How to appreciate seal script

The quality of a calligraphy work can be seen from two aspects: first, the basic skills of calligraphy. The basic connotation of calligraphy is determined by the following two points: first, look at the basic structure of font frame. When writing brush calligraphy, the bad shelf structure of a word may directly affect the meaning of the word, thus affecting the aesthetic value of calligraphy. When the shelf of a word is set up, the font of the word is determined. "Zhen, Cao, Li and Zhuan", different fonts have different bookshelf structures. Every calligrapher wants to change the font, first of all, he wants to change the shelf structure of previous calligraphy. Li Si reformed the bookshelf structure of the historical book Da Zhuan and created the bookshelf structure of Xiao Zhuan. Cheng Miao changed the shelf structure of the previous calligraphy style and became a kind of official script. Wang Xizhi also sought changes in the shelf structure of his predecessors' calligraphy style, and he became a regular script, a running script and a cursive script. The font stand he wrote has a beautiful structure. Most calligraphers of later generations seek changes in his shelf structure and form their own styles. A person who writes with a brush can't even write the basic shelf structure well, then he can't be a calligrapher.

"Truth, grass, official script and seal script", each font has its own writing rules. With the change of stroke rules, fonts have also changed, and perhaps new, better and more beautiful fonts have appeared. When we appreciate a calligraphy, we must watch every stroke from the beginning, stroke, and see whether the stroke is powerful, whether the stroke force is even and smooth, and whether the stroke rules of this font are met when writing a stroke, such as point, horizontal, folding, vertical, hook, left, holding and lifting. These brushstrokes were forged by great calligraphers of past dynasties. Every great calligrapher's brushstrokes are different, but what remains unchanged is that every stroke he writes has skill and aesthetic value. calligraphy

A stroke without skill and aesthetic value is called "failure". Therefore, calligraphers must learn the good stroke rules of predecessors and practice the basic skills of each stroke in calligraphy. Some brush characters, from the front of the paper, have words, but from the back of the paper, there are no words, which means that the writer can't write through the back of the paper. Some strokes are intermittent from the back of the paper, indicating uneven writing strength. For example, from the back of the paper, the word "big" starts with a point, ends with a point, and the intersection point is also a point. 6 points on the back of the whole word is caused by uneven stroke force. Wang Duo in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties was called "the sage of books" by Japanese in China in the Qing Dynasty. His paintings and calligraphy also have high prices in the auction market, but there are many defects in his calligraphy, which makes people feel that his calligraphy is not refined enough. Zhan Jingfeng's handwriting in Ming Dynasty was accurate and rarely failed.

Second, look at the language of connotation. Calligraphy language includes the following five points: point 1, and whether calligraphy has literary connotation. Good calligraphy works should not only reflect the meaning of each word, but also run through the meaning of the article. The full text of Wang Xizhi's calligraphy work "Preface to Lanting" not only embodies the beauty of fonts, but also embodies the beauty of articles. The beauty of words and articles are both reflected in calligraphy works. The same is true of Su Dongpo's calligraphy work Red Cliff Fu. These calligraphy works are called "literati characters". When we look at a calligraphy work, we often comment: "This is the character of a scholar", "This is the character of a calligrapher" and "This is the character of a craftsman". This is because writers have different literary levels, which are reflected in words and have different connotations and feelings. Reading good calligraphy works gives people room to gallop, and appreciating calligraphy is like appreciating poetry, because calligraphy itself is a portrayal of thought. Reading Wen Zhiming's calligraphy works is like reading pastoral poems, which will arouse the association with the countryside. Reading and Guo's calligraphy works will also make people have poetic associations. The third point is whether the calligraphy works contain the rhythm of music. In a good calligraphy work, the frame structure of each word and the structure between words all have musical rhythm. When you read Mao Zedong's calligraphy work "Spring and Snow in Qinyuan", it seems that the most magnificent symphony in the world is playing. The fourth point is whether the artistic conception of painting is contained in calligraphy. "Painting and calligraphy are integrated", and the characters are abstract paintings. Good calligraphy works fully show the artistic conception of painting. Fifth, the connotation of calligraphy. The connotation of calligraphy includes atmosphere or meanness, chic, elegant or restrained, elegant or vulgar, heavy or frivolous and so on. These are all related to the character of calligraphers. As the saying goes, "words are like people" is the truth. Mao Zedong's calligraphy is magnificent, which is determined by the great statesman's boldness of vision. Wang Xizhi's handwriting is chic and elegant, Yan Zhenqing's handwriting is heavy, and Wen Zhiming's handwriting is elegant. In short, the rich language covered by calligraphy works, from a certain point of view, should be a portrayal of the calligrapher's personality.