How to appreciate Mi Fu’s calligraphy

Mi Fu has his unique understanding of the distribution, structure and use of calligraphy. It is required to be "stable but not vulgar, dangerous but not strange, old but not withered, moist but not fat", which is probably what Jiang Kui wrote about "nothing droops, no shrinking, no direction, no gain". That is to say, it requires achieving unity in the process of change, integrating opposing factors such as wrapping and hiding, fatness and thinness, sparseness and density, simplicity and complexity, that is, "the bones, muscles, skin, fat, luster, wind and spirit are all complete, just like a good scholar." . In terms of composition, we pay attention to the overall charm, take into account the perfection of details, and have a well-thought-out approach. During the writing process, we change according to the situation and show unique ingenuity. The main characteristics of Mi Fu's brushwork are that he is good at forming an elegant and super majestic momentum and a calm and happy style from the front, side, back, turning, and frustration. The strokes of the characters are often quite heavy at the beginning and slightly lighter in the middle. When encountering a turning point, the strokes of the strokes will turn straight down. There are also many changes in the strokes. Sometimes the focus of the stroke is on the starting point, sometimes on the finishing point, and sometimes it is in the middle of the stroke. For longer horizontal strokes, there are twists and turns. The hook is also distinctive. Mi Fu's calligraphy often includes sideways postures. He wants to go left before right, and when he wants to raise, he suppresses it. All of these are to increase the grace of jumping and flying, and based on decades of solid foundation of ancient calligraphy. Therefore, it is out of innocence and naturalness, without any pretense. Those who learn Mifu, even if they are close to water and towers, will still be "hard and crazy". Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, when it comes to Mi Fu's calligraphy, two attitudes can be roughly distinguished: one is praising but not disparaging, and highly praised; the other is both praising and disparaging, with mostly praise elements. Those who hold the first attitude can be represented by Su Shi. (Borrowing comments from seniors)