The teacher requires that when writing, it should be "horizontal and vertical", and the intention is
"Horizontal and vertical", many parents and teachers will say this to their children when they write. However, looking at the works of calligraphers in the past dynasties, their brush strokes are not really "horizontal and vertical", but full of changes in the level, low on the left and high on the right, slightly tilted, even if there are multiple horizontal strokes in the same character , and the inclination, thickness, etc. of each horizontal line will also be changed.
Long horizontal stroke: When starting the stroke, pause the stroke first, and move the stroke lighter to the right. When finishing the stroke, stroke downward to the right. The entire stroke is low on the left and high on the right, looking down.
Short horizontal stroke: Start writing lightly, without pausing, stroke to the right from light to heavy, then stop when the stroke reaches half of the long horizontal stroke, and the strokes rise slightly to the right.
In fact, for children who are just learning to write, it is very important to write "neatly". Especially in the first and second grades, the teacher requires "horizontal and vertical", which actually means that the children should write neatly. , develop good writing habits. Writing words neatly can encourage children to practice basic strokes and grasp the overall structure of words. Then, over time, the fonts can be carefully crafted to prevent the handwriting from being scrawled and difficult to read.
Let’s take a look at the characters in the picture. We can still recognize the first few characters, but as we write, they change their appearance as we please. There is no trace of the original appearance of this character. Not to mention practicing calligraphy well. When primary school students learn calligraphy, they usually start with regular script, and regular script is written with a steady hand, so that it can be written "horizontally, horizontally and vertically", which means writing the characters neatly and with a steady center of gravity. It’s not that the teacher has never taught dot, nip, stroke, and lift. It’s just that there are too many “horizontal” and “vertical” strokes, and the summary is extremely concise, so it is easy for people to remember.
Another important reason is because of the exam. Since writing is very important in Chinese language exams, especially in composition writing, there is a requirement for fonts. Only compositions with neat handwriting can enter the first class, while compositions with sloppy handwriting can easily enter the fourth class. It can be seen that writing still has an indirect impact on test scores.
However, due to the tight time and heavy tasks in the exam, many students do not have time to improve their handwriting by practicing calligraphy, so what else can they do? The simplest seven-character motto is - "Lean horizontally and vertically and lean in the middle"! It was put forward by a teacher who has corrected at least 10,000 examination essays. It is said that the average Chinese language score of her class is more than 120 points all year round, while the average composition score is more than 50 points. She has also created a record of 3 months in which students' scores were higher than 120 points. A record that increased from an average of 80 points to 115 points. Here is a brief explanation of these seven words:
The basic requirement for examination room fonts is neatness (clear, easy to read, and neat). The neatness here and the requirements of calligraphy are two different things. In calligraphy, you can write as you like, even if This is Zhang Xu and Huai Su's wild grass, which is also a treasure in art. In the exam, if you submit such an essay, you will either be "exceptionally admitted" like the Oracle candidates, or the exam teacher will not know what you wrote and will classify it as a "zero-score essay." The chances of admission under special qualifications are slim, and the possibility of low-scoring essays is even greater.
So for students who are not good at calligraphy and cannot use "Xingkai", it is best to use "Blockcase". Although the block script is not as smooth as the running script, the overall impression is not too bad. Of course, it would be better if you are proficient in calligraphy and can make breakthroughs and pursue the beauty of calligraphy while ensuring neatness and ease of reading! The "horizontal, vertical," and "even spacing" we often talk about are actually the minimum requirements for neat writing. Students who have a certain degree of study in calligraphy can pursue changes in the structure, spacing, density, etc. of fonts.
Another example is Ouyang Xun, one of the "Four Masters of Regular Script". In his famous work "Jiucheng Palace", the character "Nine" is deliberately written very slanted, giving the impression of falling rocks from a mountain. However, this can only be done after you have a certain level of calligraphy skills. People who don't know how to "walk" should forget about "running" and "flying".