When did Chinese characters originate? Although there is no definite conclusion, it has been more than 3000 years since it was recorded by Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty. We humans have a natural instinct for beauty. Attracted by favorable writing tools and diverse images, China calligraphy has become a unique art form with a long history and the efforts of countless ancestors.
China's writing, a popular calligraphy style in ancient and modern times, can be roughly divided into five types: seal script, official script, cursive script, regular script and regular script. The characters before seal script, together with Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Jin Wen, are called ancient prose. We look closely at the gradual change of China's writing style, which has been passed down from generation to generation, developed naturally and innovated at different levels. Since ancient times, calligraphers have come forth in large numbers, marching towards the peak of art, and the richness of their works really makes us dizzying.
A friend often asks, "Everyone says that it is not easy to learn the art of calligraphy without a hundred days' work. Is there a shortcut? "To be fair, the study of calligraphy art is hard to say, and it is not too difficult to say it. Under the guidance of research, progress will be faster, but it takes some efforts to gain something. On the other hand, if you learn it overnight, is it still a unique art?
In fact, the expression of calligraphy art is also a tangible foundation, research and experience. I think the formation of calligraphy art includes four basic elements. It is not difficult for us to study and analyze these four elements. These four elements are:
First, the arrangement of lines
The structure of Chinese characters, some strokes are simple, some strokes are complex, whether simple or complex, are composed of lines. Generally speaking, it is nothing more than six ways: point, horizontal, vertical, left, left and hook. These different strokes, interactive combinations and applications have created countless words. As the Book Spectrum said, the accumulation of stippling is the formation of its characters.
The writing of strokes has rules to follow. As far as regular script (true version) is concerned, a word has more than two horizontal paintings, and the distance between horizontal paintings should be balanced and roughly equal; Draw vertically. If there are two long vertical strokes in a word, you should put them on the left and right. The white cloth in the word should be roughly uniform, and there should not be too much space. This is the basic law of strokes. Of course, the basic laws are naturally more than these. This is just an example.
However, the arrangement of strokes cannot be neat, nor can it focus too much on horizontal, vertical and square, which will lose its artistic significance, as Wang Xizhi said in "After Mrs. Wei's Painting": "If it is straight and looks like a symbol, it will be up and down, and it will be flush before and after; Not a book, but worth painting. "
When we write, we try to arrange every stroke between the lines, and at the same time, painting and painting should echo each other and have appropriate connections. This measure is called "receiving characters" or "loading characters" in calligraphy. This is a big problem in calligraphy art. You can't write beautiful words without a proper way to knot words. Ou Yangxun, a great calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty, wrote "Thirty-six knots", and Mason Lee in the Ming Dynasty even put forward "Eighty-four-character knots", which shows the importance of the arrangement of strokes in calligraphy art.
Second, the characterization.
Different styles of calligraphy have different characters. Each font has its own artistic characteristics. The shape of seal script is long and develops vertically, the shape of official script is flat and develops horizontally, and the shape of regular script is square. Although the shape of regular script is generally square, it will be different because of the different aesthetic vision and preferences of calligraphers. Zhong You's handwriting is flat, Wang Xizhi's handwriting is slightly square and Ou Yangxun's handwriting is long. When I arrived at Su Dongpo, I was flat again, shrugged my shoulders and leaned on one side. The yellow valley is cautious in the palace, open in all directions and with different glyphs.
China's calligraphy is not only a visual art evolved from pictures, but also shows that it was based on human nature at that time. When different painters paint the same scenery, their works have their own different styles because of their different ideas and skills. So is the art of calligraphy. The same characters come from different calligraphers and show different faces. This is an expression of "self". This self is not simple; It includes traditional forms, plus the author's hobbies, personality and cultivation. Zhang Xu, a great calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty, saw Gong Sundaniang's sword-dancing device, which danced wonderfully, and the sword was radiant and endless, so he applied this image to cursive script to shine; The best example is Huai Su's epiphany because he watched Xia Yun roll with the wind.
When a person begins to learn calligraphy, he must first go through the copying stage of copying. At this stage, we should strive to master the principles and characteristics of calligraphy. In the next stage, I will further study the calligraphy of other famous artists in the past dynasties in order to achieve mastery. With this foundation, I can play my role. Therefore, a calligrapher has to go through several different stages in the formation of characters.
Third, the performance of force.
China's calligraphy always pays attention to the expression of brushwork. How can we show this strength? "Pen Map" said: "Writing, drawing, waving, skimming and bending must be done with all one's strength." But how can you "write" it so that you can bear this "full strength"? Cai Yong put it well: "The strength lies in words. Write hard and your skin will look good. " That is to say, when writing with the pen in your hand, you should put pen to paper to hide the front, and return the pen to the front. Conversely, when the pen contacts paper, there will be a force in bending, which will be shown in calligraphy and painting. Even if you write fine print, you should hang your wrist and elbow, which is the basic skill of calligraphy. Every comrade who is determined to learn calligraphy well must make up his mind to study hard. Only when his hands, wrists, elbows and arms leave the desktop and hang in the air in vain, and his pen leans to the left and front, can he receive the artistic effect of vigorous brushwork, bold and unrestrained book potential and extraordinary spirit.
"Bi Tu" also said: "A good writer has many bones; Bad writing, fleshy; The skinny and fleshy one is called Jin Shu; The fleshy bones are called ink pigs; The strong and the strong are holy, and the weak are sick. " It can be seen that the specific performance of pen and ink in painting and calligraphy is "bony" and "rich in tendons" to strengthen bones and muscles and strong spirit. How can it be dignified and full of spirit? Liang Wudi commented on Wang Xizhi's calligraphy: "The characters are heroic, such as the sky in Yue Long and the tiger lying in the phoenix." These words formally describe energetic spiritual performance.
All scrawny characters are mostly centered on using pens. People who have studied ancient laws in past dynasties all advocate the use of pens in the center. Because the pen is used in the center, it can really make the bones of the pen strong and penetrate the back of the paper. But if you use the center completely, it sometimes seems a bit monotonous. If it is supplemented by an inclined plane, it can increase the sense of elegance and play a great role in the green leaves of peony. Jiang Baishi said: "When the pen is regular, it hides in front, but when it is suppressed, it appears. When they fall together, they are bright and bright, and they are magical. " We carefully studied the works of famous ancient calligraphers and found that Wang Xizhi was both a center and a winger. Ou Yangxun has more wingers than centers, while Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan have more centers than centers. Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan are called "Yan Gu" in the history of calligraphy, and they are both famous for their strong brushwork.
Fourth, the consistency of qi.
When writing a book, if the chapters are not too long, such as a nave and a banner, we should do it in one go, without stopping, especially when writing running script and cursive script, we should pay attention to fluency and momentum. If you stop writing, the momentum will be difficult to be coherent.