Author=Zhang Xiying
Friends who like calligraphy should understand one truth, that is, is a calligraphy work better with more words or fewer words? I dare not make too much discussion here because I am not qualified yet. I can only say that it varies from person to person and depends on your preference and appreciation.
Some people like works with fewer words, such as plaques with idioms such as "virtue carries great wealth", "God rewards diligence", "tranquility reaches far", etc. Some people also like works with a large number of words, such as "Qinyuanchun", "Tengwang Pavilion", "Spring River Flower Moonlight Night" and other large-format poems.
If you still haven’t figured out which one you should like, here I can give you a little suggestion for your reference. For a piece of calligraphy, unless there are any special requirements, such as it is not used for facades, shops or highly professional occasions, families and individuals should generally choose as many words as possible, with a high style, elegant content and fonts. It is dignified and beautiful, in line with traditional culture, and has elegant writing style. It is suitable for family humanistic education. It is a valuable and high-quality work that can be hung in the living room, bedroom or study room.
Why? In fact, everyone in the know knows this truth, especially those who have participated in calligraphy competitions, because under the same level of conditions, assuming that both works with more words and less words meet the competition requirements, then the work with more words will have a higher winning rate It will definitely always be higher than works with fewer words.
The reason is very simple. Only a calligraphy work with a large number of words can better reflect the calligraphy level and skills of a calligrapher. It includes the knotting, pen usage, composition, and ink techniques of the work. Wait, there are many, many elements in it. And works with a small number of words, especially works with only three or four words, cannot reflect the level of the writer at all. Some people have always suspected that these ink-players have no calligraphy skills, so they dare not write too much. Words, fear of embarrassment. Some people also say that when looking at works with a small number of words, just look at the small print at the signature. That’s good! The skills can also be seen in the small print. A true calligrapher will never change his pen after completing a piece of work.
Another point is that it only takes a short time to write a few words with one stroke of the pen. Even if there are slight flaws, you can repair them and cover them up by tracing them. It is different for a multi-character calligraphy work. It is imaginable how much energy and time it requires. Sometimes if there is a mistake in one word, the whole thing may be lost. You must either give up or start over. It's not perfect.
Someone said again, so-and-so’s words are worth a thousand dollars, that’s right! It's a pity that he is a big figure in the industry. He has worked hard in the industry for many years and is a master in theory and practice. But many of us are not. To put it nicely, we can only be regarded as calligraphy enthusiasts. There is no end to learning, and it is already good to be recognized and praised by masters.
Let’s talk about it again. Works with more words than less words will definitely have a higher winning rate and be more popular. The premise is that the level of the two works cannot be too different. If there is a big difference in strength between the two, even one word written in a high-level work will be millions of times better than those full-length parallel-imported words.
If you are not an influential person in a high-level position and want to impress the judges and the audience with just a few words, it will always be a fantasy and a fantasy.
Everyone who writes is self-aware...