A calligraphy work, if all the words in each vertical line are on a straight line, is a straight line stroke axis; If the center of gravity of each word is a curve connected by a line, then it is undoubtedly the axis of the curve. A simple truth, there is no difference between the two pen shafts, the key depends on what you want to express. Straight pen is suitable for expressing dignified, serious, steady and quiet artistic conception of calligraphy; Arc strokes are suitable for expressing lively, free, romantic and exciting artistic conception of calligraphy.
It's not mysterious. Humans have profound abstract feelings about straight lines and curves, such as intonation. Some people say that from flat to high, it is called "Yang". It is called "suppression" to level first and then drop, low and heavy; Lack of change, gentle stretch, known as "flat"; Frequent ups and downs, ups and downs, are called "bends". Different intonation means different thoughts, feelings and contents. Obviously, intonation is a constantly changing line in people's psychological feelings. Another example is music. The upward melody, downward melody, parallel melody and tortuous melody are also lines in people's eyes. The lines are expressive.
In a work, in addition to the straight pen axis, the curved pen axis can be divided into: straight curved interval pen axis, oblique elegant pen axis, S-shaped flexible pen axis and concave-convex change pen axis. A friend told me that if you are serious but lively, you can draw a pen axis with a straight curve at intervals; The performance is chic and elegant, the pen axis can be tilted, elegant and generous; Expressing joy and beauty, using S-shaped soft pen shaft; To express pain and distortion, you can use concave-convex changes to write the pen axis. There is some truth in this statement. As we know, the most basic feature of curves is that they are dynamic. For example, Zhang Li praised Huai Su's cursive art, saying that "the snake runs and sits, and the shower is full of spin"; Dou Meng's Shu Shu Fu; In terms of words, it is "the electric switch thunders and dragons and snakes haunt"; In Li Bai's cursive lyrics, it is also said that "it seems to be startled by the smell of ghosts and gods, and always sees dragons and snakes go far away." Here, the calligraphy phenomenon is repeatedly described as "dragon snake" to show its dynamic movement of flying, coiling and jumping. But different curves have different dynamics, and the flying of snakes and dragons are different, so it is right to say that different curves have different expressive force.
In the practice of calligraphy creation, the stroke axis should be considered in combination with stippling and stroke movement. If you show a quiet, indifferent, gentle and introverted inner world, naturally you may wish to use smooth lines and straight lines; If the performance is tough and uninhibited, then the lines written are like the lines cut by the axe when the stone meets the angle in the painting, and the brush stroke axis is naturally better with concave and convex changes. I once saw a Song Dynasty poet Su Shi's "Niannujiao Red Cliff Nostalgia", in which the concave and convex changes were used to line the pen axis, and the characters used a large contrast of size and thickness, which really showed the majestic momentum and uninhibited feelings to the fullest.
The most common two kinds of bending pen shafts, S-shaped gentle and melodious, concave and convex changes sonorous, have different expressive force. Professor Bei (Zhang Yan), Dean of Art College of Southeast University, once said in a lecture:
"The tortuous melody of poetry is the curve melody. The notes of the Ming Dynasty recorded such an anecdote: someone cleverly changed Du Mu's Qingming Festival into five words,' It rains on Qingming Festival, and pedestrians want to break their souls. Where is the restaurant, point to Xinghua Village', there is a lot of content, but Du Mu seems to be in a hurry. Seven-character steps are like 4/4 beats of music, melodious and euphemistic, highlighting the beauty of curves; Five-character steps are like music with 2/4 beats, which is strong in jumping and highlights the rhythmic beauty of the steps. Go through seven words. We seem to see Xiao Du walking slowly among the apricot flowers in the field with a hip flask on crutches, while walking, he staggered and recited. Cut into five words, lost the melodious and slow interest, lost the cyclical music beauty. The poet's leisurely stroll in the early spring scenery turned into a rush like' Forward, Forward ……'. Artistic creation is to find such a rhythm, which corresponds to one's own soothing mood, excited mood or depressed mood. "
This is consistent with the truth of calligraphy.
