Beginners can buy cheap and high-quality Four Treasures of the Study, but it is not suitable for beginners to use too high-end brushes/inks and papers. It is recommended to buy: Yuyang Yipin or Jianjian Dabaiyun (a few yuan a piece) (branch), easy to learn, but not durable, you can buy a few more. You can buy ordinary ink (about five yuan is enough, no brand), and use fifteen-frame calligraphy paper for students (four yuan) (left and right), just buy a practical inkstone. There is no need to pay attention to the stone quality/engraving. Happy learning!
Calligraphy is an art of persistence. The most taboo is to fish in three days and spend two days fishing. Tianshai.com,
Here are a few methods briefly introduced:
1. Trace red: It is to fill in the strokes in the character frame outlined by the double hook stroke. It is suitable for beginners and is available in general bookstores.
2. Copying: It is to copy the Dharma stickers of the predecessors with white paper, suitable for beginners.
3. Copying: It means copying with reference to previous Dharma texts. It is suitable for those who have a certain foundation.
4. Back-to-back: It means first learning to digest the Dharma stickers of the predecessors. Writing does not include Dharma stickers. After completion, compare the Dharma stickers to find out the shortcomings.
There are many more, so I won’t list them all here.
Beginners should start with real scripts (such as regular script, official script, seal script, Wei stele, etc.) and should not practice cursive writing first.
Here are some Dharma texts suitable for beginners recommended to you:
In regular script, there are Yan Zhenqing’s Qinli Stele, Duobao Pagoda Stele, Magu Xian Tan Ji; Liu Gongquan’s Mysterious Pagoda, Shence Army Monument; Ouyang Xun's Jiucheng Palace, etc.
Official scripts include the Shichen Monument, Zhang Qian Monument, etc.;
Wei steles include the Zheng Wengong Monument, etc.
Due to time constraints, I will only write so much. If you are interested, you can send me a message and we will study together.
A few points you should pay attention to when starting to practice calligraphy: (When practicing a paragraph, you also need to learn common sense such as the structure of calligraphy)
① The posture must be correct, with your feet flat on the ground and your hands on the case. Shoulders flat, back straight, head upright, eyes focused on the paper.
② Hold the pen with the finger pointing firmly and the palm empty. Hold the pen with the fingers and move the pen with the wrist. Start practicing calligraphy with your wrists pillowed, and gradually lift your wrists and hang your wrists.
③The writing techniques must be clearly distinguished, generally divided into square pens and round pens, and the application parts of center, side and lying fronts must also be clarified.
④ Regular script is the basis for learning calligraphy. After learning regular script, I then learned running script, and finally cursive script. You might as well learn Wei Bei first.
⑤ When writing a post, don’t just glance at it and write one stroke. First, read the post, understand the essentials thoroughly, and then write each word in one breath.
⑥First of all, you must practice various radicals well, and it will be easy to form various characters later.