In calligraphy cursive writing, people often talk about the issue of line axis.
In a calligraphy work, if the center of gravity of all the characters in each vertical line is on a straight line, it is a straight axis; if the center of gravity of each character is connected with a line to form a curve, then it is undoubtedly a curved line. row axis. A simple truth is that there is no good or bad distinction between these two axes. The key depends on what you want to express. The straight axis is suitable for expressing calligraphy artistic conceptions or emotions of dignity, seriousness, stability, and tranquility; the curved axis is suitable for expressing calligraphy artistic conceptions and emotions of liveliness, freedom, romance, and excitement.
This is not a mystery. Human beings have a profound abstract understanding of straight lines and curves. For example, intonation, some people say that when it rises from flat, it is high and passionate, which is called "yang"; when it is flat first and then falls, it is low. Steady, it is called "inhibition"; it lacks change and is gentle and stretched, it is called "flat"; it rises and falls frequently and rises and falls, it is called "qu". Different intonations express different thoughts, feelings and content. It is obvious that tone is like lines with changing directions in people's psychological feeling. Another example is music. The ascending melody, descending melody, parallel melody, and zigzag melody are also lines in people's eyes. Lines are expressive.
In addition to the straight axis in a work, the curved axis can be divided into: straight, curved and spaced axis, inclined and elegant axis, S-shaped soft axis, and concave and convex changing axis. A friend told me that to express seriousness without losing liveliness, you can use a straight and curved axis at intervals; to express chicness and elegance, you can use an inclined and elegant axis; to express joy and elegance, you can use an S-shaped soft axis; to express pain and distortion, you can use concave and convex changes to the axis . There is some truth to this. We know that the most basic characteristic of curves is their sense of movement. For example, Zhang Libu praised Huaisu's cursive calligraphy art and said, "Snakes and snakes are rushing to take seats, and the sound of sudden rain and whirlwind fills the hall." Li Bai's "Songs of Cursive Script" also said, "It's like hearing gods and ghosts, and you can only see dragons and snakes walking around from time to time." Here, "dragon and snake" are repeatedly used to describe the phenomenon of calligraphy, just to show its flying, coiling, and ups and downs. dynamic. But different curves have different dynamics, such as the flight of a snake and the flight of a dragon. Therefore, it is correct to say that different curved axes have different expressive powers.
You must have a sensitive formal intuition for the expressiveness of the row axis. You must know that all forms are symbolized by people's subconscious or conscious consciousness. For example, Song Huizong's "Listening to the Qin Picture", there are four people in the picture. The one sitting in the middle playing the piano is Song Huizong; the Qing Yi on the left The person in admiration is Wang Fu, with a boy standing beside him with his hands folded; the person on the right who is bowing his head and listening respectfully is Cai Jing. These figures form a triangle in the spatial composition. Doesn’t it mean that triangles have a kind of stability? This stable form gives people a sense of tranquility in art appreciation. In this tranquil atmosphere, the long sound of the piano floats. Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty who plays the piano is dressed as a Taoist priest in Huang Guanzhen, which makes us feel that the tunes he plays have the charm of Taoism's "inaction". No wonder Cai Jing wrote a poem: "Yin Zheng tunes the tung trees under the stove of Shang, and there is a suspected pine breeze among the pines. Looking up at the low judgment A visitor with affection seems to have hit the mark without a string. "According to historical records, "At that time, Taiwei Xi Jian sent his disciples to ask for his son-in-law. The leader went to the east chamber to visit his disciples. When the disciples returned, he said to Jian: 'The Wang family. Young and good, but after hearing the news, Xian was reserved. He was the only one eating in the east bed. If he didn't hear it, he said, "This is a good son-in-law!" ." Therefore, there have always been many "Eastern Bed Flat Belly Pictures". These pictures use soft and elegant lines to depict Wang Xizhi's sleeping posture, highlighting the formal elements, free and easy, elegant and interesting. This is the best illustration of the expressiveness of the curve.
In the practice of calligraphy creation, the line axis should also be considered in conjunction with pointillism and brushwork. If it expresses a tranquil, indifferent, gentle and restrained inner world, it is natural that the text lines should be gentle and smooth, peaceful and calm, and the line axis should be linear; if it expresses a strong and unruly inner world, then the text lines should be as angular as the stones in a painting. , chapping like a knife-cut and axe-cut line, and the axis of the line is naturally better with concave and convex changes. I once saw a painting written by the Song Dynasty poet Su Shi, "Niannujiao·Chibi Nostalgic", which uses concave and convex changing line axes, and the text uses a contrasting brushwork in size and thickness. It really expresses the majestic momentum and bold emotions vividly. .