Some calligraphers think that looking at the pen axis is not as good as looking at the linear surface formed by the whole vertical line, that is, a vertical line draws the outline, which gives people the overall feeling of lines, but it is different from the outline of the pen axis. Zigzag lines will naturally have differences in thickness, symmetry and convexity, but people will definitely interpret them according to their own life experience. If you write a thin zigzag outline in small print, people may think of a stream, which is euphemistic, calm, gentle and calm, while a thick outline written in big print will think of a big river, which is majestic, swift, noisy and powerful, and its natural expression is different. Of course, don't forget that other factors, such as the shape, length and density of line outline, will give people a different sense of form. It is also said that different shapes of repeated lines and different arrangement densities give people different visual rhythms, some are bright, some are soft, some are sharp, and some are slow, which is exactly what this means.
If a book is composed of eight vertical lines, is it better for you to have a curve for each line or a pen axis with only one or two curves? If it is the latter, it often belongs to the same book eye as the literary eye and the poetic eye, and it is the most striking and formal part of a book. If it is the former, it is repetition. You know it from life. If someone is waiting, you can't help but say, "why haven't you come yet?" Why haven't you come yet? " You will realize the speaker's anxiety. If you meet a happy event and say "great, great" repeatedly, you will know that the speaker is extremely excited and happy. This actually shows that repeated lyricism, combined with different content, will show different emotions. On the other hand, if you are going out and your mother keeps reminding you of a problem, it is emphasis. The same is true of calligraphy. The repetition of the same stroke is nothing more than emphasis and lyricism. If someone expresses painful feelings, the pen shaft also struggles repeatedly. For example, the performance of "two orioles singing green willows and a row of egrets flying into the sky" is comfortable and cozy, and the repeated S-shaped gentle pen shaft is perfect. In addition, there are symbolic uses. For example, someone writes a poem that shows the hardships and twists of life, and marks the poem with repeated curves.
It is also said that repeated strokes are the repetition of chapters in poetry. From the perspective of "complaints" in the Book of Songs: "Pick cricket and choose fine words. Pick slugs, fine print. /pick to pick, Kan Kan and talk. Pick slugs and be narrow-minded. /Pick a cockroach and say it. Pick cockroaches, thin words. " These three chapters are cyclical, which is actually a kind of change and repetition, and also has a strong lyrical meaning. It is also said that repeated strokes are rendering, highlighting the theme or tone of calligraphy artistic conception, and also a means to realize the aesthetic pursuit of pluralism and unity in calligraphy, so that calligraphy can express temperament or emotion with distinctiveness.
Although it is repetition, in general, it is still necessary to pursue a kind of change repetition, which is also a kind of curve pen axis, but it cannot be exactly the same, and the positive treatment should be changed. For example, if the second word in the first line is on the left, then the second line may be on the right and the third word is on the left. If it is also to the left, it should be far or near the central axis, or occupy a large or small space. In short, if you want to put pen to paper and make a book cry, you must have a clever thinking and deal with all kinds of artistic factors as a whole.
From what has been said above, we can also appreciate life or other arts, which will always give us a lot of inspiration and reference. As for the pain expressed above, if we learn from the world sculpture laocoon, we will come to the same conclusion. Baidu Encyclopedia on the Internet introduces this group of sculptures like this: "In the statue, laocoon is in the middle, and his expression is in extreme terror and pain, trying to free himself and his children from the entanglement of two snakes. He caught a snake, but at the same time his hip was bitten; His eldest son on the left didn't seem to be hurt, but he was shocked and struggled to free his leg from the entanglement of the snake. The second son on the father's right side has been tightly entangled in snakes and raised his right arm in despair. Those are three bodies twisted by pain, and all the muscle movements have reached the limit, even to the point of spasm, expressing the strength and extreme tension in the state of pain and resistance, making people feel as if the pain has flowed through all muscles, nerves and blood vessels, and the tense and tragic atmosphere permeates the whole work. " Judging from the lines, it is also distortion and tension. Calligraphy is distorted by the axis of strokes, while tension or tension is realized by Fang Bi and straight line processing of stippling.