Where to start learning calligraphy? Experienced calligraphers will tell you that there are three common types of Tang Kai script: European style, Yan style and Liu style. These three styles have been used for thousands of years and are the textbooks in calligraphy. Do you often hear such words? "This work has a lot of style!", "This book is based on the European style!", "So-and-so's work has a strong Liu style style!", how to distinguish the European style? What about body, face body and willow body? Let us study from the comparison of strokes and structure.
From left to right are Ou Ti, Yan Ti, Ti Liu
Strokes are nothing more than dots, horizontal strokes, vertical strokes, strokes, strokes, strokes, etc.
(1) "Spot" paintings by Ou, Yan and Liu
The typical point of the European body is an obtuse triangle; the point of the Yan body is a bit like a semicircle, and the arc is very smooth; the point of the Willow body is a quadrilateral similar to a trapezoid, with the upper part having corners and ripples.
(2) "Horizontal" paintings by Ou, Yan and Liu
In a typical European horizontal painting, the stroke starts at an angle of about 45°, and then transitions very slowly; the stroke of the face type also starts at an angle of 45° or less, and there is a very sudden transition, that is, the stroke starts relatively heavy, and the stroke suddenly changes in the middle. Thin, the transition is sudden; the starting point of the willow body is almost straight, 90° like a knife cut, and the transition between strokes is also very slow. Where I finally put down the pen, the horizontal strokes of the European style are also very slow, forming an arc; the Yan body is very heavy, and it has been pulled down, but it is just an arc; the Liu body is also heavy, and it is also a lump, but with corners. It has edges, and his starting and finishing strokes look like they were cut by a knife.
(3) "Hook" paintings by Ou, Yan and Liu
The hook of the European body is very characteristic, it is subtle and shy, and the hook is very small and restrained; the hook of the Yan body is just a small branch on a thick trunk; and the hook of the willow body is the most unrestrained. , forming a very sharp isosceles right triangle.
(4) "Na" paintings by Ou, Yan and Liu
The European body's foot is the smoothest, and it is thinner at the beginning and thicker at the end; the Yan body's foot has a hollow, which is the least flat, like a sole; the Liu body is not flat either, but the concavity of the sole is smaller than that of the Yan body. Moreover, the thinness at the top and the thickness at the bottom are not obvious, and the thickness is relatively consistent.
(5) "Vertical" paintings by Ou, Yan and Liu
The starting point of the European body is angled at 45°, with sharp edges; the Yan body is also inclined at 45°, but very smooth, with a round head; the vertical starting point of the Willow body is a rhombus, like a bird's beak. The difference between the three is obvious.
The structure of Ou, Yan and Liu
The horizontal thinness and vertical thickness of the face are very obvious, and the characteristics of some radicals are also very clear. The three-point water arrangement of the European style is a bit like the writing method of left, short, vertical and raised; the Yan style is dot, dot, and lift; the Liu style is also dot, dot, and lift, but its points are the "trapezoid" points of the typical Liu style , and the lift is very distinctive, with a big pimple underneath. Another example is Bao Hijab. In addition to the differences in strokes, such as the writing method of the horizontal hook, the European body is very smooth, Yanliu has a big bump, and the structure of the Baogai is also different. The dot in the middle of European style and Liu style is almost like a vertical painting, which is a short vertical, while the middle point of Yan style is a typical Yan style dot; at the left point, both European style and Liu style are more vertical, and Yan style is more slanted, The difference between Ou and Liu is that the Ou style is pointed at the top while the Ou style is more like a short vertical style.
European style is more influenced by Wei Bei, and the characteristic of Yan Liu is the most classic phrase "Yan Jin Liu Gu".
