王孝树Wang Xiaoshu

Wang Xiaoshu, a male born in 1946 in Dayu County, Jiangxi Province, is an educator who graduated from Ganzhou Normal School. He taught in rural primary and secondary schools for 15 years before being transferred to the Dayu County Teachers' Training School. Later, he was transferred to the Dayu County Education Bureau, where he served as secretary of the Secretariat and deputy director of the Education Bureau Office. He has loved calligraphy since childhood and has been immersed in it for decades, never stopping his practice and dedication. He has studied various styles of calligraphy, including seal script, official script, regular script, running script, and cursive script, and particularly enjoys Wang Xizhi's running script and Liu Gongquan's regular script.

 

After retirement, I have devoted myself more intensively to the practice of rubbings and calligraphy. Building on this foundation, I have persistently engaged in calligraphy creation and actively participated in various calligraphy exhibitions and competitions. Since 2005, my calligraphy works have been entered into various national calligraphy and painting competitions, winning multiple awards and being included in exhibitions and compilations. I have been honored with numerous titles of honor. My works have successively won the Gold Star Award in the "Asia-Europe Cup International Calligraphy and Painting Art Competition"; the Elite Award in the "National Calligraphy Competition in Commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of Mao Zedong's Death"; the Gold Award in the "National Calligraphy and Painting Competition in Commemoration of the 110th Anniversary of Liu Shaoqi's Birth"; the First Prize in the "Xizhi Cup National Calligraphy, Painting, and Calligraphy Invitation Competition"; the Gold Award in the "Eternal Monument - Commemoration of the 35th Anniversary of the Deaths of Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Zhu De - Global Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Masters Exhibition Competition"; the Excellence Award in the "Chinese National Art Selection Works"; the Gold Award in the "National Calligraphy and Painting Masters Exhibition Competition in Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression"; the Gold Award in the "Golden Monkey Cup - China's Highest Achievement Award for Calligraphy, Painting, and Seal"; and the "Best Innovation Award" in the first, third, and fourth editions (2017) of the "National Middle-aged and Elderly Creative Calligraphy and Painting Competition". My works have been included in dozens of dictionaries such as "Excellent Works Collection of the National Calligraphy Competition of Mao Zedong's Poetry", "Eternal Monument - Selected Works of Global Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Masters", and "Selected Works of the Fourth National Middle-aged and Elderly Creative Calligraphy and Painting Competition". I have been awarded various honorary titles such as "Outstanding Elderly Chinese Artist" and "Top 100 Patriotic Calligraphy and Painting Artists". Currently, I am a member of the China Elderly Calligraphy and Painting Research Association and the China Elderly Calligraphy and Painting Society.

Creation Talk

 

Perhaps due to innate talent, I have had a natural fondness and strong interest in learning to read and write since childhood. Under my father's careful guidance, even before starting school at the age of five or six, I had already learned to recognize many characters and could write them quite well.

 

Upon entering school, I often received praise from teachers and encouragement from adults for my good handwriting, which further enhanced my interest and confidence in writing well. Confucius said, "He who knows is not as good as he who enjoys, and he who enjoys is not as good as he who delights in it." Due to my fondness for it, I developed a good habit of writing carefully and well. This habit encompassed two aspects: one was practicing more. That is, I never took writing lightly in daily life. If I wrote a certain word well, I would practice it repeatedly to consolidate my skills; if I wrote a certain word poorly, I would identify my shortcomings and rewrite it repeatedly to improve. The other was observing more. In daily learning and life, I was a "mindful person," paying special attention to observing and imitating the well-written characters of others, such as those of my teachers and classmates, especially slogans written on walls and advertising signs hung in shops. Whenever I found something well-written, I would stop to admire and admire it, and at the same time, I would observe and write alongside, aspiring to emulate with both heart and hand. At that time, without calligraphy books, ink, paper, or a dedicated teacher to teach calligraphy, I had to use this clumsy method, pondering and comprehending bit by bit, persevering, and achieving the lofty goal of "taking a thousand steps to reach a thousand miles, and accumulating small streams to form a river and the sea." Since childhood, I had secretly established a lifelong dream in my heart - to become a calligrapher when I grew up.

 

In the following decades, whether I was studying or teaching in school, or transferred to work in an administrative office, I have always been closely associated with various writing-related tasks such as writing blackboard newspapers, editing wall newspapers, designing bulletin boards, and writing slogans to decorate meeting venues. Over time, my writing skills gradually improved, laying a solid foundation for my future calligraphy career.

 

It is regrettable that despite long and arduous efforts, there has been no qualitative leap in calligraphy art. This is because, limited by the conditions of the time, there was a lack of guidance from renowned teachers, and the calligraphy rubbings and models for practice were rarely seen. Even if one stumbled upon a favorite calligraphy book in a bookstore, due to financial constraints, they could only look at it with admiration and sigh. In this way, one had to rely solely on "crossing the river by feeling the stones".

 

After retirement, devoting myself to studying calligraphy has become an important part of my life. In order to quickly transition from "writing" to "calligraphy" and achieve a qualitative breakthrough in calligraphy art, I have diligently practiced copying famous rubbings and inscriptions, drawing artistic nutrition from them. At the same time, I actively engage in calligraphy creation, attempt to submit works for various national calligraphy exhibitions and competitions, and have fortunately received certain recognition and rewards. However, I deeply feel that there is still a considerable gap to become a true calligrapher.

 

Throughout my decades-long calligraphy career, despite considerable effort, I still feel that my achievements are not high and my calligraphy skills are not refined. Nevertheless, I have a special fondness for calligraphy and find it endlessly enjoyable. "Even if my clothes become soiled, I will never regret it; for the sake of you, I am willing to be haggard and worn out!" Having been accompanied by calligraphy for decades, I deeply feel that sailing in the vast sea of art brings me calmness, mental and physical joy, and allows me to forget many worries. The inkstone flowers dance, my mind is free from distractions, and I find great pleasure in it, adding infinite joy. All of these undoubtedly have great benefits for personal cultivation, purifying the soul, and even promoting physical and mental health, prolonging life, and enhancing longevity. More importantly, my pursuit and efforts in calligraphy, regardless of the level of my skills, may be just a few drops of water or a spray of waves in the long river of art, but as long as they can contribute to promoting and inheriting the traditional culture of our motherland, and can help the younger generation love and learn calligraphy, I will be satisfied.