中国大陆《兰亭序》真伪论辨回顾

《兰亭序》传为王羲之的千古书法名作.宋人开始对传世《兰亭序》是否为右军所作表示怀疑,但因缺乏出土文物的印证而不得深入.清代乾隆年间至民国时期,学者对此进行考证,主要立场是否定此帖为王羲之所作.20世纪60年代,南京近郊出土的东晋墓志为《兰亭序》真伪之辨提供新线索,中国大陆学界开始进行比较严肃的学术争论,史称"兰亭论辨".这场论辨继承了明末清初兴起的实学思想和清代乾嘉学派的传统,围绕隶书笔意、文字出入、文章风格、智永依托《兰亭序》等焦点问题,取得突破性进展.20世纪80年代的论辨呈现出一种维护传统、驳论否定论者的走向,学者们不仅考证兰亭真伪,而且把反思的视角投向前期论辨,使学术研究趋于客观冷静的分析.20世纪90年代后期,新出土的《高崧墓志》为全面认识六朝书法提供实物资料,"《兰亭序》国际学术研讨会"对兰亭现象作了综合探讨,真伪之辨日益深入.《兰亭序》真伪是关系到书法史、汉字发展史的问题,意义重大.围绕此帖展开的真伪论辨涉及了社会科学学术探讨的种种层域,对已成定论的学术观点进行新的探讨,体现了学术的开放性和独立的学术品格.

A Review of the Authenticity Debate over the Calligraphy Model of Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collectionin China's Mainland

Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection (Lanting Preface for short) is a time-honored masterpiece of calligraphy by Wang Xizhi(303-361). Since the Song Dynasty, debates have been going on among scholars over the authenticity of this calligraphic work, which reached the peak three times during the Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China and the Cultural Revolution respectively. In the Song Dynasty, questions were raised concerning the attribution of the Lanting Preface to Wang Xizhi as well as the authenticity of the work itself, but the studies were restricted by lack of archaeological evidence. From the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty down to the Republic of China, scholars made textual research, with the attempt to prove that the Lanting Preface was not the calligraphy by Wang Xizhi. The Eastern Jin epitaph unearthed near Nanjing around 1956 provided new information for the issue of the Lanting Preface, arousing heated debates among the scholars in China's mainland. The debates over the Lanting Preface since the 1960s can be divided into three stages. The first stage went from 1965 to 1973, during which scholars, mostly experts of literature and history, made an academic breakthrough. Carrying on the intellectual tradition developed in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties as well as that of the Qian-Jia School, these scholars made full use of archaeological findings to discuss issues such as the writing manner, texts, literary style and Zhiyong's forging of the Lanting Preface. The second stage ran from 1976 to the 1980s, with scholars inclined to protect the traditional status of Lanting Preface from the negative attitude by studying the authenticity of the calligraphic work and reviewing the debates of the 1960s and 1970s in an objective and analytical manner. The third stage was resumed from the 1990s to present. Thanks to the newly unearthed Epitaph of Gao Song which served as an additional reference for a better understanding of the Six Dynasties calligraphy and the "International Symposium of Lanting Preface", closer pursuit has been followed in the study of the authenticity of Wang's calligraphic work. The authenticity of Lanting Preface is of primary importance in terms of the history of Chinese calligraphy and of Chinese written language. The related debates and discussions have covered different academic disciplines and stimulated the revision of old conclusions, thus demonstrating the openness and independence of scholarly studies. To review such debates and discussions, which took place during the second half of the 20th century, is indeed of great significance to the study of Chinese calligraphy in this new millennium.