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

ABSTRACT BEAUTY

co-operation vitalized by the emotional energy of the artist at the moment of writing—is required for Chinese calligraphy, and it results in forms of unique individuality. One master’s work is inimitable even by another master. A fairly exact likeness is possible, but such a copy invariably looks laboured and lacks vitality, for no other hand than that of the creator can imbue the strokes with spontaneous and unconscious spirit.

It is told of Chung Yu of the Wei dynasty that after failing to get any instruction from Wei Tan (# #€) about T‘sai Yung’s stroke he nearly died of disappointment. But after Wei Tan’s death he rescued a specimen of the wonderful stroke from the calligrapher’s tomb and, making this his model, evolved what came to be called the Regular Style, of which he is now regarded as the ‘ Father’.

The fundamental inspiration of calligraphy, as of all the arts in China, is nature. As I have said in my book, ‘ The Chinese Eye’, our love of nature is characterized by a desire to identify our minds with her and so enjoy her as she is. In calligraphy we are drawn to nature in the same irresistible way : every stroke, every dot suggests the form of a natural object. And, in turn, natural objects become in many instances prototypes of calligraphic styles. Many expressive names drawn from nature have been coined by great writers in the past to describe different kinds of stroke: ‘falling stone’, ‘ sheep’s leg’, ‘the ruggedness of a plum branch’, ‘ decayed trunk of an old tree’, ‘the muscles, bones, and sinews of an animal’s. limbs ’, are examples.

It follows that our appreciation of calligraphic strokes is in proportion to our feeling for nature. Just as in the process of writing we install this sensuous perception within the frame-

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