释“勢”——一个经典范畴的形成

An Interpretation of Shi(勢)——The Formation of a Classic Category

本文以两晋以前的文献为依据,梳理了"勢"的字源、"勢"在先秦以至汉晋时期广泛使用的例证、"勢"的各种语义。在此基础上,从发生学的角度,研究书画领域内"勢"的施用对象、内涵及所包含的艺术特性。本文认为:"勢"进入书画等艺术领域,起初是取"勢"之"样式"、"格式"之义作为书论著作的书名,而"勢"所包含的"力"及后起的"变动"、"趋势"等语义,因为适合表现书画之笔触、笔势变化及形态布局等,而被书画理论家逐步采用,成为一个使用广泛且特别契合中国艺术传统的理论范畴。

Based on the historical documents before the Western Jin and Eastern Jin Dynasties, this paper summarizes the etymology of the Chinese character Shi （势） , collects the examples that show how it had been widely used from Pre-Qin Dynasty till Han and Jin Dynasties, and analyzes its various meanings. From the point of view of phylogeny, this paper focuses on the study of the objects, connotations, and artistic features of Shi （势） in the field of Chinese calligraphy and paintings. This paper holds that Shi （势） first appeared in the field of art as the title of those books on calligraphy by taking its meaning as style and format. As Shi （势） contains another character Li （力） in the sense of ＂strength＂, and also has such meanings as ＂change＂ and ＂tendency＂, it is therefore suitable for expressing the brush strokes, the handwriting changes, and the distribution and layout in calligraphy and paintings. As a result, it was gradually adopted by those theorists in calligraphy and paintings and became a theoretic category that is widely used and especially matched with the tradition of Chinese art.