Any work of art conveys emotion, and calligraphy is no exception. Calligraphy works are not only tangible, but also intentional. The art of calligraphy contains the beauty of connotation in the beauty of image, which makes the written words vivid and energetic, turning these abstract dotted lines and strokes into the flesh and bones of a living body. The ancients said: "The writer is the trace of the heart." It is pointed out that writing is the expression of mood. When writing, a person must not only possess skilled skills, but also inject deep feelings of joy, anger, sorrow, and joy. Calligraphers have personal experience of this. But it has been a long process to get to this point.
In Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Bell Tripod Inscriptions, it is difficult to see the emotional traces of the writers. In the Han Dynasty, official script began to have different writing styles. In the Tang Dynasty, calligraphy received great attention, and a large number of calligraphers with their own characteristics appeared, such as regular script, such as Ouyang Xun, Yan Zhenqing, and Liu Gongquan. The calligraphy of the Tang Dynasty was very standardized, and every stroke followed the French style. For example, Yan Zhenqing's regular script is the same and regular on any tablet, which can be called a model, but it rarely changes. The calligraphy masters of the Song Dynasty were full of variety in different works, which seemed more interesting. Calligraphy theorists say that "calligraphers in the Song Dynasty emphasized freehand brushwork." The freehand calligraphers of the Song Dynasty are represented by Su (Dongpo), Huang (Tingjian), Mi (Fu) and Cai (Xiang). Later generations commented that their calligraphy "struggled to get rid of the Tang Dynasty model". Without leaving their own style, there were changes in each piece, often with strange and interesting strokes.
The factors that affect artistic creation also affect writing. For example, the author's temperament, mentality, environment and text content, etc. Therefore, the words written on different occasions must be different, which is a logical result. The people of Song Dynasty understood this and brought it into full play. Why was the freehand brushwork of calligraphy delayed until the Song Dynasty? This should be said to have a lot to do with the society at that time. The literati of the Song Dynasty were relatively indulgent. Famous poets in the Song Dynasty, such as Zhang Xian and Liu Yong, indulged in Goulan wine shops all day long. Even some people of high status often brought their skills to play, and even Su Dongpo was no exception. This is reflected in calligraphy, which is unrestrained and freehand.
As mentioned before, calligraphy is a very visual art. So, what does freehand calligraphy mean? This kind of calligraphy that combines form and meaning fully shows that the image contains abstract elements. Calligraphy is completed by the writer with thoughts and feelings. Viewers can explore the author's emotional ups and downs from each stroke in the calligraphy works, and explore the calligrapher's psychological state from the changes in the brushwork. But it should also be pointed out that abstract things are highly general and therefore have multiple interpretations. When we pursue the artistic conception of calligraphy works, we may not necessarily grasp it accurately. This is related to the viewer's common sense, experience and other factors. If the viewer is also a calligrapher and has had similar experiences and feelings, then it will be more appropriate to pursue the artistic conception of the predecessors. Otherwise, it only depends on the viewer’s understanding. To sum up, Chinese characters have evolved into abstract words, but there are still shadows of images in the abstraction. Calligraphy is a very visual art, but the image contains abstract things. This once again shows that image and abstraction, image thinking and abstract thinking cannot be completely separated.