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

VI THE STROKES

HAVE explained that the beauty of Chinese calligraphy

does not lie in symmetry but in dynamic asymmetry.

We do not attach much importance to printed characters, which, though they are neat and readable, are visually lifeless. Drawn figures too can be mechanical. With the help of an instrument such as a compass, or even with a hard-pointed pencil or pen used freehand, perfect straight lines and curves can be smoothly drawn; but they will necessarily be of even width and shape and will appear ‘ dead’ to the eye. It is not possible to vary very much the thickness of stroke when using a Western pen; the nib would scratch or tear the paper if pressed to its fullest width. The Chinese brush, on the other hand, can be made to produce strokes of widely varying thickness and depth of colour by adjustments of the amount and strength of ink with which it is filled and of the proportion of the hairs pressed on to the paper. This great flexibility makes it possible to invest the individual strokes of a Chinese character with life and movement.

* We liken the irregularity of good strokes to the undulations of mountain ranges and winding streams and the knotted strength of twisted tree-branches, but we never write a stroke actually to resemble a natural object. It is the kind of life

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