First of all, to appreciate calligraphy deeply, we must have two brushes-the brush of history and the brush of calligraphy. The pen of history includes the history of calligraphy and the history of China (the creative background of calligraphers); Calligraphy brush includes philology knowledge, writing skills, ability to recognize inscriptions and artistic accomplishment. Are inseparable.
Understand the evolution of ancient and modern calligraphy-the history of calligraphy;
Think about it, the evolution of calligraphy has a cause and effect. From Oracle Bone Inscriptions in Shang Dynasty to the characters we see now, five thousand years have undoubtedly been revealed. If you don't know the history of calligraphy when you appreciate it, compare official script with cursive script and regular script-which is better-just like Zhang Fei and Yue Fei appearing in a scene at the same time in a historical movie, it will spoil the scenery!
Understand the ancient and modern background of calligraphers-history;
Have you ever known that Wang Xizhi's masterpiece Preface to Lanting was written when he was a little drunk, and he couldn't write a better work after many attempts? If you don't know, you can't appreciate the Preface to Lanting deeply, because you can't understand the meaning of the pen if you don't know its context.
Knowledge of philology:
Calligraphers love to make a fuss about words. Sometimes, in order to change, they combine various fonts (such as official script and cursive script) into one font, and sometimes they learn from Cangjie to create words and add and subtract strokes for words. If at this time, a foreigner with a little knowledge of Chinese mistook "mountain" and "Sect" for "worship", the "sense of wholeness" emphasized in calligraphy would disappear, and the spacing and size of words would lose their aesthetic feeling. Similarly, a person does not know which is official script and which is crazy grass, and the consequences can be imagined. ...
Have the ability to recognize inscriptions;
Appreciating calligraphy must have the ability to identify rubbings, and it will be unimaginable to avoid appreciating fake rubbings without knowing it.
Writing skills are indispensable;
As the saying goes, "an expert looks at the doorway, a layman looks at the excitement." If you don't know the writing skills, you can't really appreciate the beauty of calligraphy. The beauty of pen and ink is the focus of calligraphy appreciation. How can you appreciate the beauty of pen and ink without knowing the writing method and experiencing it personally? This is why most famous connoisseurs are also excellent calligraphers.
Have artistic self-restraint:
In fact, to appreciate any kind of art, you should be immersed in it like "being there". Only by looking at it with your heart can you really feel the power, posture, rhyme and charm, and it is meaningful to appreciate calligraphy.
The same is true of Chinese painting, starting with the background, category, literary accomplishment and connotation.