What is "a bird on the eyebrow"
"A bird on the eyebrow" refers to a radical in Chinese characters, also called "bird bias".
Most people can see a bird-shaped pattern on their forehead or next to their nose. This is the "bird on the eyebrow" in the glyph. This radical is very common in Chinese characters and is one of the constituent elements of many characters.
The role of "a bird on the eyebrow" in Chinese characters
"A bird on the eyebrow" plays an important role in the composition of Chinese characters. Many Chinese characters are based on "bird part", such as:
Bird, chicken, song, crow, goose, crane, etc. The meanings of these words are related to birds, so the structural unit "a bird on the eyebrow" can be regarded as the pictogram of "bird" to facilitate the expression of related meanings.
The changes of "a bird on the brow" during the evolution of Chinese characters
With the evolution of Chinese characters, the radical "a bird on the brow" in some characters has been related to The original pictographic meaning has been separated and has become one of the basic elements of the glyphs. This radical further evolved to form a new configuration.
The "bird side" of some Chinese characters gradually became abstract, such as the "bird side" of the character "Ma" evolved into the structure of "horse".
In addition, there are also some characters where the "bird on the brow" is no longer the standard bird shape. For example, the "bird bias" of the character "岛" is simplified into the shape of "island".
The application of "a bird on the eyebrow" in calligraphy
"A bird on the eyebrow" in calligraphy is not written strictly according to the shape of the glyph, but according to the writing It requires free change, and different calligraphers have different expressions of this.
Some calligraphers will use "bird bias" in the glyphs. For example, in the word "ling" written by Ouyang Xun, the "bird bias" part deformed into a shape that symbolizes decoration.
There are also some calligraphers who write "bird side" directly as a stroke. Although this writing method loses the shape of "bird side", it is more in line with the charm and speed of calligraphy.