rivers and mountains, the halls and pavilions, the phenology of the four seasons, and the wonders of the East; This year, I wrote "Ode to the Canal" again, depicting a magnificent chapter of the canal and paying tribute to the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. I have always positioned myself as a "calligraphy practitioner". What I need to do is to activate the ancient classics of traditional Chinese calligraphy, strive to build a bridge between traditional Chinese calligraphy and contemporary calligraphy, and pass on my writing, experience, and experience to others, so that more people can enter the writing and learning of traditional Chinese calligraphy and the aesthetic world of traditional calligraphy.

Aesthetic education can start with calligraphy, and the cultural confidence of the Chinese nation starts with writing good characters. This is something that every Chinese person can do anytime, anywhere. Confucius said, 'I reflect on myself three times a day'. Through the training of Chinese characters, one stroke at a time, I engage in self reflection, self-discipline, and self-examination, continuously cultivating my personality, improving myself, and elevating my realm, which can bring a sense of gain and happiness to more people. As calligraphers, we should subtly bring more people closer to calligraphy, feel the charm of traditional Chinese culture, and then enhance cultural confidence. This is a process of "moistening things silently", just like a raindrop. Everyone performs their duties well, and more and more raindrops gather into a spring rain. "Good rain knows the season, and when spring comes," and the prosperity of socialist culture has also arrived.

I always believe that each and every one of us is a small leaf on the lush tree of Chinese culture. We constantly absorb nutrients from the roots of this tree, grow luxuriantly, and finally form a dense shade of green. And the green shade under this towering tree is the spiritual home that protects the prosperity of our Chinese nation. We must double our efforts to make Chinese calligraphy an inseparable and important part of our daily lives, a unique Chinese emblem standing in the forest of the world, and a sacred symbol of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

(The author is the chairman of China calligrapher's Association, vice chairman of Jiangsu Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and chairman of Jiangsu Calligrapher's Association)