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

INTRODUCTION

standing out on the rocks. Sometimes you will also see the lines of an appropriate poem. Far from detracting from the beauty of the scene, these characters are chosen and placed with such taste that the onlooker will view the scene with an added insight, comparing his own impression of it with that of the poet or scholar who has scanned it before him. Afterwards, perhaps, the visitor may be inspired to add a comment of his own upon another rock, thus leaving not merely a record of a_casual visit, which would be meaningless and vulgar, but the token of a nature-lover’s mind. The most splendid sites on Chinese mountains are often occupied by monasteries, and these always have a book specially prepared for the inscriptions of visitors, who are expected to write in it some lines of poetry or a few sentences praising the loveliness of nature. One would not dare to make one’s contribution in a poor handwriting, however gracefully composed might be the verses or sentences written !

It is commonly believed in China that calligraphy expresses the personality of the writer. An individual’s character, disposition, and propensities, as well as his good or bad fortune, are said to be accurately ascertainable from his handwriting. I am aware that the art of interpreting the handwriting of Western countries has become almost a science, but in my opinion the variety of construction and the arrangement and form of the strokes make Chinese even more susceptible to this form of analysis. Let me give instances. The Sung dynasty (A.D. 9601276) is very far removed from the present day, and yet from examples of the Emperor Hui-Tsung’s writing, executed in the style peculiar to him and termed Slender Gold (Fig. 47), we can infer that he was a person of handsome appearance, tall

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