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

CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY

feet. Mi Fei’s Running Style is like the smooth motions of a ballroom dancer; Wang Tso-Ling’s Grass Style is like the dancing of the corps de ballet.

I conclude that the beauty of Chinese calligraphy is of the same nature as the beauty of painting and dancing. A calligrapher’s aim is not merely legibility and the making of a page pleasant to look at—the desiderata, I believe, of good Western manuscripts, but the expression of thought, personality, and design together. For us, it is not a purely decorative art. A satisfying piece of it can be executed only by a scholar of marked personality, and preferably one with poetical, literary and musical tastes. One could practise writing for years and still fail to achieve a good hand if one did not at the same time cultivate one’s personality. Accomplished vulgarity in writing is unfortunately only too common.

Many examples of the handwriting of the Ch‘ing Emperor Ch‘ien Lung were exhibited at the International Exhibition of Chinese Art held in London in 1935-6. Fig. 87 is a specimen of his work in which he is supposedly following the style of Yen Chéng-Ch‘ing.

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FIG. 87 (Palace Museum, Peip‘ing)

A glance at Yen’s own work (Fig. 39) is sufficient to show how far short the Emperor fell of his model. None of his strokes is well made and the pattern is ill formed. The first character on the left—Yz, ‘art ’—has too small a base for its upper

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