To learn calligraphy, I suggest that students start with official script, which has three advantages:
First, the brushwork is simple.
Official script is a simple and easy-to-write font, which evolved from the pen of seal script to the square pen. The key to the brushwork of official script lies in the silkworm head and goose tail with one word and one main stroke. In terms of time efficiency; Lishu can master the brushwork and structure in a short time, which is an excellent practice for beginners to be familiar with brushwork. In terms of practical value; Official script has a wide range of applications. This kind of regular script is regular, flat and generous, and the writing speed is much faster than regular script. In raising interest; Many people have studied for a year, and other books have not made great progress. In this way, their interest is low and their motivation to learn is weakened. For a beginner, the official script has made remarkable progress, which is very beneficial to improve interest and arouse enthusiasm.
In the writing of basic stippling, it is not as smooth and flat as seal script (especially seal script), but in the process of writing, writing and collection, the pen lifting action is strengthened, which changes the weight and thickness of strokes, especially the appearance of "wave" strokes, which not only adds characteristics to official script, but also adds aesthetic feeling to this font. In addition, in the modeling of official script, the horizontal painting inclines up and down, and the vertical painting echoes before and after, which makes the font of official script very artistic.
Second, the shape is simple.
The shape of official script is simple and generous, solemn and quiet. This is mainly determined by the natural taste of Li's characters. Its structure still bears the trace of seal script, giving people an ancient and elegant feeling, but it is not as difficult to identify as seal script, and it can also be as clear as regular script. There are many kinds of official scripts, some are long, some are flat and even, and some are both. Its shelf structure, horizontal and vertical, and even strokes give people a sense of stability.
The Han Dynasty was a glorious period of China's calligraphy art, and Han Li was a unique achievement in the calligraphy field of the Han Dynasty. It inherited some rules of seal script of the previous generation and inspired the calligraphy style of Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and Sui and Tang Dynasties. Evolve and derive other scripts. From Sui and Tang Dynasties to modern times, regular script prevailed and official script remained unchanged, which showed that Han Li had strong artistic vitality and lofty appreciation value.
Third, it is easy to master.
Lishu was founded in the Qin Dynasty, and it has been a common pattern of Chinese characters since the Han Dynasty and before the emergence of regular script. By the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was more and more neat and exquisite, with a flat structure and ripples in the main pen. This is convenient for students to grasp the main contradiction. As long as you master the main strokes in the word, then the appearance structure of this font will look like it. And other small pens don't have to be over-studied. His brushwork is vivid, diverse, simple, flexible and natural, and the required statutes are not strict.
Cursive script has appeared in Qin and Han bamboo slips. With the evolution of calligraphy style, cursive script can be divided into Cao Zhang, Cao Xing, Jin Cao (small grass) and Kuangcao (big grass). Because cursive script is between cursive script and grass, it is often attached to the present grass. Among all fonts, cursive script is the most special. The structure of cursive script has a certain cursive script method, but it can write different faces with different calligraphers. The same word changes very differently. Cursive brushwork is the most abundant, including center, wing, Fang Bi, round pen, hidden front, exposed front, pen lifting and pen pressing. The rich brushwork shows the true colors of cursive. It can be said that cursive script includes regular script, running script, seal script and brushwork. When cursive script and regular script are mixed together, it becomes regular script, running script becomes running script, and when mixed with seal script, it becomes Cao Zhuan. The so-called "cursive script means more than law" emphasizes that cursive script is good at expressing the writer's interest and emotion. Especially in Weeds, the calligrapher does not seek the gains and losses of painting bit by bit, but uses its stippling lines to express the qi, emotion, meaning and interest in his chest. Han Yu's Preface to Master Gao Xian gives a vivid description of Zhang Xu's cursive art: "In the past, Zhang Xushan's cursive script could not cure other skills. Emotion, embarrassment, poverty, sadness, happiness, resentment, longing, drunkenness, boredom and grievances should all be expressed in cursive. Looking at things, we can see mountains and rivers, cliffs and canyons, birds, animals, insects, fish, flowers, trees, the sun, the moon and stars, storms, thunder and lightning, singing and dancing battles, changes in heaven and earth, which is gratifying and a stroke in the book. Therefore, the book of Xu is still a ghost and invisible, hence the name. " It can be seen that the reason why Zhang Xu is known as the "sage of grass" is mainly because he integrates cursive art with the spiritual realm and natural world of human beings, so he devoted himself to the Tao and shone brilliantly.