Basic knowledge of calligraphy
Writing tools, namely "pen, ink, paper, and inkstone", are also called the "Four Treasures of the Study". The ancients said: "If a worker wants to do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools." Zhao Mengfu, a calligrapher of the Yuan Dynasty, also emphasized that "calligraphy is expensive and paper and pen are harmonious. If the paper does not weigh well, even if you can write, it will not be good. It is like a fast horse walking in the mud. How can it be good?" Obviously, you must pay attention to writing tools, otherwise it will directly affect the writing effect. In the history of Chinese civilization for thousands of years, the Four Treasures of the Study not only played an important role in writing, but were also a kind of traditional culture in themselves. In this cultural form and connotation, the wisdom and Hanshui of our country's working people are condensed, embodying Showing China’s long history and splendid culture.
Pen: refers to a writing brush, made of animal hair. It is divided into three types: hard hair, soft hair and combined hair. Hard pens include wolf pens, purple pens, etc. The pen is strong and flexible, easy to lift and fall, and is suitable for writing small characters and cursive writing. However, due to the hard tip of the hard pen, the edge is easily exposed when writing. Ruanhao pens are mainly made of sheep's hair. They are soft and delicate in writing and can store a lot of ink. They are suitable for writing seal script, official script, regular script and cursive script. Because sheep's hair is relatively long, it can be used as a large brush to write large characters. The double-hair pen is made of hard hair and sheep hair in a certain proportion, and its performance is also determined by the ratio of hard and soft hair. For example, "seven purple and three sheep" means seven points of purple hair and three points of sheep hair; "five purple and five sheep" means five points of purple hair and five points of sheep hair. This type of pen has moderate softness and softness, and is more suitable for beginners. my country has a long history of producing brushes. Factories that can make brushes are located all over the country, but the most influential ones are the Hu Brush Factory in Shanlian Town, Huzhou, Zhejiang and Suzhou, commonly known as Hu Brush. In recent years, there are also many high-quality Langhao pens made in Anhui, Jiangxi, and Shandong. The main tips when choosing a brush are the so-called "four virtues" of the brush, namely "point, neatness, roundness and health".
Point: refers to the point of the pen that is sharp, not bald and extremely elastic when closed.
Qi: Refers to the flat edge of the pen after it is flattened.
Round: Refers to the pen tip being full and round, cone-shaped, neither flat nor thin, with thick lines when writing.
Jian: It means that the bristles of the pen are elastic and can be easily gathered back to their original shape after being spread out.
There are long and short strokes. A long-edge pen is called a "long-edge pen"; a short-edge pen is called a "short-edge pen"; a long-edge pen is characterized by a thinner tip, a soft belly, and more ink storage, making it suitable for writing in running and cursive scripts. The short-edge pen is characterized by a relatively thick tip, a strong front and a strong belly, and less ink storage. It is suitable for writing regular script, seal script, and official script. Secondly, brushes come in different sizes. The size of the writing brush should be determined according to the size of the writing characters. It is common sense to use a small pen to write small characters and a large pen to write large characters. The largest one is the hawthorn pen, followed by the tibi and doubi pens; the large, medium and small regular script pens.
When using a new pen, it must be soaked in water first because there is gelatin in the pen. Do not use hot water, as this will destroy the elasticity of the brush. Wash it and dry it after each use to avoid damage.
CM: It is a specialty product of our country with a history of more than 3,000 years. There are many types of it, three of which are more common. One is pine smoke ink. Pine smoke ink is made from smoked dried pine trees and animal bone glue. The ink is thick, black and calm, and it easily dissolves after entering water and is easier to grind. The second type is oil smoke ink, which is made from smoke from tung oil, kerosene, sesame oil, etc., and added with colloids and spices. It is characterized by its dark and shiny ink color and strong water resistance. The third type is mixed ink, which is made from a mixture of pine smoke and oil smoke. With the development of the times and the advancement of science and technology, calligraphy is now generally practiced with ink. The relatively better "Yidege", "Sinochem Ink" and Shanghai's "Cao Sugong" ink can be used if the ink is mixed with water. If the ink is ground, the halo effect will be better. When writing regular script, the ink should be thick, not light, but not too impatient. When writing cursive script, it is better to be thick rather than light. Don't be too thick. Thick cursive will make the writing sound like a scene. When writing seal script and official script, the shades and degrees of ink used are similar to regular script.
Paper: Paper is one of my country's four great inventions, and there are many types. Among them, rice paper is the most suitable for calligraphy and painting. Rice paper is made from various raw materials such as green sandalwood and mulberry bark, which are kneaded, steamed, pulped and processed carefully. It is characterized by clear texture, tough texture, elegant color and strong ink moisturizing ability. Rice paper is an important part of Chinese calligraphy and painting art. According to its properties, rice paper is divided into: raw Xuan, cooked Xuan, and half-raw and half-cooked Xuan. Raw Xuan can be divided into single Xuan, sandwich Xuan, pure leather, cotton material, etc. Because Shengxuan has strong water absorption and rich ink color levels, it can reflect the changes in dry and wet shades in calligraphy works, so it is most suitable for creating calligraphy works. Ripe xuan is made from raw xuan plus alum, etc. Its texture does not absorb water. Generally, cooked xuan is used in gongbi paintings. Half-raw and half-cooked xuan is also made from raw xuan. Its water-absorbing texture is between that of raw and cooked xuan. Generally, half-cooked xuan is available in all kinds of xuan. The best rice paper is the Red Star brand produced in Jingxian County, Anhui Province. In addition, when we practice calligraphy, we usually use rough paper or yuan calligraphy paper made of straw.
