Learning calligraphy from seal script is not only in line with the development of writing, but also the best basic skills training method.
Some people think that the pen method of seal script is single, the pen is purely central and the turning point is also round. Even with such a simple pen and method, it is difficult for us to do it well in peacetime, so such "childlike innocence" needs to be practiced. Learning seal script is mainly to train the writing and structure of lines, followed by good practice of using pen, front and ink. The structure of seal script is mostly balanced, so it is not easy to grasp its left and right balance in a seal script. When we write, we often write the font askew, and non-professionals will stand up and say, This word is askew! The structure of seal script is very strict, so after solving the problem of word formation, the next goal is the training of lines, which is the core of calligraphy. We also write lines, because lines can convey a lot of information. Teacher Chen Zhenlian thinks it is "the beauty of line art". Su Shi said in On Books: "A book must have spirit, qi, bone, flesh and blood, and none of them is a book." Kang Youwei's "Talk about Guang Yi and Zhou Shuang" said: "If the book is natural, it must have bones and muscles. The blood is thick and the bones are old, the muscles are hidden and the flesh is bright, and the posture is wonderful." Wait a minute. Mr. Zong Baihua also regards every word in calligraphy as a unit of life. He said in an article that when China wrote calligraphy, he used strokes to "form a living unit of flesh and blood." . He also said: this word is not only a symbol to express concepts, but also a unit to express life. In this way, the life of calligraphy is more concrete and the intuition of people's understanding is strengthened. Mr. Zong Baihua said in China's Aesthetic Thoughts on Calligraphy: "If the ancient calligraphers in China want to make' characters' also express life and become the art of reflecting life, they must use his own methods and tools to express the feelings of bones, tendons, flesh and blood of a living body in characters." In the article "Aesthetic Thoughts in China's Calligraphy", he further clearly pointed out that the beauty of calligraphy is not only the expression of rhythm and melody in the images of all things, but also the beauty of people's hearts and the beauty of everything. Its core proposition is the life image and spirit expressed by art and calligraphy. Therefore, the stippling and lines of calligraphy are expressive, showing many aspects such as dry pen, swollen ink, weak ink, hairspring and ink color change, which makes China's painting and calligraphy art extremely great and magical. Although the brushwork of seal script is single, as a kind of foundation and solid training, it cannot be abandoned. With this solid kung fu, we can express the thick, light, dry and wet just now, master the brush strokes, control the brush strokes freely, express lifting, pressing, stopping and frustration at will, and express ink color and all stippling more vividly and accurately with a pen. The stippling lines of calligraphy have infinite expressive force, which is abstract in itself. The calligraphy image they form has no definite meaning, but should contain all the characteristics of beauty. This puts forward special requirements for the stippling lines of calligraphy. Strong sense of quantity, rhythm, three-dimensional sense and elasticity are required.
1, sense of strength
The power of stippling lines is one of the elements of line beauty. It is a sense of power aroused by stippling lines in people's hearts. The Liang Wang monk in the Southern Dynasties wrote "Praise of Pen Meaning": "Paper is easy to ink, the heart is straight, and the pulp is dark and thick, which is Qi Li." This is a description of the sense of strength when writing, which means that when writing a book, not only the main hair should be strong, but also the auxiliary hair should be mobilized to make the brush hair knot without kinking. The stippling written in this way is full of strength and health.
2. sense of rhythm
Rhythm originally refers to the regular changes in the height, strength and length of notes in music. In the process of calligraphy creation, due to the different strength and speed of brush stroke, there are different forms of regular alternating changes such as light and heavy, thickness, length, lifting and turning, which makes the stippling lines of calligraphy have a sense of rhythm. The strokes of Chinese characters are different in length and size, which further strengthens the rhythm of stippling lines in calligraphy. The sense of rhythm is not only to write every word rhythmically, but also to adjust the whole work through the retraction and size of words in the whole work, so that the work is not mediocre.
3, three-dimensional sense
The stereoscopic impression is the result of using the pen in the center. The strokes written in the center can make the stippling lines thick and round. Therefore, the pens used in the center have always been highly valued. However, we can't find the profile that can be seen everywhere in calligraphy creation. Except for Xiao zhuan, all other calligraphy styles are inseparable from the side edge. Especially cursive script, as a supplement and foil to the center, wingers can be seen everywhere. The ancients said: Marriott Qi Li, this is probably the truth. Only the pen in the center can have a three-dimensional effect.
Step 4 be flexible
This is based on the first three articles. The lines of seal script, official script, regular script, line and grass should be solid and thick, and the pen tip should be pulled out when it is inserted. The solid line should be elastic and tough, even if it is dry, it should be moist and elegant. This kind of aesthetic feeling also meets the aesthetic needs of people in today's times. Vivid lines can impress every writer.
When learning seal script, it is required to do the above, and it must be done well. Then the next training and learning of official script will be much easier. Learning official script can not be separated from some strokes of official script, so we say that the combination of official script and official script can not be separated from the strokes of official script, just as the strokes of official script are still preserved today. By the time of the Tang Dynasty, there were also brushstrokes of seal script, such as "Ming" and "Zhang".
It is not only the conclusion of the character but also the trace of seal script, and its pen is also a typical seal script brushwork; And the power of strokes is very strong, especially at the turning point. After mastering the brushwork of seal script, we concentrate on training for one stage, and then write regular script. At this time, we have a certain foundation. First of all, it can solve the linear problem, and the regular script structure is very strict. Therefore, at this stage, we should grasp the structure of regular script and pay attention to the spatial relationship and the relationship between collection and release. Later, in Wang Xizhi, Sun, Su, Huang, Mi and Cai, and all the way to Wang Duo, their cursive scripts were elegant, rather than lines "floating" on paper. If we enlarge Wang's handwriting and Su and Huang's cursive scripts, we can see that most of their lines are round, stiff and round. Cursive script is a very important period, flowing and fluent, cursive script and illegible cursive script symbols are all copied and created on a certain basis; Cursive writing must have a flow and solid basic skills, because it is not only the accuracy of line quality and structure, but also the requirement of writing speed. Cursive script should be slightly faster than official script and regular script. When we write, the contact between the pen and the paper and the feeling that the pen diameter (line) is stuck in it all come from the method of seal script and the training of basic skills, so if we don't carefully observe the writing quality of lines, we just draw.
Of course, this humble opinion is not absolute. We are still at school, and we can calm down and practice. We can't practice for nothing every day. This is my summary when I copied and created in Japanese class, and it is also my experience since I studied calligraphy. Looking back on the road I have traveled, there are also some deviations and detours. These are all processes, and what is recorded is history and culture.
Of course, don't get me wrong. It's not that you can write well in other scripts, but with this solid basic skill, it's easy to master the quality and beauty of lines when learning other scripts.
Any art discipline cannot be separated from the three most important words: basic skills. The same is true of calligraphy, and seal script can be used as one of the basic skills in calligraphy learning.