Chinese calligraphy art has a long history of development. As the quintessence of national culture, although we cannot make everyone learn calligraphy now, we still need to understand some necessary knowledge and principles of calligraphy appreciation! Many beginners My friends don’t know where to start when it comes to appreciating calligraphy. Experts say that the following aspects should be considered first when appreciating calligraphy

(1) Stipple lines for calligraphy appreciation

The stipple lines for calligraphy appreciation have unlimited expressive power and are abstract in nature. , the calligraphy image formed has no specific meaning, but it must contain all the beautiful qualities. In this way, special requirements are put forward for the stipple lines of calligraphy. It is required to have a sense of power, rhythm and three-dimensionality.

1. Sense of power

The sense of power of stippling lines is one of the elements of line beauty. It is a metaphor that refers to the feeling of force that drawing lines evokes in the human heart. As early as the Han Dynasty, Cai Yong's "Nine Movements" made a special study of pointillism lines, pointing out that "hide the head and protect the tail, and the power is in the words", "make the center of the pen always move in the pointillism", "when the pointillism is exhausted, the power is collected" Of". It is required that the stipple painting should be deeply hidden, must be taken back as it goes, and have a beginning and an end, so as to show the strength. It should be noted that we emphasize hiding the head and protecting the tail, not revealing the key points, which does not mean that the middle lines can be ignored. The strokes in the middle must be centered, so that the stipple lines are round and gentle, gentle but not soft, and contain strength. However, the start and end of the stipple lines are not always hidden and sharp (both large seal script and small seal script must hide the sharp edge). In calligraphy, hidden and exposed are often combined according to needs, especially in cursive script, which is ever-changing. When appreciating calligraphy, you should not only pay attention to the continuity and echo of the beginning and end, but also pay attention to whether the middle section is smooth and thin.

2. Sense of rhythm

Appreciating calligraphy requires a sense of rhythm. Rhythm refers to the regular changes in pitch, intensity, and length of notes in music. Due to the different force and speed of calligraphy during the creation process, calligraphy produces regular alternating changes in different shapes such as weight, thickness, length, size, etc., which creates a rhythm in the stipple lines of calligraphy. The strokes of Chinese characters vary in length and size, which further enhances the rhythm of dotted lines in calligraphy. Generally speaking, static calligraphy (such as seal script, official script, regular script) has a weak sense of rhythm, while dynamic calligraphy (running script, cursive script) has a strong sense of rhythm and rich changes.

3. Three-dimensional sense

The three-dimensional sense is the result of the center's pen. The strokes written by the center, "viewed in the sun, there is a thick line of ink in the center of the painting, right in the middle, and as for the fold, there is no deviation in the middle." In this way, the stipple lines can be full, round, thick and round. Therefore, the center's pen has always been highly valued. However, we cannot find that side-stroke pens can be seen everywhere in calligraphy creation. Except for Xiaozhuan, all other calligraphy styles are inseparable from flanking. Especially in cursive scripts, wingers can be seen everywhere as a complement and foil to the center.

(2) The spatial structure of calligraphy appreciation

The stipple lines of calligraphy are combined and crossed to divide the space and form the spatial structure of calligraphy under the premise of following the principles of the shape and stroke order of Chinese characters. The spatial structure includes three parts: the structure of the single character, the movement of the entire line, and the overall layout.

1. The structure of single characters

When appreciating calligraphy, the structure of single characters must be neat and straight, the length and length should be proportional, and the density should be balanced. In this way, on the basis of caring about righteousness, we can pay attention to the decay and decay of righteousness, its intricate changes, and the natural image. We can see the danger in the righteousness and find the interest in the danger.

2. The movement of the whole line

In calligraphy appreciation works, the characters are connected up and down (or front and back) to form a "connection", which requires continuity from top to bottom and coherent echo. Although the characters in static calligraphy styles such as regular script, official script, and seal script are independent, the strokes are broken and the meaning is connected. Dynamic calligraphy styles such as running script and cursive script can be word by word coherent and drawn by a hairspring. In addition, the movement of Qi throughout the line should also pay attention to the changes in size, echoes, contrast between virtual and real, and the resulting sense of rhythm. In this way, the flow of qi can be naturally coherent and the blood vessels can be smooth.

3. Overall layout

In calligraphy works, dots are combined into characters, ligatures are formed into lines, and lines are combined into chapters, which constitutes the cutting of space by dotted lines, and thus constitutes the structure of the space. Appreciate the overall layout of the calligraphy work. It is required that words and words, lines and lines should be sparsely spaced, white should be used as black; smooth and balanced, right and wrong; scattered and varied. Among them, static calligraphy styles such as regular script, official script, and seal script are mainly balanced and balanced; dynamic calligraphy styles such as running script and cursive script have intricate changes and ups and downs.

