I remember that when I was still in elementary school, I bought the popular Pang Zhonghua fountain pen copybook and hard-pen calligraphy abrasives, the kind with grooves. But I actually put it aside after writing only a few pages, and I don’t even remember where I went after that. Therefore, I have always written blindly by myself without any serious practice. I once gave my handwriting a very touching name, Wild Cursive Script. If you look through the words in past notebooks, you will find that some words are so wild that you don’t even recognize them. I can't help it. When I was young, I always thought that was a sign of peeing. Okay, about practicing pen calligraphy, running script or regular script? Let’s briefly summarize a few key points I noted down.
1. Choose a pen
As long as the pen is handy and doesn't scratch the paper, you can choose it. However, don't use a long knife (long knife grinding), and don't choose a fine brush. The choice of pen tip should not be too thin. European and American pens recommend F nib, Japanese pens recommend MF. If you don’t have MF, you can also choose M. How about a Lingmei, with bright colors? It would also be nice to have a rainbow series?
2. Select paper
Rough paper, do not choose smooth paper. Because writing these is easier to control. A4 paper is also acceptable, but you need to choose better paper with a heavier weight.
3. Choose book style
Running script or regular script? Or a wild cursive book?
Some people say that regular script is the basis of running script. That's right. However, when everyone practices calligraphy, they actually have a certain foundation. For people who are not yet able to write horizontally and vertically, like me, it is better to start practicing regular script. And for those who have never practiced calligraphy before, but can already control their writing horizontally and vertically, it is not impossible to start with running script. You can make a choice based on your own situation.
4. Select copybook
Try to choose ancient posts, there are also good contemporary ones, but it is recommended to use ancient posts. Wang Xizhi and Zhao Mengfu are both good choices. In addition, the selected copybook is to find a copybook with complete strokes. This is because calligraphers process the characters differently in some copybooks, and sometimes the characters are incompletely written. This is not a good choice for copywriters.
Finally, the posture when holding the pen should be relaxed and it is not advisable to hold the pen too tightly. The angle between the paper and the edge of the table can be 15 degrees. In fact, 20 degrees is also acceptable. It depends on personal preference, just don't be too exaggerated. When writing a post, you should read a word completely before writing it completely. Don't read and write. For some words, if you don’t know the stroke order or how to write them, you can look them up in a calligraphy dictionary. If you have any experts among your friends, please give them some advice.
