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

CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY

leg, by the massive paw of the tiger, the rugged face of a rock, the heavy tread of the elephant, the twisted shape of the pine branch, the firmness and straightness of the chestnut trunk, the elegance of the orchid’s leaves, the intractability of an old rattan, the creeping movement of the snake, and so on. Every stroke must, as I explained earlier, be well shaped and beautiful in itself, and form, in combination with other strokes, a satisfying pattern. But our judgement of a character’s excellence depends largely upon the degree to which it possesses the vitality of a particular natural object.

There are in drawing only three basic forms: the circle, the triangle, and the square. If you fill each of these with pattern, you find that the last is the one which provides the greatest scope; the circle and the triangle will satisfactorily contain only curved patterns. Every Chinese character roughly fills a square, and for this reason its exponents have unusual freedom for composition and attitude. But this freedom has its laws. For each character there is a definite number of strokes and appointed positions for them in relation to the whole, the shape differing with the different styles. No stroke may be added or deleted for the sake of decorative effect. Chinese characters were evolved by a process of artistic simplification from observed objects, and it would be a travesty of this origin were unnecessary parts to be added or necessary parts omitted in the interests of some impulse towards “ beautification ’.

The definite and well-knit strokes of a Chinese character can be composed into many individual patterns according to the talent of the calligrapher. Thus:

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