(3) The meaning of spirit in calligraphy

The spirit originally refers to the look and brilliance of a person’s face. The spirit in calligraphy refers to the spirit, style, temperament, interest and meaning revealed in the stipple lines and their structural combinations. "Appearance is the most important, followed by form and quality. Only those who have both can be introduced to the ancients." It shows that spirit is higher than "form and quality" (the shape and appearance of stipple lines and their structural layout), and form and quality are the premise and foundation for the existence of spirit; therefore, the essence of calligraphy art spirit is the overall harmony of pointillism lines and their spatial combinations . Pursuing brilliance and expressing one's soul has always been the highest realm that calligraphers strive for.

There are also many calligraphy theories spread in China, and there are also many theoretical experiences about calligraphy. The development of Chinese calligraphy also absorbed the essence of music, dance, architecture and other arts. People call calligraphy "silent sound" and "dancing steps on paper".

1. Strengthen skill training and improve writing practical skills. Calligraphy art skills include three aspects: pen use, word knotting, and composition, all of which are indispensable.

Among them, the use of pens and word knots are the most basic modeling factors and means of calligraphy art, and the rules of composition are a skill used by creators of the beauty of calligraphy to express their thoughts and ideas. Anyone with defects in these three aspects will be unable to create works with healthy aesthetic characteristics. On the contrary, "If you write well and use the pen correctly, you will create a work of art that is alive and has a three-dimensional sense of space. If between words and between lines, you can look up and look up, the yin and yang rise and fall, like the trees. The branches and leaves are sparse and give way to each other, just like the ripples of flowing water mixed with each other, but one after another." This painting is the flow of life, a dance, a piece of music" (Zong Baihua's "Space Expressed by Chinese and Western Painting Methods" consciousness").

2. Enhance moral concepts and endow calligraphy works with aesthetic personality. Calligraphy is essentially the materialized form of the calligraphy practitioner's inner emotions and personality cultivation created by the "smearing" of calligraphy art. In ancient times, there was a saying that words are like people, "Books are like paintings in the heart" (Yang Xiong's "Fayan"), and this is the truth. It can be said that a calligraphy work conveys various messages about the calligrapher’s inner world between the lines. Master Hongyi, a great master of the generation, has won the love of the world for his lofty thoughts and ideas. His simple, thick, restrained and smooth calligraphy lines revealed through Buddhist baptism and purification are full of inner beauty. His static shapes and ethereal arrangements constitute the The form of the work makes people feel a kind of supreme sanctity and nobility, which is in sharp contrast with the restless and vulgar works written by those who are obsessed with profit. No wonder Yang Shoujing said: "High quality means elegant writing." ("Xue Shu Yi Yan")

3. Improve knowledge and cultivation and enhance the cultural taste of calligraphy aesthetic creation. "Withdrawing a mountain of pens is not a treasure, only reading thousands of volumes will lead to spiritual enlightenment." This wise saying of Su Shi expresses the inner strength (skills and skills) and outer strength of calligraphy as an art that carries and expresses the national and individual spiritual temperament, thinking and emotions. (knowledge cultivation, etc.). The reason why successful calligraphy works have high aesthetic value, are pleasing and beautiful, is not only due to the skills and skills of creating stipple calligraphy that conforms to people's common aesthetic habits (i.e., standards), but more importantly. This is due to the spiritual connotation in the aesthetic creation process of calligraphy art given by Ziwai Gong. Huang Shanshangu of the Song Dynasty said: "If you have thousands of books in your chest and don't follow the busy life, the book will not be sick but the rhyme will be perfect." ("Huangshangu Collected Works") shows that learning is rich in books but the rhyme is sick. Wang Fu of the Ming Dynasty said: "You must have hundreds of books in your belly so that you can avoid the worldly world when writing." ("The Biography of Calligraphy and Painting") shows that being rich in books can avoid the worldly world. Shao Meichen of the Qing Dynasty also believed that "in the past, when it came to writing calligraphy and painting, 'removing the fire energy' was the best", but if you want to "get rid of the fire energy, you have to be knowledgeable" (see "Hua Geng Ou Lu"). Throughout the thousands of years of Chinese calligraphy history, there has never been an uneducated calligrapher. On the contrary, although ancient scholars were not good at calligraphy, their calligraphy was bookish. Leaving aside the distant past, Lu Xun, Xie Wuliang, Ye Shengtao, etc., the great figures in the modern literary world, did not intend to be calligraphers, but the calligraphy they left behind has their own style and they can be called great calligraphers. Lu Xun's calligraphy is "simple but not formal, free and lawful, far beyond the Song and Tang Dynasties, reaching straight to the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and is treasured by the world" (Guo Moruo's "Preface to Lu Xun's Manuscripts"). Xie Wuliang's calligraphy style is elegant, sincere and natural, full of natural interest, and the spirit of the scroll overflows in the lines. Its aesthetic context transcends the times and exerts an unstoppable charm even in the current information age with changing thinking, diverse concepts and diverse schools. The "popular calligraphy style" formed by thousands of devout admirers who succumbed to its spiritual charm has become one of the main schools leading the trend of the times.

