Stable center of gravity
Chinese characters are often composed of multiple parts, just like the pyramid of architecture, building blocks and acrobatics. First of all, they are not in danger of collapse, which means keeping the center of gravity stable. This is what Sun meant by "beginner in distribution, but seeking justice".
The simplest form of stability is symmetry, that is, it is arranged on both sides of the central axis in the same number and shape. In seal script and artistic characters, words like Wen, Li, Quan, Yu, Nan and Bei can be written very symmetrically, but not in regular script. Because the horizontal drawing of regular script is usually inclined to the left low and the right high, the vertical drawing is not so straight. Therefore, regular script often achieves visual balance through point strokes and horizontal strokes, as well as enhanced strokes and vertical strokes (Figure 1), not to mention that most characters are asymmetrical! Therefore, although symmetry is the simplest form of balance, it does not exist in calligraphy. Then, we must take a balanced form. The so-called "balance" is equal but unequal, or equal but unequal. This form of balance is more difficult to master than symmetry.
Cloth-white symmetry
When stippling is written into words, white paper is divided into large and small blocks, and words become words precisely because there are blanks. Deng, a calligrapher in the Qing Dynasty, said that the structure should be "as white as black", that is, virtual and real are equally important.
The simplest requirement of symmetry is that the stroke spacing should be wide, narrow and roughly the same size. Such as the internal division of the word "Guo", the horizontal spacing of the word "Shu" is like this (Figure 6). However, what is interesting and difficult to grasp is the contrast between reality and reality with different densities. Such as the word "Zhi" (Figure 6), due to the proximity of the above three strokes, a triangular entity is formed. This triangle is just in balance with the blank triangle in the middle, and the bottom is lifted forward by a big boat. Another example is the word "first" (Figure 6), the center of gravity is inclined to the left, but the "gravitational field" formed by the bending and stretching movement of the hook blank is like a boulder pressing there, thus turning.
Staggered avoidance
Regular script is based on fairness, but if it is too neat and consistent, it will appear dull. Therefore, when horizontal paintings overlap, there must be long and short, and when vertical paintings are juxtaposed, there must be changes in length and inclination. When you are together at three or four o'clock, you must have your own posture and back. And so on. The irregular changes of regular script should be carried out on the basis of fairness, that is, seeking changes in unity.
Avoidance is particularly important if the system is combined up, down, left and right. It is forbidden to stay away from each other and "go their own way", but "you have me and I have you", which are intertwined and integrated. For example, the word "trouble" is composed of "lai" and "force" In order to form a whole, changing the word "come" into a dot and making the word "force" close together is "avoid" or "let"; A curly "force" enters the bottom of the word "Lai", which is the word "JIU" and another example is the word "Jian". The last stroke of "Zu" is changed to a short drawing obliquely upward to avoid the word "Ge" on the right. The two words "elder brother" on the right overlap, and the one above has been shortened to make way for it. The hook of the word "Ge" below is inserted at the right time, and the horizontal painting is extended to the left to form a perfect whole (Figure 7).
Contact the situation
Although regular script is not connected with each other, it can't be written as plain books such as Accumulated Salary and Arranged Chess Manual, but as Zhang Huaiguan, a book critic in the Tang Dynasty, said, "You must know your feelings before you can process them."
For example, the word "Liu" runs from the first point to the second point, the second point to the third point, and the third point to the upper right point. It is precisely because of this relationship that the direction of the point and the direction of the pen tip are so different (Figure 8). Another example is the four points on the lower right of the word "Lu": the first point carries the second point downward, the second point runs obliquely to the right to the third point, the third point carries the fourth point to the left, and after the fourth point, it goes out to the right to run to the next word. The four points are different and unconnected, but they look around and echo each other, as if there is an invisible bond involved, which is the trajectory of the pen tip in the air (Figure 8). From this, it is not difficult to understand the internal relationship between seemingly independent strokes, and the written words naturally become movable type at one go.