On the Advantages and Limitations of Pen Calligraphy Writing
Natural selection, good times and bad times, the pen shows many advantages: it eliminates the trouble of frequent dipping in ink, fills it with ink at one time, and can write many times as many words as the previous brush. Small and light, easy to carry, easy to write at any time, easy to learn. Because the pen tip is hard, the movement track of the pen tip is straightforward wherever it goes, and there will be no slightest carelessness: there is no special requirement for paper, and smooth lines can be written on ordinary hard paper with a pen, while the Xuan paper used for brush calligraphy has been forgotten by the public, just like those left behind, only in certain places.
On the Advantages and Limitations of Pen Calligraphy Writing
These advantages of pens are embodied in practicality. Survival of the fittest, strong practicality, effectively promoted the popularization and expanded the pen team. You must not underestimate the participation in writing. If the participation of an art can be improved, it will undoubtedly play a powerful role in promoting the prosperity of this art. In the past, the prosperity of writing brush could not be separated from its participants. In the past, the writing brush was a practical tool, and all literati could afford it, so the number of participants studying its artistry would naturally increase. Now this situation is gone forever, and the pen has become the main writing tool, so the arrival of pen calligraphy fever is a historical necessity and a product of the times.
However, in the process of learning pen calligraphy, we often encounter some difficulties and find that not all ancient copybooks are suitable for copying and expressing with pens. I sometimes look up ancient posts. When I try to write with a pen, I realize that the artistic expression of the pen is relatively poor and writing is limited.
However, practicality and artistry are often not in harmony and have at the same time. Pens improve the practicality of writing, but at the same time they lose the preciousness of many brush writing arts:
On the Advantages and Limitations of Pen Calligraphy Writing
First, it weakens the richness of lines. "Only a soft pen is strange." With its soft characteristics, the brush can write the light and heavy changes of lines, showing the strangeness of turning points. There are differences in the use of pens, such as center, side, wrapped front and exposed front. These changes greatly enrich the specific objects of dotted lines. If these changes can be well mobilized, it will undoubtedly play a great role in the expression of the author's mood and will, and these changes are not easy to do in pen calligraphy.
The second is to reduce aesthetic objects. Although pen calligraphy can still retain most factors such as composition, writing and pen use as aesthetic objects, the ink color in brush calligraphy changes subtly, and different papers have different effects on pen and ink. Therefore, brush calligraphy has a great research on the application of paper, ink, water and even printing, so these can be regarded as aesthetic objects, while pen calligraphy is much slower in this respect.
On the Advantages and Limitations of Pen Calligraphy Writing
On the Advantages and Limitations of Pen Calligraphy Writing
Third, it weakens the artistic expression. In brush calligraphy, different pens, different inks, different papers, and some small changes in their usage methods can make the works look different, such as the seepage of ink on the paper and the friction of the pen on the paper, which often produce unpredictable effects. It is precisely because of its ever-changing expressive force that it is more attractive and makes many learners spend their whole lives looking for it. Fourth, it is not suitable for writing works with few big characters and numbers. Thin line is the fundamental reason that affects the writing of Chinese characters. A few digital works often require a large font, which is difficult to write with thin lines. In a pen calligraphy work, it is not easy to write words of different sizes at the same time. The above problems have seriously affected the artistic expression of pen calligraphy.
On the Advantages and Limitations of Pen Calligraphy Writing
In order to overcome the shortcomings of pen writing and make the pen bigger, some people tried to improve the pen into a brush to make the hard pen thicker and softer. Although this kind of exploration is well-intentioned and commendable, it is not the fundamental way out for pen calligraphy after all. The nib can be modified, but the modification is limited after all. Where can I change it? Change the brush? That's right. Besides, the style of writing has changed. How has the paper changed? How to change ink? After all, a pen is a pen, which was originally produced because of its application. It is characterized by smooth and easy writing, which is suitable for writing small masters. If you sacrifice the pen's personality to get close to the brush, it becomes very suitable, and you might as well directly use the brush instead.
On the Advantages and Limitations of Pen Calligraphy Writing
On the Advantages and Limitations of Pen Calligraphy Writing
Art should also be open, and what means can be adapted to local conditions under what circumstances. "More and more people are carrot and stick, which is probably the reason. We shouldn't artificially draw a gap between the pen and the bristles, which is completely separate. If we regard it as two opposing camps, it is all wet. Pen calligraphers should make full use of the advantages of brush writing and learn from the advantages of brush writing, conduct new research and exploration, enrich the artistic expression of pen calligraphy and carry forward the art of pen calligraphy.