4. Observe the natural customs and sublimate the artistic realm of calligraphy creation. Pan Boying said: "The calligrapher's entire life is melted in calligraphy, so he relies on the calligraphy he specializes in to build his immortal life. The most important thing is everything he feels. Objects, here or there, today or tomorrow, may be "electrocuted" and transferred to strokes. Once a calligrapher has accumulated skills for a long time, his calligraphy will inevitably reach another sublimated state. "("A Brief Theory of Chinese Calligraphy") In the past Tang Dynasty, Zhang Xu was good at cursive calligraphy, but he did not master other skills. "Looking at things, you can see mountains, rivers, cliffs and valleys, birds, animals, insects and fish, flowers and plants, sun, moon and stars, wind, rain, fire, thunder and thunder. Songs, dances, battles, changes in heaven and earth" (Han Yu's "Preface to the Master Gao Xian") are all embodied in calligraphy. Therefore, Zhang Xu's wild grass, turbulent and unpredictable, is famous in history for its strong artistic appeal. There was also a villager named Zangzhen monk Huaisu, who claimed to have cursive calligraphy samadhi. At first he practiced calligraphy very diligently, and his bald pen became a tomb, and all the banana leaves were gone, and he was praised by others. Despite this, its artistic level is not very high. Later, after watching the summer clouds blowing in the wind, I had an epiphany in writing. The style of writing changed and reached perfection, and I wrote a poem "like a strong man drawing a sword with great energy" (Zhu Changwen's "Sustained Book"). In short, the creator of the beauty of calligraphy can only trigger inspiration, sublimate the realm, transcend himself, and create works with strong vitality and noble aesthetic taste only by returning to nature, embodying his emotions and perceptions under the pen and wrist, and letting all kinds of things come from the heart. works.

Several representatives of the aesthetic realm of calligraphy art:

1. The beauty of peace, simplicity, tranquility and harmony. This realm meets the short and close, the slenderness is in the middle, the light and heavy are balanced, and the hardness and softness are balanced. The odd and the right are in conflict with each other, the square and the circle are used together, the fat and thin are decent, and the flesh and blood are well-proportioned. It requires that the contradictory parties should be within the appropriate limits, so as to maintain a reasonable harmony. The so-called gentleness, and then the gentleman can be in harmony. , this is beautiful and good, but it must be noted that moderation is not absolute stability, but a kind of dynamic harmony, a kind of dynamic balance that is in conflict with each other and is endless. The so-called neutrality and consistency can be expected, so that the position can be expected. The formal beauty of calligraphy art is expressed in its richest form. This aesthetic realm creates highly elegant and harmonious works.

2. Simple and natural. This aesthetic realm pursues a simple, innocent, natural, and plain atmosphere. It requires that the work be thick but not frivolous, strong but not greasy, simple but not rich, and deep. It is not arrogant, subtle but not spectacular. It does not carve or pretend to be ingenious, thus showing a simple, natural, plain and frank, and natural aesthetic realm. Lao-Zhuang philosophy believes that man and nature should be in a kind of harmony. In a cordial and harmonious unity, large plain without carvings is the highest state of all works of art. They do not deny the role of laws and techniques, but they emphasize the absolute freedom obtained from laws. They advocate doing nothing without doing anything, and doing nothing without working.

3. The aesthetic realm of strict laws and regulations pursues the beauty of modeling with strict laws and regulations. This kind of aesthetic realm requires thoughtful stippling, solid structure and ironing, rigorous brushwork, meticulousness, and ingenuity and thoughtfulness. , dignified and well-proportioned, using neatness as the method, skill as the victory, proficiency as the ability, sharpness as the priority, thus showing a dignified and serious artistic conception.

4. Zhao Mengfu is the representative of this kind of realm in Chinese regular script. This kind of aesthetic realm pursues a graceful, swaying, subtle and elegant feminine beauty. This kind of aesthetic realm is characterized by charming appearance. Beauty, freshness and vigor, gentleness and mellowness represent the typical southern style of calligraphy. Take a look at Zhao Mengfu's regular script. It is graceful and graceful, graceful and graceful, like a beautiful lady singing in the shadow of the moon. Between them, they appear to have beautiful bones and clear spirits, and are unparalleled in their contemporaries. In fact, Mi Fu in the Song Dynasty, Wen Zhengming in the Ming Dynasty, and Dong Qichang all had this state.

5. Vigorous and vigorous, this realm in regular script is represented by the Zodiac Zhou. This aesthetic realm pursues a masculine beauty that is strong and vigorous. This aesthetic realm is represented by the zodiac Zhou. Honest and majestic, handsome and bold, and unbridled and unrestrained, it represents the typical northern style of calligraphy. Take a look at the small regular script of Huangdaozhou. In fact, sublime is not unbridled and crude, nor is it tense. Sublime works have a strong personality and can give people a sense of striving for progress.