The original meaning of learning Chinese characters is to learn calligraphy.
Introduction to calligraphy
From the superficial meaning of the word, calligraphy refers to the method of writing. In life, the word calligraphy also has the following meanings: first, the name of a certain writing work or the collective name of all writing works; second, an art category, generally referring to the art of writing Chinese characters.
Kang Youwei said in "Guang Yi Zhou Shuang Ji": "The structure of Tang language is the same as Song Dynasty's interest." From this, it can be seen that the calligraphy of the Tang Dynasty pursued the highest and most rigorous standards, and the achievements of calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty were also the highest in the history of calligraphy. The pinnacle.
Calligraphy is a traditional art unique to China. Chinese characters were created by the working people. They began to use pictures to record events and developed over thousands of years.
It evolved into today’s writing, and because our ancestors invented writing with a brush, calligraphy came into being. From ancient times to the present, Chinese characters have been mainly written with a brush.
As for other writing forms, such as hard pen, finger writing, etc., their writing rules are not completely different from those of calligraphy, but are basically the same.
In a narrow sense, calligraphy refers to the method and rules of writing Chinese characters with a brush. Including writing, writing, stippling, structure, layout (distribution, line order, composition) and other contents.
For example, when holding the pen, the fingers are strong and the palm is empty, and the five fingers work together; the center of the brush is spread out; the strokes follow the strokes with the same smoothness and steepness; the structure is based on the characters.
Echoing each other; the distribution is intricate, the density is appropriate, the virtual and the real complement each other, and the whole chapter is coherent; the characters are literate in ancient and modern styles, the characters are large and small, and it is better to be high than low.
The background of calligraphy art is traditional Chinese culture. Calligraphy is rooted in the soil of traditional Chinese culture, and traditional culture is the background on which calligraphy depends for its survival and development.
The calligraphy theory since the Han Dynasty that we can see today has its own system, integrity and organization. Like other literary theories.
Calligraphy theory includes not only the technical theory of calligraphy itself, but also its aesthetic theory, and these theories all shine with the wisdom of ancient Chinese literati.
For example, the theory on how to express "spirit, energy, bone, flesh, blood" and other categories in calligraphy, the theory on brushwork, calligraphy, composition and other techniques, as well as creation theory, taste criticism, etc., are all It has its own system.