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Chinese Calligraphy,
Abstract Art, Mind Painting
by Ngan Siu-Mui
Chapter 8
Studying the Writings of Ancient Calligraphers
The writings by ancient calligraphers are the only ways to learn calligraphy. The history of Chinese calligraphy is so long that thousands of such writings exist which are lifetime reference to the calligrapher.
A beginner must first choose one of these for practice, until all its skills are at one’s fingertips. Avoid changing from one to another at will, as this will likely slow down your progress. As the Chinese saying goes, “calligraphy cannot be learned in 100 days”. One must persevere and continue practicing in order to have achievements. On the other hand, without knowledge and training in brush manipulation techniques, even lifetime efforts in practicing calligraphy are futile. Here is a brief description of the three ways to learn from models of calligraphy.
Tracing, copying and “reading”
Tracing is construed as tracing the characters on a transparent piece of paper placed over the model. It enables one to concentrate on the brush manipulation techniques, without the need to pay attention to character formation.
Having undergone this process, one can easily manage to copy both the brush manipulation techniques and the character formation. Copying means to reproduce, in writing, the characters of a calligraphy model. In general, the process of tracing precedes that of copying. A beginner should choose one style of model in which every character-size approximates 5 cm2. Characters which are blurred or indistinguishable, may be skipped over.
Finally, “reading” a calligraphy model means to examine all its elements, spacing, shapes and movement carefully and, from time to time, comparing your copied manuscript with it in order to deepen your understanding of calligraphy at large. Here are good models of different calligraphy scripts:
Seal Script
- Stone Drums of the Ch’in Dynasty
- Stele of I-Shan of the Ch’in Dynasty
Clerical Script
- Stele of Ts’ao-Ch’üan of the Han Dynasty
- Stele of Ritual Vessel of the Han Dynasty
Regular Script
- Stele of Yen Qinli of the Tang Dynasty, by Yen Chen-Ch’ing
- Stele of Chang Mang Lung of the Northern Wei Dynasty
Running Script
- Lan-Ting-Hsü by Wang Hsi-Chih
- Calligraphy on Szechwan Silk, by Mi Fei
Cursive Script
- Four Ancient Poems, by Chang Hsü of the Tang dynasty
- Autograph, by Monk Huai Su of the Tang dynasty
Table of contents
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 — Creative Energy in Calligraphy
- Chapter 2 — Chinese Calligraphy Scripts
- Chapter 3 — The Calligrapher's Tools :: Chinese brush, paper, ink and ink stone
- Chapter 4 — Watching Lady Gong-Sun's Sword Dance :: The dance of Chinese brush
- Chapter 5 — Chinese Brush Techniques for Calligraphy
- Chapter 6 — Approach to Chinese Calligraphy through the Seal Script
- Chapter 7 — Approach to Chinese Calligraphy Techniques through the Regular Script
- Chapter 8 — Studying the Writings of Ancient Chinese Calligraphers
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