People's Daily: It's not appropriate to start practicing calligraphy in Tang Kai!
For a long time, when it comes to the introduction to learning calligraphy, the calligraphy education circle must say "block letters first, block letters later, and calligraphy later". Block letters specifically refer to Europe: Europe is rigorous, well-structured, stretched, majestic, thin and healthy, and strict in statutes. The three reflect the standardization of stippling and structure. Whether it is recommended by teachers or copybooks sold in the market, these three kinds are the main ones. For example, Yan Zhenqing's "Duo Ta Jing Jin Bei", Ou Yangxun's "Jiu Cheng Gong Li Quan Ming" and Liu Gongquan's "Mysterious Tower Bei" and so on.
Figure/Liu body
At first, I heard Wang Tianmin, a member of China Book Association, say that "Yan Liu hurts people and stifles individuality". I was surprised that the foundation of calligraphy should start from Li Shu and Kai Wei, but after careful study, I found this is an interesting and valuable topic.
Beginners should strive for elegance in calligraphy.
In reality, more than one person thinks it is best to start with running script and practice regular script at the same time. The rigor of regular script will make you feel frustrated before mastering it, and it is only suitable for practicing basic skills. Running script has a large space to play, and you can see your progress quickly, which is conducive to cultivating interest. Think about it, too. When I was a child, I went to Jiucheng Palace several times to write the inscription on Liquan, but I couldn't understand its true essence, so I stopped writing it at last.
Figure/European "Jiuchenggong Liquan Ming"
But is this really feasible? It is said that an old man brought a cursive script and asked Lin Sanzhi, a contemporary cursive writer, to teach him. He read carefully one by one, just nodded and said nothing. After the old man left, Lin Lao said, "This man is still outside the door." He said that if the visitor was a young man, he would not hesitate to let him brake and write regular script quickly. But the old gentleman took a detour all his life and told him to practice regular script from the beginning. One thing embarrassed him, and the other was too late, so he had to keep his mouth shut. Su Shi, a calligrapher in the Song Dynasty, also said that regular script is like a platform, running script is like a line, and cursive script is like a rush. I've never seen anyone who can run even when standing unsteadily. Cursive writing is the noumenon.
Figure/face shape
Undeniably, there is a kind of "worship of righteousness" in China's traditional cultural concept, such as "eating improperly" and "sitting improperly" as Confucius said. On second thought, we should respect from a small place, cultivate the decency and integrity of conduct, and extend it to the righteousness of the legal system. After Du Nan, the Southern Song Ci also emphasized "elegance and correctness", but the key point was not to establish an artistic theory, but to emphasize correctness and advocate "orthodoxy", which came down in one continuous line with "orthodoxy" in Neo-Confucianism and represented the same respect.
Therefore, from the perspective of children's character shaping and habit formation, regular script is the most mature font of Chinese characters, with square shape, straight strokes and strict statutes, which should be the best choice for beginners.
But the point is, regular script is not just Tang script.
Which is taller, Wei-Jin regular script or Tang Kai?
Tracing back to history, the earliest regular script of Jin people represented by Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi appeared, followed by Wei Bei regular script, including cliff stone carvings and epitaph stone carvings with similar styles before and after the Northern Wei Dynasty, followed by early Tang regular script represented by Ou Yangxun, Yu Shinan and Chu Suiliang, and middle and late Tang regular script represented by Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan.
Calligraphers in the Ming and Qing Dynasties have begun to advocate starting with Yan Liu's regular script. Yan Liu's regular script is vigorous, rigorous and obvious in lifting and pressing, which can correct the problem of sketching. However, going too far and being too rigorous has become a shortcoming and drawback. For example, turning points and critical positions are exactly what Mi Fei, a calligrapher in the Song Dynasty, called "ugliness". At present, the teaching of brush calligraphy in primary and secondary schools is generally to learn from Yan Liu, seeking only similarity, developing vigor and vitality, and writing Yan Liu as an imitation of the Song Dynasty. Of course, it is difficult to learn running script next.
Kincaid is the source of regular script. Tang Kai only pays attention to the standardization of writing with pen and ignores the expression of emotion, which is easy to stifle the artistic personality of beginners, especially teenagers. Because the law is too strict, it is easy to write stiffly and lacks vitality, let alone express artistic individuality. Jiang Kui, an artist in the Southern Song Dynasty, and Kang Youwei in the Qing Dynasty have made this very clear. Jiang Kui thinks: the ancient law emphasizes natural and unrestrained, and its structure is diverse. Tang Jie's integrity is good, his body is restrained, his pen is single, he lost the rules of Wei and Jin Dynasties, but lost the ancient laws. We should learn regular script from Wei and Jin dynasties, especially from Zhong You of Wei and Wang Xizhi of Jin dynasty. Therefore, Bao in the Qing Dynasty said: "The book of Tang Dynasty has no definite trend, but is reserved, so it is engraved."
Kang Youwei summed up the ten beauties of regular script in Wei and Jin Dynasties:
One day, courage is strong.
Second, the weather is muddy.
Three times, the brushwork jumps.
Four days, stippling is rough.
Five words, strange mentality.
Six days, high spirits.
Seven days, the interest is full.
Eight, the bone method point.
Nine, the structure is natural.
Ten days, full of flesh and blood.
Kang Youwei believes that Tang Kai has eight diseases: sparse, withered, forced, thin, contending, slippery, straight and astringent. The ancient law of Wei and Jin dynasties is unique to later generations, and its dense structure, thick brushwork, long strokes and vertical and horizontal decline are exactly what Tang Kai lacks. Tang Kai even lacks the beauty of walking fast in sparse places, not ventilating in dense places, treating white as black, and being magical and infinite.
Some people think that both Wei Shu and Wei Shu are good, but they are not. Because Tang Kai made the form of regular script rigid, it meant the end of regular script, and finally it became printed, which proved this point. Therefore, in the Northern Song Dynasty, regular script was translated into a language, which was rigid to Tang Kai.
The evolution of calligraphy is smoother.
The ancient writing method in Wei and Jin Dynasties originated from Jinwen Han Li. Judging from Zhong You, Wang Xizhi, and even the inscriptions and ink in Wei and Jin Dynasties, there is a legacy of seal script, so Bao said: "The North Monument has its own method, so it is not normal."
I asked Wang Tianmin, "Don't you think Yan Liu's regular script looks good?" He said: "It is precisely because it is too perfect that it stifles personality and becomes a thousand-character text. My son just wrote Yan Liu and wrote it out. " Yan Liu is widely used in education, which is very inappropriate. He believes that the essence of calligraphy is abstractness and intentionality, and calligraphy attainments determine the freehand brushwork of landscape painting, so it is very important.
Some people say that if you want to learn calligraphy well, you might as well start from Tang Kai, but if you are interested in learning calligraphy art or even Chinese painting, it is suggested to start from seal script or even Oracle Bone Inscriptions.
Nowadays, there are fewer and fewer opportunities to write with a pen, and the practicality can be ignored. The main purpose of learning calligraphy is to understand the beauty of Chinese characters, improve artistic accomplishment and inherit excellent cultural traditions. Then, it seems that inscriptions on bronze inscriptions, Han Li and regular script in Wei and Jin Dynasties are all better choices, whether from the perspective of basic introduction or from the perspective of future artistic ability development.