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

CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY

One more matter must be mentioned. Every hair of the brush must be straight. If after a stroke or two one or more hairs become twisted, the point of the brush must be straightened by twisting it gently on the ink-stone, round in a circular movement for an instant, and it is then refilled with ink.

The technique of Chinese calligraphy is so fine and difficult, and so different from European methods, that the Westerner may feel discouraged from attempting to master it. But the venture is worth the trouble. In China calligraphy is looked upon as a healthy exercise, like skating or golf or tennis! For it involves not only the movement of the fingers, wrist, and arm, but, in the case of really large pieces of writing, the whole body. Consequently we habitually practise it in the early morning, when the body is fresh. And it must have some effect, for it is remarkable how many of our good calligraphers have lived to a great age.

Our scholars practise calligraphy as a hobby. If you enter the study of one of them you will find no guns or rackets, but you will certainly see the Four Treasures, and you will find that the owner of the room practises writing for recreation. An article by Lin Yii-Tang (#} #8 %) in the ‘Tien Hsai (KF) Monthly’ for December 1935 contains the following note :

Wang Hsi-Chih and other masters of calligraphy have compared the action of writing to that of a General in the field of battle. They compare the paper to the battle-field, the brush to the fighting weapon, ink to the armour and ink-stone to the waterways. The talent or ability of the writer is the General, the artist’s mind is the Chief-of-Staff, the structural form is the military plan or tactics, the incidental or momentary inspiration which come instinctively

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