What font is suitable for girls to practice, or what kind of copybooks should girls learn to learn calligraphy? Regarding this issue, I have summarized everyone’s opinions and some of my own experiences for the reference of girls who want to learn brush calligraphy.
Before formally answering the question "What fonts are suitable for girls to practice?", it is necessary for everyone to clarify the concept of fonts, that is, the three meanings of Chinese character fonts. Here we quote the point of view in "Inspecting the Evolution of Fonts from Calligraphy". It is believed that fonts have three different meanings in terms of Chinese characters. One refers to the shape of the text (font), the second refers to the writing font (calligraphy), and the third Refers to the calligrapher's font (calligraphy style).
Let’s look at the first meaning first, that is, the shape of characters, that is, the structural characteristics of glyphs. Generally speaking, they are divided into ancient characters and modern characters. The so-called ancient characters are seal characters and other fonts that are not easy to recognize today, and modern characters are official script and regular script. Waiting for a font that is relatively easy for us to recognize. Of course, cursive characters in modern script are very difficult to read.
Let’s look at the second meaning, that is, writing fonts, which are the different postures produced during the writing process. For example, when we write ancient characters - seal characters, usually due to different writing tools or writing methods, we produce jade chopstick seals, hanging dew seals, hanging needle seals, iron wire seals and so on.
The third is the calligrapher's font, which refers to the calligrapher's personal writing style, such as Ouyang Xun's European style, Yan Zhenqing's Yan style, Liu Gongquan's Liu style, Chu Suiliang's Chu style, etc.
So, what is the relationship between font, calligraphy style and calligraphy style. Please look at the picture below:
In other words, the same regular script in modern writing has different appearances when written by different people. For example, Yan Zhenqing's style is plump and vigorous, the so-called Yan style, while Liu Gongquan's style is thin, strong and graceful, the so-called Liu style.
Now that we have clarified the concepts of fonts, calligraphy styles, and calligraphy styles, we can now answer the question of which fonts are suitable for girls to practice. Since it is learned by girls, it should be in line with the temperament of women. Some people may say that there are no genders in learning to write. Can't it just be based on preference? In fact, there are differences in preferences between men and women. Different genders often have different aesthetic pursuits. For example, most boys think that men should be masculine, while girls are required to be gentle. Yin and yang, hardness and softness are actually aesthetic terms commonly used by us Chinese.
Masculine Beauty - Bruce Lee, the King of Kung Fu
The beauty of masculinity - "The Statue of Yang Big Eye" in the Northern Wei Dynasty
Feminine Beauty - Yang Liping Peacock Dance
Therefore, most of the calligraphy copybooks recommended here are those of the delicate and graceful school, mainly seal script, official script, running script, and regular script. Regular script also includes small regular script. Cursive script is not recommended for the time being. Let’s take a look at these copybooks below.
1. First, let’s talk about the ancient style of fonts—Zhuan style.
I personally recommend Li Si’s small seal scripts, such as "Yishan Stone Carvings".
Li Si's Xiaozhuan work "Stone Carvings on Mount Yi"
2. Then we talk about the present body.
Then talking about regular script, I recommend "Zhang Heinv's Epitaph" and "Dong Meiren's Epitaph". Compared with the more majestic "Zhang Menglong Stele" and "Yang Dayan Statue", these two epitaphs are much more delicate.
Zhang Heinv's epitaph
Epitaph of Dong Meiren
Among the four masters of regular script, Yan Liu Ou and Zhao Li, recommended Ouyang Xun's "Yu Gonggong Stele", Zhao Mengfu's "Dangba Stele" and "Three Gates".
Ouyang Xun's "Monument of Yu Gonggong"
Zhao Mengfu's "Dengba Stele"
Zhao Mengfu's "Three Gates"
For running script copybooks, I recommend Ouyang Xun's "Thousand-Character Essay in Running Script". Of course, after you get better, you can try "Lanting Preface" by Wang Xizhi.
Ouyang Xun's "Thousand-Character Essay in Running Script"
Wang Xizhi's "Preface to Orchid Pavilion"
Finally, there is small regular script. Among the ten classic small regular script copybooks, I took out the ones that are basically suitable for girls to practice. I recommend Wang Xianzhi's "Luo Shen Fu", Zhao Mengfu's "Tao Te Ching", Wen Zhengming's "Li Sao Jing", and Zhong Shao Jing's "Ling Fei Jing".
Wang Xianzhi's "Luo Shen Fu"
Zhao Mengfu's "Tao Te Ching"
Wen Zhengming's "Li Sao Jing"
Zhong Shaojing's "Ling Fei Sutra"
The above are the recommended classic copybooks suitable for girls to learn. Of course, this is just a personal suggestion. In general, the first thing you should do when choosing a calligraphy copybook is what you like, like what is said in Huang Xiaohu’s song "Not That Simple", others say If so, just listen and make your own decision.
