To attack from all directions means to move the pen freely and to be able to draw the pen in any direction of the word according to the writing requirements.
Detailed explanation
No matter the angle of turning the pen, the speed of folding the pen, or the strength of the stroke, the speed of the strokes is always grasped based on changes in the straightness, curvature, squareness, strength, jerkiness, dryness, and wetness of the lines. , constantly touching the paper with different strokes, resulting in various postures and forms of writing, forming a "stroke from all directions" style of writing.
As for "attacking from all sides", first of all, there are two meanings that need to be clarified. One is the meaning of "eight sides", and the other is the correct meaning of "attacking". A few days ago, the author talked about this point when discussing calligraphy with a friend. His understanding of "attacking from all directions" means that the creation is mainly square brushwork, such as "Shi Ping Gong's Statue Record", which essentially "comes out from all directions". "Feng" is understood to mean "brightened", which is not correct.
According to the author’s understanding of “eight sides”, “eight” should be a function word, not a real reference. Just like the words “three and nine” in classical Chinese, they actually refer to many variations; “chufeng” refers to Give full play to the sharp performance of the brush.
The brush tip is the animal hair part of the brush. It has been different in the past dynasties. The Song brush is shorter. Mi Fu gave full play to the characteristics of the Song brush, and finally formed the effect of "attacking from all directions". Everyone has only one stroke. Lao Mi has four unique sides.
"Combat from all directions" mainly refers to brushwork
Brushwork is the essence of calligraphy and the most fundamental basic skill in calligraphy techniques. Zhou Xinglian of the Qing Dynasty said in "Linchi Guanjian": "Calligraphy is about using the brush, and the brush is more valuable than the edge."
The brush is mainly used to use the edge, also known as Shifeng, Yunfeng and Xingfeng, which is used to write dots and paintings. There are specific requirements for the starting and stopping movement of the stroke, which is mainly implemented by holding the pen and moving the wrist. Any stippling writing is inseparable from the three steps of starting the stroke, writing the stroke, and finishing the stroke, but it cannot simply stop one line at a time.
Relatively speaking, Mi Fu pays more attention to brushwork and knot characters, but this does not mean that Mi Fu does not pay attention to knot characters. Mi Fu takes advantage of the situation when dealing with knot characters. More than a thousand years ago, it already had a strong "avant-garde consciousness" and broke through the ordinary. But Mi Fu's brushwork is even more commendable, even to the point of showing off his skills.
Mi Fu criticized "Ou Liu as the ancestor of evil letters". From this extreme rhetoric, we can see that Tang Kai script wins with structure and attaches first importance to law, like Ouyang Xun, who was regarded as a god in later generations, "The Thirty-Six Knots" "Fa" and so on, all of which were contrary to Mi Fu's standpoint, and therefore were fiercely criticized by Mi Fu. Mi Fu's strong sense of criticism towards Yan Liuou shows the transformation of calligraphy from law to intention, but some of his words must be understood dialectically.