Aisingjiro Kay.
The usage of the word "meter" has always been controversial among calligraphy learners and enthusiasts. On page 48 of Introduction to Calligraphy published by Mr. Qi Gong 1986, the interpretation of the word "meter" is wrong. Mr. Qi Gong is both my cousin and my teacher, so I have the opportunity to talk with him about this problem and get his repeated professor. Today, I wrote in detail what Qigong told me and my practical experience, so that others can practice calligraphy structure without detours.
The word "meter" mentioned by Mr. Qi Gong is an important rule of calligraphy structure and a great contribution to calligraphy art, which is different from the word "meter" or "well" printed on the red mold. The grid on the red mold is for beginners to arrange the stroke position for reference. The structural rule of "meter" is that ∠ 1 should be less than ∠3∠2 ∠4∠5 ∠7∠6 and ∠8 when writing meters.
In other words, the two points in the upper part of the rice character should be slightly positive, and the left and right strokes in the lower part should be slightly flat, so that the word looks good.
The most common misunderstanding is that writing two points and one left and one right of Chinese characters on the diagonal grid with a 45-degree angle on the red grid is considered as the standard. This is as bad as the so-called writing should be horizontal and vertical, so the words written in this way have no aesthetic feeling
"Introduction to Calligraphy" wrote: If the word is rice, 1, 2 is less than 3, 4, 3, 4 is less than 5, 6, 5, 6 is less than 7, 8, if the negative effect is unknown. There is obviously a geometric error here, because if ∠ 1 < ∠ 3 < ∠ 5 < ∠ 7 and ∠ 2 < ∠ 4 < ∠ 6 < ∠ 8 hold, then ∠ 6436. Got it. This may be a clerical error of the editor or a misunderstanding of Mr. Qi Gong's theory. Here should be; ∠ 1 < ∠3, ∠ 2 < ∠4, ∠5 < ∠ 7, ∠ 6 < ∠ 8, while ∠3 and ∠5, ∞
There are many characters in Chinese characters that can use the rule of "meter" case.
The first category is the two-point and one-vertical figures in the upper half, such as light, time, dang and Xiao.
The second category is the characters with one left, one right and one vertical in the lower part, such as: wood, east, etc. Writing these words in violation of the "meter" rule, the effect is clear at a glance.
From this, we can get twice the result with half the effort by learning the structure of calligraphy.
First, there are many similarities in the structure of Chinese characters. If we find a structural rule and extend it to other words, we can master the writing methods of more words faster.
Second, the aesthetic feeling of Chinese character structure has rules to follow. Don't rush to pursue innovation and reform before carefully studying and mastering these laws. After mastering the basic skills and structure of calligraphy, you will naturally have your own unique things.