To understand the difference and definition standard between regular script and running script, we have to start with the development and evolution of regular script and running script.
We begin to learn to write and practice calligraphy, basically starting with regular script. When regular script is practiced and the writing speed is fast, we will gradually transition to running script. Therefore, in the eyes of most people, the difference between regular script and running script is nothing more than a relatively neat writing, a relatively slow pen movement, and a relatively fast running script writing, which is different from that of Lian Bi.
but it's not.
The biggest difference between regular script and running script lies not only in the font, but also in the brushwork.
Our China characters began with the creation of characters in Cangjie, and now the well-documented characters have evolved from Oracle Bone Inscriptions-bronze inscriptions-seal script-official script-running script-regular script.
some people may wonder how it can evolve and finalize the design after running the script, when it is clear that the regular script is orderly and written so slowly.
We have to research the evolution of characters before the pre-Qin period. Let's start with official script.
As we all know, the official script began in Qin Zhuan, but Qin Zhuan's twists and turns were too complicated, so it was simplified and became a script that even slaves could understand, so it was called official script.
The official script gradually took shape and developed in the Han Dynasty, which is the writing brush and has become the main writing tool. Then let's think back to how the child who picked up the brush for the first time would write.
Do you want to start with such a complicated pen-carrying method as the point of Tibetan front, or do you want to brush it directly?
Therefore, this kind of direct swing brushwork has created the main characteristics of Li Shu strokes in the Han Dynasty.
This is a bamboo slip unearthed from Mawangdui in the early Western Han Dynasty. As can be seen from the strokes, the brushwork of the early official script was relatively simple and arc-shaped.
In the official bamboo slips of Jiaqu Hou in the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, we can already see that there is a mature official script feature in the strokes, that is, the wavy strokes of silkworm head and goose tail. This is also the inevitability of the gradual evolution of brushwork from simple to complex.
But the official script has the same problem as the regular script of later generations, that is, the writing requires neatness and the speed is slow. So a faster brushwork-Zhangcao appeared.
Zhangcao was roughly formed between Xuan and Yuan Dynasties in the Western Han Dynasty, and flourished in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms and the Western Jin Dynasty, becoming a mature and perfect calligraphy style.
Lu Ji's calming stickers are Zhang Cao's classic works.
Compared with the neat official script, many strokes are connected, and the continuity of strokes means the increase of the curve of the pen tip, which requires more advanced brushstroke skills to be competent.
When we arrived in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, we finally ushered in the first running script in the world: Wang Xizhi's Preface to the Lanting Pavilion
At this time, the development of brushwork has made the strokes break away from the basic one-dimensional lines, and every painting in the work is like a flying ribbon, overlapping knots on different sides and appearing in front of us at the same time, as if it were no longer a simple line, but a three-dimensional feeling, which is precisely because of the further development of brushwork.
official script has developed into modern script through Zhang Cao, and at the same time, it has developed into today's regular script along another clue.
during the western Han dynasty, a small number of stippling similar to regular script appeared, which was probably an unintentional move, but it was the clue of a new font.
By the Eastern Han Dynasty, most of the characters had faded away from the wave of official script and became straighter.
In fact, the requirements for font development in any era are as simple as possible on the basis of easy recognition. Regular script is the product of simplifying the structure and strokes of official script under this premise.
the simplification of the structure lies in the reduction of strokes, and the simplification of strokes lies in the curve becoming straight. So at the corner turning point, the arc gradually disappears and is replaced by lifting. The focus of the brush stroke has gradually shifted to the end and bend of the stroke.
We can see this by comparing the brushwork of Wang Xizhi and Wang Huizhi.
When the center of gravity of the pen moves to the end and inflection point of the stroke, it is well adapted to the structure of regular script with clear square folding. Exaggerated ends and folding points not only make stippling more eye-catching, but also make up for the aesthetic loss caused by the reduction of arc strokes and straight strokes.
By the Tang Dynasty, regular script, whether as a practical font or a category of calligraphy art, had reached its heyday. Yan Zhenqing in the mid-Tang Dynasty is a master of regular script. Whether his "Many Pagodas Sensing Monument" or "The Story of the Fairy Altar of Magu", there are several characteristics: First, the end and folding parts are emphasized, and the strokes of lifting and pressing are extremely obvious. Second, it enriches the changes in the use of pens at the ends and folds, making hiding the front and keeping the pen become the typical strokes of regular script.
Later, the running script was gradually influenced by the regular script, and the running script appeared.
As mentioned above, both running script and regular script developed from official script. Before the Wei and Jin Dynasties, running script occupied the mainstream position of calligraphy, but after the Tang Dynasty, regular script became authentic calligraphy, and other fonts after that were more or less influenced by regular script brushwork. Although sometimes the font of regular script is similar, we can start with its brushwork. Running script pays attention to the smooth movement of strokes and arc-shaped strokes, while regular script pays attention to the lifting and pressing of end points, so we can distinguish between branch scripts and regular scripts well.