Why do you want to copy?
Copying is the basic way to learn calligraphy. Calligraphy art is an artistic creation activity of writing Chinese characters with pen and ink. Her artistic stipulation and the law of beauty are mainly deposited in various excellent works in history. Learning these works is the most effective way (though not the only way) for a later calligrapher to master basic artistic skills and then understand the art of calligraphy spiritually. This is one of the characteristics that distinguishes calligraphy from other arts. Mr. Shen said: "Pro-posts can learn from the experience of predecessors, and it is easy to get the rules of their pen and structure, which is convenient for getting started and gaining a firm foothold." Xiangmu said, "A man of the second year is not allowed to go there. Where can they start? You must copy it first, and you will have a certain trend. " Not only books, but also Chinese paintings. On painting, Shen Zongqian said: "Beginners will be heartbroken and those who can be confused will be negative." People in the ancient beggars' sect saw the Dharma, the meaning and the extreme meaning. If they didn't care, they could get it under their wrists when copying. "When Shi Tao wrote this painting, he also thought:" Although the ancients were good at one family, they didn't know everything to copy. Otherwise, how can they learn from it? "Copying is to get rid of the inherent habits, establish a foothold in the method that conforms to the statutes, and determine the correct development direction for yourself, so that it is possible to make continuous progress on the road of calligraphy.
Li said; "If you don't copy, you won't be close to the ancients, and you can't get rid of its true colors with a pen." Some people think you can't go because "that's personality." Of course, art has its own personality, but the "true color" that has not been pondered is not "artistic personality", but may be a despicable personality that cannot be refined. Such a personality has no artistic value at all, and anyone can have it without learning. It may also be said that many works in history were not written by famous artists, but now they are solemnly included in the art hall and should be mentioned in the history of calligraphy. For this problem, it should be explained first that the works that should be mentioned in the history of calligraphy are not all classics, but many are auxiliary materials in historical research, which are used to witness certain conditions and laws of historical development; Secondly, most of the authors of these works are not experts, but they have also undergone considerable training, and most of them are still trying to pursue writing that conforms to the law; Finally, people may take these works as research objects, but even the most "avant-garde" artists will not designate them as models for beginners, let alone tout them as historical classics. Most learners who learn them use them to get rid of their bad habits after solid efforts, and get some interesting things from them as inspiration points for establishing their own style.
The function of copying can be divided into two levels: one is skill level and the other is artistic conception level.
Writing skills are in the art of calligraphy, just as language is in the art of literature. Borrowing modern ideas, pen and ink are the "language" of calligraphy. It should be said that every literate person has his own habit of writing Chinese characters, that is, he has his own "language". But the problem is that this language is not an "artistic language", just as everyone who speaks is not a literary work. To turn one's own language into an artistic language, one must pass the test of artistic norms. The artistic norms of calligraphy do not directly come from people's perception of real things, but exist in classic works. The copying of classic works enables us to learn basic writing methods by calligraphy. The more means you have, the more likely you are to express yourself, just like a foreign language learner from poverty to calmness.