Chinese calligraphy : an introduction to its aesthetic and technique : with 6 plates and 155 text illustratons

CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY

pattern, and grouping of the component strokes of the characters: places where, offhand, one would not expect to find motion, but where, after a discerning analysis, the irregularity, asymmetry and proportion appear to obey some law of organic growth. The second kind of movement lies in the motion of the brush as it travels.

A good English handwriter wields a firm pen-nib and balances his hand in such a way that the nib travels lightly over the paper with the minimum of effort. The flexibility of the Chinese brush-pen, which can twist and curve in every direction, makes it possible for the sense of impetus and potential movement to emerge in the written character. The ‘ push-off’ of a stroke provides the impetus, as with a skater, and the hand follows through and governs the movement exactly as the skater controls his ‘figure’. And just as a skater who loses control of his body either falls or is thrown into an awkward .posture, so bad handwriting is the result of a failure of the writer to find an equilibrium between himself and his brush. The brush may be badly balanced and so unable to acquire any impetus, causing it to drag heavily and produce lifeless strokes, without rhythm and movement. There is a long and important essay by Wang Hsi-Ch‘ih on the subject of Pi-Shih (4 3), ‘the posture for brush-handling’, dealing with this question of balance and impetus.

It is not unprofitable to compare calligraphy with dancing. The calligraphy of a great master is not the piecing together and lining up of certain written symbols to convey meaning, but an adventure in movement very similar to good dancing. A skater, preoccupied with the evolutions of his legs and feet, will sometimes forget to balance his arms and hands, but a

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