The two most common curved axes are the S-shaped, soft and melodious, and the concave and convex changes, sonorous and rapid, with different expressive powers. Professor Chang Bei (Zhang Yan) of the School of Art of Southeast University once said in a lecture:
“The zigzag melody of poetry is a curved melody. The Ming Dynasty’s notes recorded such an anecdote: Someone cleverly changed Du Mu's "Qingming" into five words, "The Qingming rain falls, and travelers want to lose their souls. Where is the restaurant? It points to Xinghua Village." There is a lot of content, but Du Mu seems to be marching in a hurry. The footwork is like music in 4/4 time, very melodious and graceful, highlighting the beauty of the curve-like melody; the five-character footwork is like music in 2/4 time, jumping and powerful, highlighting the beauty of the rhythm like stepping. After seven words of music, we seemed to see Xiao Du carrying a wine bottle on his crutches, strolling slowly and leisurely among the apricot flowers in the field, while still shaking his head and reciting into five words. The melodious and slow interest is lost, the beauty of the music that goes back and forth is lost, and the poet's leisurely interest in strolling through the early spring scenery has turned into a rush like "forward, forward...".
Art creation is to find a rhythm that corresponds to one's own soothing feelings, exciting feelings, or depressed emotions. ”
This is consistent with the principle of calligraphy. Whether the row axis is slow or rapid, the expressiveness will naturally be different.
Some calligraphers believe that it is better to look at the entire vertical row than to look at the row axis. The linear surface formed by the text gives people a more vivid feeling, that is, a vertical line of text draws the outer contour, and the overall impression is still a line, but this is a line outline that is different from the line axis. , there will naturally be differences in thickness, symmetry and concavity, but people will definitely interpret it based on life experience. For example, if the thin zigzag outline is written in small characters, people may think of a stream, which is gentle, calm, and peaceful. The feeling of gentleness and calmness, and the thick outlines written in large characters, people will associate with the river, with a feeling of majesty, galloping, noisy and powerful. Of course, we cannot forget other factors. , such as the shape, length and density of the line outline, these will give people different senses of form. Some people also say that the repeated lines have different shapes and different arrangement density, giving people different visual rhythms, some are bright, some are bright. Soft, some sharp, some slow, this is exactly what it means.
If a painting is composed of eight vertical lines, should each line be a curved axis, or only one. What about the two-line curve axis? If it’s the latter, it’s often the most eye-catching and formal part of a piece of writing. If it’s the former. You can experience repetition from life. If someone is waiting, you can't help but say "Why haven't you come yet? Why haven't you come yet?" and you will understand the anxiety of the speaker; if you encounter a happy event, repeat By saying "Great, great", you will know that the speaker is extremely excited and happy. This actually shows that repetition has a distinct lyricism, and combined with different content, it will express different emotions. From another perspective, If you are about to go out and your mother repeatedly reminds you of a certain problem, it is the same as calligraphy. The repetition of the same line axis is nothing more than emphasis and lyricism. If someone expresses painful emotions, the line axis is also twisted and struggled repeatedly. For example, to express the comfort and comfort of "two orioles singing in the green willows, and a row of egrets ascending to the blue sky", the repeated S-shaped soft strokes are perfect. In addition, there are also symbolic uses, such as someone writing. This poem expresses the hardships and twists of life, and uses a repetitive line to symbolize poetry.
Some people also say that the repeated line is a refrain in the poem, which is based on the poem "裊苢" in the Book of Songs. "Let's look at it: "It's not easy to pick it up, but it's easy to pick it up. There are many things to pick and choose, but there are few words to say. / Pick up the bad things and brush them off with thin words. Picking up the thorns and saying nothing about it. /Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cao Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai and Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai Cai did not say anything. Pick and choose 芣苢, talk about it lightly. "These three chapters go back and forth, which is actually a kind of repetition, which also has a strong lyrical meaning. Some people say that the repeated line axis is rendering, which highlights the theme or the artistic conception of calligraphy, and is also a means of realizing the diverse and unified aesthetic pursuit in calligraphy. , so that calligraphy expresses temperament or expresses emotions with distinctiveness.
Although it is repeated, generally speaking, it is necessary to pursue a kind of change and repetition, which is also a certain curve axis, but it cannot be exactly the same. The processing needs to be changed. For example, if the second character of the first line is to the left, then the second character of the second line may be to the right, or if the third character is also to the left, it should be away from the central axis. There are far and near, or the space is large and small. In short, if you want to write a book that will shock the wind and the gods, you must have an ingenuity in handling multiple artistic factors.
As mentioned above. , everyone can also realize that life or other arts will always give us a lot of inspiration and reference. As for the above expression of pain, if we learn from the world group sculpture "Laocoon", we will also come to the same conclusion. Baidu on the Internet Encyclopedia introduces this group of sculptures: "In the statue, Laocoon is located in the middle, looking in extreme terror and pain, trying hard to free himself and his children from the entanglement of two snakes. He caught a snake, but was bitten on the buttocks at the same time; the eldest son on his left side seemed uninjured, but was stunned and was struggling to free his legs from the snake's entanglement; the second son on his father's right side Already entangled tightly with the snake, he raised his right arm high in despair. They were three bodies twisted due to pain. All muscle movements had reached their limits, even to the point of spasm, expressing the strength and extreme tension in a state of pain and resistance, making people feel as if pain was flowing through them. All muscles, nerves and blood vessels are removed, and a tense and tragic atmosphere permeates the entire work. "From the perspective of lines, it is distortion, entanglement and struggle. Calligraphy can also express this by using the line axis.