Compared with other calligraphy styles such as seal script, Li script, Kai script, and Xing script, the characteristics of cursive script can be summarized as follows: simplicity and beauty. Lyrical and freehand.
Its structure saves pens, deforms, and eliminates the complex and simplifies it, making writing more convenient and crisp. The details of pointillism are omitted, and the outline is used to approximate the form, breaking the balance, deforming and exaggerating its momentum, allowing more room for expression of emotion.
Writing is mainly about turning, supplemented by pointillism. Break the uniform speed and highlight the rhythm changes.
Sun Guoting's "Preface to the Book of Records" says, "Grass uses stipple painting as its emotional nature and transforms it into form and quality." "The grass is so good that it can't be turned into words".
The initial stage of cursive writing is also practical. The so-called "relying on the horse and waiting for it" means waiting for it immediately, and the so-called "making grass in a hurry". The former is limited by environmental conditions, and the latter is limited by time. The requirement for mobility and convenience in real life has contributed to the formation of cursive writing style.
After all, the randomness of "grass" could not escape the fate of being "unrefined" in the end. It jumped out of the scope of practicality and became a way for literati to show off their skills in private. Because it breaks away from the constraints of strict rules, it also creates its alternative artistic style. In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, the wild cursive scripts of "Dian Zhang" and "Zui Su" appeared, which can be said to have completely gone beyond practicality. If it is used in the writing of bamboo slips and Hanzha before and after the Wei and Jin Dynasties, it will be out of place, and it is completely different from the cursive script.
In terms of techniques and skills, the writing and creation of cursive script should also grasp its unique laws and principles. Sun Guoting once said, "If grass is not true at the same time, it is almost impossible to be careful." If you go too far in everything, you will be careless, you will be careless, you will be sick, and you will be at fault. Therefore, he emphasized, "If there is no painting, there will be no height." If we only focus on the ease of writing in cursive script, we will lose the power and tension of the posture. This is particularly important to note. Many friends have a rebellious mentality and are unwilling to improve their skills in regular script. This actually weakens their creative ability in cursive script.
The requirements for both internal and external character skills in cursive script are very high. "If you are always careful and careful, if you forget about regular rules, you can memorize Xi's offerings without missing a beat, and you can defy rules and regulations but still work hard." Forgetting the regular rules does not mean that you don’t want to follow the rules and don’t put in the basic work. Rather, it requires a solid foundation and proficient kung fu, "the heart never tires of finesse, and the hands never forget familiarity", "if the application is close to proficiency, the rules are familiar to the mind, and the mind can naturally tolerate wandering", "it is free and easy, and the master is flying".