摘要
神,源出于風雨中的雷電,神秘莫測,威力無窮,先民遂由恐懼而生敬畏和崇拜,神的觀念自此生成.引申爲言,凡冥冥中似有意志、對世間各種事物有控制力的神秘力量,皆以神視之.《周易》"陰陽不測之謂神"語,是從自然崇拜到哲理化的推擴,注云"神也者,變化之極,妙萬物而爲言,不可以形詰者也",正是古代書論中與神相關的理論和書面表達用語不斷衍生的根源.其中神化、神憑近于神的原生態,神妙、風神出于陰陽及審美表達;在審美對象人格化層面,神則轉向精神,如神采、神氣、神意、神情、神態、神韵、神骨、精神、神逸、神遇、神飛等,變化既多,各有其用.至于"神"字單獨出現,須據語境,始能知其具體含義.通過對神的起源與觀念沉積、書法之"神"及其衍伸進行討論,包括從技法到審美,從人格化認知與表達到形而上的哲理化概括,有助還原古人借助"神"來説明書法問題的全貌.
Abstract
The character shen 神(spirit,divine)originates from the observation of thunder and lightning.Mysterious,unfathomable and imbued with infinite power,these natural phenomena aroused in the ancients a feeling of fear,eventually turning into reverence and worship,from which the concept of shen emerged.Extending its meaning,any mysterious power seeming to exert its will and control over other elements was also regarded as shen.The Book of Changes extended the meaning of shen again,from the worship of nature to a philosophical theory,by stating that,"what is unfathomable in the movement of yin and yang is shen";one of its commentaries defined shen as the"culmen of transformations,the subtle presence which moves the myriad of things and can neither be manifest nor subject to investigation."This is the origin of the continuous extension of meaning that we find in the passages relating to shen in calligraphic theory,as well as in the literary language.Among these extensions,shenhua(divine transformation)and shenping(divine manifestation)are close to the original context of shen,whereas shenmiao(wondrous and subtle)and fengshen(stylistic manner)derive from the concepts both of yin and yang and of aesthetic expression.When applied to aesthetic objectification and personalization,shen takes on a spiritual dimension,as expressed by several related terms,such as shencai(expressiveness),shenqi(spiritual energy),shenyi(spiritual intention),shenqing(expression of character),shentai(spiritual manner),shenyun(spirit resonance),shengu(spiritual vigor),jingshen(spirit),shenyi(loftiness of spirit),shenyu(spiritual insight)and shenfei(elation).There are numerous compounds bearing the character shen,each with its own application;when the character shen appears as a single word,its specific meaning can only be understood based on the context.Through a discussion of the origins of the character shen and the evolution of its conceptual meaning,as well as that of its calligraphic meaning and its extensions,including the shift from a technical to an aesthetic application,the present paper shows how the examination of the process that runs from cognition,through personalization and expression,to the generalization of metaphysical philosophical theorization,is useful for understanding why the ancients borrowed the concept of shen in order to explain issues related to calligraphy.
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