We began to learn to write and practice calligraphy, basically starting with regular script. When regular script is practiced and the writing speed is fast, we will gradually transition to running script. Therefore, in most people's eyes, the difference between regular script and running script is nothing more than that it is written neatly, the pen is written slowly and the running script is written quickly, which is different from that in Lian Bi.
But this is not the case.
The biggest difference between regular script and running script lies not only in the font, but also in the brushwork.
Our characters in China started from the creation of characters in Cangjie, and now the well-documented characters have evolved from Oracle Bone Inscriptions-bronze inscription-seal script-official script-running script-regular script.
Some people may wonder, obviously it is regular script, and it is written so slowly, how can it evolve and finalize the design after running script?
We must study the evolution of characters in the pre-Qin period. Let's talk about official script first.
As we all know, official script began in Qin Zhuan, but Qin Zhuan's twists and turns were too complicated, so it was simplified into words that even slaves could understand, so it was called official script.
Lishu gradually took shape and developed in the Han Dynasty. It was a writing brush and became the main writing tool. Then let's think about what the child who picked up the brush for the first time would write.
Is it better to strike first, or to brush directly, as a complicated way of raising a pen like Zangfeng?
Therefore, this kind of straight brushwork has created the main characteristics of official script strokes in Han Dynasty.
This is a bamboo slip unearthed from Mawangdui in the early Western Han Dynasty. As can be seen from the strokes, the brushwork of early official script is relatively simple and arc-shaped.
By the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, in the official slips of Jiaxu Hou, we can already see that there is a mature official script feature in the strokes, that is, the wavy strokes of silkworm head and goose tail. This is also the inevitability of the gradual evolution of brushwork from simple to complex.
However, the official script and the regular script of later generations have the same problem, that is, the writing requires neatness and slow speed. So a faster brushwork-Cao Zhang appeared.
Cao Zhang was roughly formed at the time of Xuanyuan in the Western Han Dynasty, flourished in the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms and the Western Jin Dynasty, and became a mature and perfect calligraphy style.
Lu Ji's centering sticker is a classic of Cao Zhang.
Compared with neat official script, many strokes are linked together, and the continuity of strokes means the increase of nib curve, which requires more advanced pen skills to be competent.
In the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the world's first running script was finally ushered in: Wang Xizhi's Preface to Lanting.
At this time, the development of brushwork has separated strokes from basic one-dimensional lines. Every painting in the work is like a flying ribbon, overlapping and knotting on different sides and presenting it to us at the same time. It seems that it is no longer a simple line, but a three-dimensional sense. It is precisely because of the further development of brushwork that the skillful use of brushwork can have such an effect.
Lishu developed into a modern grass through Cao Zhang, and at the same time developed into today's regular script along another clue.
A small number of stippling similar to regular script appeared in the Western Han Dynasty, which was probably just an unintentional move, but it was the clue of a new font.
By the Eastern Han Dynasty, most of the characters had receded from the tide of official script and became straighter.
In fact, the requirement of font development in any era is based on easy recognition, and the simpler the better. Regular script is the product of simplifying the structure and strokes of official script under this premise.
The simplification of structure lies in the reduction of strokes, and the simplification of strokes lies in the straightening of curves. So at the corner, the arc gradually disappears and is replaced by lifting. The center of gravity of brush strokes has gradually shifted to the ends and bends of brush strokes.
We can see this by comparing the brushwork of Wang Xizhi and Wang Huizhi.
When the center of gravity of the pen moves to the end of the stroke and the folding point, it adapts well to the clear structure of regular script folding. Exaggerated ends and folding points not only make pointillism more eye-catching, but also make up for the aesthetic loss caused by the reduction of arc pen and straight pen.
In the Tang Dynasty, regular script reached its heyday, whether as a practical font or as a category of calligraphy art. Yan Zhenqing was a master of regular script in the middle Tang Dynasty. Whether it is his "Multi-Tower Induction Monument" or "The Story of Magu Fairy Altar", there are several characteristics: First, it emphasizes the ending and folding parts, and the strokes of lifting pressure are extremely obvious. Second, it enriches the changes of the pen at both ends and folds, making the Tibetan front keep the pen as a typical stroke of regular script.
Later, running script was gradually influenced by the writing style of regular script, and calligraphy similar to regular script appeared.
As mentioned above, both running script and regular script are developed from official script. Before Wei and Jin Dynasties, running script occupied the mainstream position of calligraphy. After the Tang dynasty, regular script became authentic calligraphy, and other fonts after that were more or less influenced by the brushwork of regular script. Although sometimes the font of regular script is similar, we can start with its brushwork. Running script pays attention to the smoothness and arc strokes of strokes, while regular script pays attention to the lifting and pressing of endpoints, so we can distinguish line characters from regular script well.