Inkstones: There are many types of inkstones. According to different materials, they can be divided into brick inkstones, stone inkstones, pottery inkstones, porcelain inkstones, jade inkstones, etc. Generally, stone inkstones are the most common. Inkstones are divided into Duan inkstone in Qing, Guangdong, and She in Anhui according to their place of origin. She inkstones from the county, Tao inkstones from Lintao County, Gansu, and Lu inkstones from Shandong, among which the most valuable is the Duan inkstone.
writing posture
When writing, you must first pay attention to posture. Whether the posture is correct or not not only affects the writing effect, but is also directly related to the physical and mental health of the writer. Correct posture facilitates the use of Qi and blood in the fingers, wrists, elbows, and the whole body. It is also suitable for stable and stretched writing. Otherwise, it will not only hinder the writing effect, but also easily cause physical fatigue and affect your health. Only when the main parts of the body feel relaxed, natural and flexible can it be sustained and effective. This is why you need to pay attention to posture when writing calligraphy.
There are two writing postures: sitting posture and standing posture. When writing, the size of the characters should be determined. When writing small characters within inch regular script, you should use a sitting posture, and when writing large characters above inch regular script, you should use a standing posture.
Sitting posture: The general requirements are that the head is down, the body is straight, the arms are open, and the feet are flat. That is to say, sit upright without hunching your back, your head should not be tilted, look down slightly, your chest should not lean on the edge of the table, your shoulders should be level, your arms should be spread naturally, your left hand should be pressed lightly on the paper you are writing on, and your feet should be flat on the ground.
Posture: When writing while standing, you must bend your head, bow your body, hang your arms, and stand firm on your feet. That is, look down in front, lean forward slightly, not leaning on the edge of the table, lightly press the paper with your left hand, and hang your right arm in the air. Your feet should be naturally separated from the sky, shoulder width apart, with your left foot slightly forward and your right foot behind.
Writing method
Mastering the correct method of holding and moving the pen and maintaining good writing posture are important components of learning calligraphy. The ancients believed that there was both a positive method and a reformed method, and there were different opinions. For example: Mr. Qi Gong, a famous contemporary calligrapher, said about writing in "On Calligraphy Quatrains": "I think holding a pen has the same function as holding chopsticks. If the chopsticks can pick up food according to one's will, it is considered to be held correctly, and the pen can be held as one wishes. If you draw a path on paper, you are holding on to the right thing." This statement also makes no sense. The author believes that by using the effective experience summed up by the ancients in writing practice, we can avoid detours and achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Five-finger writing method:
That is: the five methods of disgusting pressure, hook, grid and resistance. "Yati" means that the end of the thumb is close to the inside of the pen barrel, the force is upward and to the right, slightly bent and tilted, this is called "Yati". Use your thumb to hold the outside of the first section of the pen tube, push it downward and to the left, slightly tilted down, and join it with your thumb, so that the pen can be easily pinched between two fingers, but be careful not to pinch it to death. , this is called "pressure". These are the two most important fingers for writing. Use the first joint of the middle finger near the knuckle to bend like a hook, and use force to hook the outside of the pen barrel downward and to the right. This is called "hook". Place the inner joint of the ring finger close to the inside of the penholder, pointing upward to the left, opposite to the middle finger. This is called the "grid". Use a small amount to stick to the lower end of the ring finger to assist the lack of strength of the ring finger. This is called "resistance". The middle finger and middle finger of the five fingers are hooked firmly on the side of the pen holder; the thumb, ring finger, and little finger are firmly pressed from the inside of the pen holder outward. The two forces are opposite and unified, truly achieving the power of the five fingers. At the same time, you should also remember eight words, "the fingers are strong and the palms are weak, the wrists are flat and the palms are straight." Finger practice means that each of the five fingers exerts its power and distributes it reasonably, exerting force in four or eight directions. Palm deficiency means that the palms should be empty to facilitate circular movements, making them very comfortable and casual.
The so-called "wrist is flat and the palm is straight" means that the wrist and the table surface should be almost parallel, and the palm should be almost vertical
There are a few points to note when writing:
1. Don't hold the pen too tightly. It is said that the standard of hand skill is to suddenly pull the pen from behind and stop moving. This is inappropriate. It is too tight to be flexible, and it is difficult to concentrate the pen power to the end of the pen.
2. The pen should not be held too low. The height of the pen should be determined according to the size of the characters and the needs of the calligraphy style. Try to maximize the power.
3. Keep the pen barrel as vertical as possible when holding the pen. As we all know, the pen has a regular tip. Whether the tip can stand straight when the pen is moved is of course not mechanically vertical. The penholder should constantly swing slightly with the movement of the pen, so that it can be flexible and changeable.
4. When holding a pen, you can also hold it with your wrist, rest your wrist, hang your wrist, or hang your elbow. In this way, you can swing it freely and happily without being restrained by the wrist and elbow.
