Qi Baishi once said: "The beauty of painting lies between liking and not liking". According to this logic, you will feel that his words are "between calligraphy and painting". The image of the old man Baishi is painted on paper, not in his heart. I believe he did it on purpose. I have heard a saying to the effect that the noblest spiritual pursuit of a real master is to return to the original and find innocence and interest. As a master of Qi Baishi, I think he must also deliberately combine brushwork, the shape and image of the characters to write the painting meaning of the characters. Otherwise, how can we explain that the word "rain" we read seems to crack, the stone is thick and solid, the mountain is calm and stable, and the word "crane" seems to stand there when written? I think calligraphy restores the authenticity of hieroglyphics and images, and at the same time greatly improves the appreciation of its calligraphy, providing people with rich space for image reverie. Secondly, Qi Baishi's pen Lao Wang is very spicy. Observing his works, especially seals, feels very natural, very natural feeling.
The spicy taste of Laos is reflected in the proportion and coordination of brushwork. Good brushwork is the proportion and coordination of muscles and bones. How to understand? A stroke can be fat or thin, long or short, round, straight or oblique, all with heat and size. Just like a person, with thick bones, full figure and good looks. On the contrary, the body of small bones needs to be slender and symmetrical. Qi Baishi's seal script has a good balance of bones, bones and muscles and a reasonable proportion. Qi Baishi's brush strokes are key and powerful, and there are no abrupt brush strokes and discordant sounds throughout, which is very interesting. There is often a saying in calligraphy theory that "all books are old". What does this mean? People who have written all their lives are old enough to write with pens? Right? Obviously, we have no reason. Using a pen is a technical state of calligraphy, as opposed to immaturity. For others, immaturity means immaturity of children and immaturity of beginners.
The original ignorance was not mature, but the old art followed the "circle" of the square "smartly" and the "pass" was integrated through practice. Civil surgery has always honed itself by talent, understanding and correct training, not just age. Guan Qi Baishi's seal script has this feeling. Thirdly, Lao Baishi's neat and steady seal characters show his extraordinary ability to control the character structure. The difficulty of seal script (that is, the structure of glyph) lies in the control of the whole glyph structure. The bigger the character, the harder it is to control the font. When we write prose, there is a principle called "the form is scattered and the spirit is scattered", and the seal is not scattered.
When the body is scattered, God disappears. Losing control of the glyph structure will interrupt writing. In this regard, Qi Baishi handled it properly. Although his seal scripts are all generous, they can achieve regular and stable structure, good radius and wide extension. In addition, stretching and regularization are only contradictory poles. Only when the two achieve a high degree of unity can we achieve good character. Through long-term polishing, adjustment and integration of brushwork, font and composition, Mr. Qi Baishi gained the ability to control the font structure and the style of regular script, which won the hearts of the people. Fourth, Baishi's calligraphy is coherent and smooth. His handwriting is horizontal and vertical, and his strokes must be successful, which is especially necessary for writing big characters. If it doesn't work once, please repeat it, which will be success or failure. Not only is it indescribable, even if it pauses or hesitates, it will lose its original charm. When vitality is broken, it will appear dull and lifeless. Full of momentum and pleasant songs always bring people a sense of pleasure, but boring speeches or intermittent tunes make people uncomfortable. So the real advanced calligraphy should be coherent and comprehensive. In addition, the old man Baishi writes with a big pen. He asked for a lot of effort when he wrote it down, which was really difficult to do.
Not only is it indescribable, even if it pauses or hesitates, it will lose its original charm. When vitality is broken, it will appear dull and lifeless. Full of momentum and pleasant songs always bring people a sense of pleasure, but boring speeches or intermittent tunes make people uncomfortable. So the real advanced calligraphy should be coherent and comprehensive. In addition, the old man Baishi writes with a big pen. He asked for a lot of effort when he wrote it down, which was really difficult to do.