Let’s take a look at how Mi Fu dealt with “repetitive words” in calligraphy, as follows:
1. Mi Fu advocated “the latitude and longitude of predecessors, and the ink of later generations”. That is to say, we must integrate the experience of predecessors and our own insights, while taking into account tradition and innovation. He believes that the "repeated characters" in calligraphy need to be unified and coordinated, and the glyphs must be consistent.
2. The unity of sensibility and rationality is the core of Mi Fu’s calligraphy. When writing repeated characters, he not only focused on emotional expression, but also pursued rational mastery. This is reflected in his use of strokes. He usually uses two strokes up and down in the same position, or combines certain strokes of two characters.
3. Mi Fu also pays attention to the use of layout and rhythm. He believes that calligraphy should have "breathing", that is, the rhythm of intermittent breathing. When writing repeated words, his layout is usually staggered, trying to avoid mechanical repetition, but making the fonts lively through certain changes.
4. Finally, Mi Fu also paid great attention to moderation and scale when writing repeated characters. He believes that good works should be restrained and measured. Excessive repetition not only makes the fonts look dull and boring, but also affects the overall beauty of the entire work.
To sum up, Mi Fu pays great attention to details and techniques when dealing with the problem of repeated characters in calligraphy, and constantly pursues the unity of innovation and inheritance.
Extended information:
Mi Fu (1051-1107), whose first name was Fu, later changed to Fu, with the courtesy name Yuanzhang, and his own name was Mi or Mi. His ancestral home was Taiyuan. He moved to Xiangyang, Hubei and was relegated to Runzhou (now Zhenjiang, Jiangsu). At that time, he was known as Haiyue Waishi, also known as the descendant of Wan Xiong and the descendant of Huozheng. He was a calligrapher, painter, and theorist of calligraphy and painting in the Northern Song Dynasty. Together with Cai Xiang, Su Shi, and Huang Tingjian, he was known as the "Four Schools of Song Dynasty". He once served as school secretary, doctor of calligraphy and painting, and wailang of the Ministry of Etiquette.
Mi Fu's calligraphy and painting are unique in style, with dead wood, bamboo and stone, and landscape paintings having unique style and characteristics. He is also quite accomplished in calligraphy, and is good at seal script, official script, regular script, running script, cursive script and other calligraphy styles. He is good at copying ancient calligraphy to a certain degree of authenticity.
The main works include "Zhang Jiming's Tie", "Li Taishi's Tie", "Zijin Yan's Tie", "Light Mo Qiu Shan Poetry", etc. "Shu Su Tie" written by Mi Fu, also known as "Ancient Poetry Tie", is the eighth running script in the world and is praised by later generations as the most beautiful Tie in China.