The brush is very light, but it is difficult to master at first, and I often feel at a loss. The parts of the human body that wield the brush are the fingers first, followed by the wrist, forearm, elbow, and upper arm. How to make them operate freely and maximize their functions? The basic principle is nothing more than being practical, flexible and convenient. Su Dongpo said: "There is no fixed method for writing. You must make it empty and broad." This is the scientific principle summarized for writing.
Wrist pillow, the palm of the left hand is pillowed under the right wrist, or the right wrist is placed on the table, which is called "rest wrist". It is mostly used for writing small characters, and some use armrests (mostly made of bamboo or wood) to replace the left hand under the wrist.
The purpose of pillowing the wrist is to use the power of the fingers to write, but it cannot fully utilize the function of the wrist. Compared with "hanging the wrist" and "raising the wrist", this method is very different and loses the convenience of moving the wrist. This method has been mentioned from time to time since ancient times, but most people think that this method should not be promoted. Some people think that small characters can be written in this way. In fact, it is inconvenient to use this method when writing in lower regular script. Source Calligraphy House, Calligraphy House is a calligraphy learning base. Because this method is too rigid and not very flexible. It is difficult to write with the strength of the fingers and the strength of the elbows and arms. Naturally, the characters will not be vivid and the writing power will not be strong. Therefore, this method is not necessary.
Ming Dynasty Qienan Xiang Wrist Pillow
Source:
Before the Song Dynasty, there was no such thing as "wrist technique". Because writing is done in the hand, when the finger-palm method is working, the wrist does not move or notice. It was not until the Yuan Dynasty that Chen Yizeng's "Hanlin Essentials" mentioned the "wrist technique", which can be summarized into three types: "Pillow the wrist," using the left hand to pillow the right wrist. Raise your wrist, with your elbow on the case and your wrist raised. Hanging by the wrist, the most powerful thing is hanging in the air. ?
Chen discusses the "wrist method" immediately after the "stirrup fingering method". It can be seen that it refers to the three states of the wrist when turning the pen and fingering, all of which are relative to writing on the table. In terms of movement, it does not mean that you move your wrists instead of your fingers.
Pillow the wrist to prevent the right wrist from moving. In fact, it is mainly controlled by the palm, and writing is limited to square-inch words. However, the dead wrist is not conducive to using the pen horizontally, but it is easy to use the pen vertically. Therefore, the glyphs written using the "pillow wrist" method must be long and narrow. Nowadays, there are very few high school sophomores in Nanjing who can apply this method.
Interpretation 1:
Wrist hanging is one of the writing methods. Whether the wrist is flexible or not is crucial to writing. The elbow is not leaning on the table and the wrist is suspended in the air, which is called "suspended wrist". Writing only requires the wrist to move the pen vertically and horizontally up and down freely. Hanging the wrists can relax the shoulders, and since the whole body's strength is free from any obstacles, it can only be focused on the smallest detail, and only then can the stippling be strong and strong.
Keep your wrist in the air when writing. Song Dynasty Zhao Xihu's "Dongtian Qinglu Collection - An Analysis of the Authentic Ancient Calligraphy and Calligraphy": "The valley is a hanging wrist calligraphy, which has the charm of "Lanting", but the execution is not as good as the truth, and the truth is not as good as the grass. Fang Xiaoru of the Ming Dynasty wrote a poem written in cursive script by Zhongheng of the Song Dynasty: "Zi Shan is good at hanging his wrists, and it is gratifying to be able to walk with grace and grace." Qing Dynasty Zhaolian's "Xiaoting Zalu Chengwang Calligraphy": When his teacher was young, he still saw Dong Wenmin holding the pen, but he only held the tube with the first three fingers and hung it from his wrist to write. ?
Interpretation 2:
Hanging the wrist refers to the arm posture when writing calligraphy
Suspended from the wrist to the elbow without touching the case, it is called? Hanging wrist?.
Chen Zeng, a calligrapher of the Yuan Dynasty, said in "Hanlin Yaojue": "The most powerful calligraphy is hanging in the air." Zhu Lvzhen, a calligrapher of the Qing Dynasty, also said in "The Essentials of Calligraphy": "When the calligraphy is suspended, both the bones and strength are used, and the power of the calligraphy is unlimited." It is true that this method of wrist movement is the best in calligraphy. Not only is it easy to use all the strength of the whole body to reach the top of the hand without holding the case from the wrist to the elbow, but also, whether it is straight down, horizontally or straight down, the writing power can be calm and smooth, vertical and horizontal. Source Calligraphy House, Calligraphy House is a calligraphy learning base. Especially when writing in regular script or cursive script, the movements are flexible and dynamic, and there will be no stagnation.
Of course, this method is not easy for beginners to master at first, and they may sometimes tremble and feel very strenuous. This phenomenon is normal. Don’t be afraid, as long as you practice it often , the wrist strength will gradually increase.
Why should you hang your wrist? When writing with your wrist hanging, you can make your hand rotate flexibly. If you don't hang your wrist and write close to the table, your hand will not be able to move, and the pen barrel will inevitably not work properly.