Calligraphy art most intensively embodies traditional Chinese aesthetic thoughts, so the process of calligraphy appreciation is also a process of specifically grasping the characteristics of traditional Chinese aesthetic thoughts. To appreciate calligraphy, we must grasp several main aspects of the beauty of calligraphy:
1. Vivid charm. The highest state of Chinese traditional art, especially calligraphy art, is vivid charm. To achieve vivid expression of charm, we must use "bone techniques" "Pen", which means to write elastic and powerful lines. The symbols carved on pottery by the ancestors of primitive society have already taken the form of words, and the lines have already taken on the meaning of calligraphy, which is innocent and simple. Most of the oracle bone inscriptions in the Shang and Zhou dynasties were carved with knives instead of pens. The lines are mainly square and straight, which are bright and vigorous. Bronze inscriptions are first made into clay molds and then cast in copper, which is called bronze inscriptions. The calligraphy lines of the bronze inscriptions are strong and simple, and the structure is innocent and innocent. Although the calligraphy works of the Pre-Qin Dynasty were capable of carrying a tripod, they were all carved with tools, and the lines lacked vivid expression. The writing brush was widely used as a writing tool after the Qin and Han Dynasties. The writing brush is made of animal hair such as wolf hair. It has the characteristics of "point, roundness, neatness and strength". When written properly, it can produce a very vivid expression of strength, elegance, elegance, dignity and fluidity. Moreover, calligraphy works are mostly written with ink, which is bright and calm in color. The rich changes in dry and wet shades will produce vivid ink charm, making the expression of calligraphy lines more vivid. Therefore, how to use pen and ink has become the basic skill and aesthetic key that calligraphers pursue throughout their lives. Ancient calligraphers summed up a set of principles and methods for using pen and ink. For example, when holding a pen, you need to carry your shoulders with your mind, your shoulders with your elbows, your wrists upright and your palms flat, all five fingers working together, and focusing on the tip of the pen. Only in this way can the written lines be strong and not slippery. When writing strokes, you should hide the head and protect the tail, go in reverse and make the exit straight, use the pen in the center, etc. In this way, the strokes can be even, solid and powerful without causing unnecessary corners, such as "chai dan", "wasp's waist", "crane's knees" and other diseases. Pen. The ink should be thick but not stagnant, clear but not weak, and the ink should bleed into each other to achieve a vivid expression of the five colors of ink. In short, good calligraphy works are infused with the author's "essence, energy and spirit", reflecting the vivid and superb artistic realm.
2. The unity of shape and meaning. Chinese characters are based on pictograms and meanings. Each individual character is a freehand plastic art work created by the ancients. For example: the word "德" is written as "" in gold inscriptions, which means "morality and moral character". The ideographic character is formed by combining the pictographic "heart" and "eye" respectively. The straight line from "eye" represents the line of sight. This character symbolizes the meaning of the word in a modeling way. Virtue is not external to people's behavioral norms, but It is the moral awareness of the heart, the quality that can be felt in the upright gaze revealed by the eyes through the windows of the soul. In this way, calligraphers will feel the aesthetic enjoyment of freehand painting when writing this character. Combining this kind of painting feeling and calligraphy modeling feeling is a complete calligraphy experience that combines form and meaning.
3. The structural beauty of dots, lines and surfaces. Chinese characters are shaped by dots and lines, and what is defined between the lines is the surface. The structural beauty of calligraphy composed of dots, lines and surfaces is an important aspect of the formal beauty of calligraphy. The structural beauty of calligraphy is similar to the beauty of architecture. There are many articles discussing calligraphy structure and character composition in ancient calligraphy treatises. The Sui Dynasty monk Zhiguo's "Ode to the Heart", the Tang Dynasty Ouyang Xun's "Thirty-Six Methods for the Structure of Large Characters", the Ming Dynasty Li Chun's "Eighty-Four Methods for the Structure of Big Characters", etc., among which Ouyang Xun's "The Three Methods for the Structure of the Characters" The Sixteenth Law has the greatest influence. According to the characteristics of regular script fonts, he stipulated reasonable principles for writing flatly, such as "avoiding" (avoiding denseness and sparseness), "xiangyi" (the mutual matching of combined characters), "chaoyi" (the relationship between radicals and the main body) )etc. However, the principle of structure of calligraphy cannot regulate the practice of calligraphy. In their creation, ancient calligraphers had methods but were unable to do so, showing the structural beauty of calligraphy in various forms.
4. The linear beauty of the blending of pen and ink. Calligraphy is shaped by lines, and the abstract lines themselves have rich aesthetic factors. The strokes, strokes, strokes, thickness, speed, dryness and wetness, twists and turns, hardness and softness of the line reflect the broad range of music expression. Its rhythm and melody lead people into a mesmerizing and beautiful artistic conception.
In order to illustrate the beauty of strokes, the ancients used many vivid metaphors. For example, Mrs. Wei, a female calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and Ouyang Xun, a calligrapher in the Tang Dynasty, once described: "point" is like "a falling stone from a high mountain", and "一" is like a "falling stone from a high mountain". "Thousands of miles of cloud formation", "Like the long-lived withered vine", "Like the rhinoceros elephant breaking off the land", "Like the crashing waves and thunder running", "Like the strong pine falling over the stone", "Like" "Strength drives the muscles and joints", "like "the first moon in the sky". That is to say, calligraphers should have images in mind when writing, so that the pen can produce beautiful lines with rich expressions and vivid pen and ink.
5. The beauty of composition in the coexistence of virtuality and reality. Chapter composition refers to the structural method of the overall layout of the calligraphy work. First of all, there is a large and stylized organizational framework. The composition of calligraphy works, especially cursive works, is generally composed of an opening gesture with a hand seal at the beginning, a first half with steady and full of emotions, a free and varied second half with pen and ink, and then the end consisting of signature and seal. This structural beauty of origin, succession, transition and closing embodies the general rules of traditional Chinese aesthetics - the Tai Chi pattern. The Tai Chi diagram is a large S-line shape that is closed from beginning to end. The S line is a curve filled with the rhythm of life. There is no absolute straight line in nature. All living things have the form of curves, and all the most beautiful things have the form of S lines. In this way, the linear expression of the S line is the real beauty of the composition, while the blank space surrounded by the line is the virtual beauty of the composition. The contrast between virtuality and reality, hardness and softness creates an artistic effect of ever-changing and beautiful calligraphy.
6. The literary beauty of both poetry and calligraphy Calligraphy is the art of writing words. Although calligraphy can abstractly appreciate the beauty of lines and structures, grasping the content of the words makes our appreciation more comprehensive and complete. Calligraphers are literati scholars with a high degree of poetic accomplishment, and their works are outstanding literary works. For example, Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Preface" has the reputation of "the best running script in the world" and is also a classic work of ancient prose. It is really beautiful to read its words and appreciate its prose.