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

TRAINING

has begun to do good work. To become a fine calligrapher he must thenceforward steadily improve his taste and judgement ; there is no stage of complete accomplishment. But now there is a far greater interest in practising, and the pupil can genuinely regard himself as a student of calligraphy. For the object of his attention has become not merely the laborious acquisition of the necessary physical proficiency but the study of the beauties of calligraphy.

All the instruction I have so far given has centred round the all-important matter of correct handling of the brush. I have explained the four essentials—Hsii, Hsiian, Ch‘th, and Chin —which every writer must achieve. From my description it should be possible to comprehend them in the abstract, but how and why they are essential the writer must find out for himself in actual practice. The reason why the talent of some gifted writers never fully develops is often that they have not learned faithful obedience to these rules.

At this point also the shaping of strokes and the composition of pattern really begin seriously to be considered. The aspiring writer turns naturally to the acknowledged masterpieces of the past. The idea that new styles grow out of the old is one with which, as I have said in an earlier chapter, we are deeply imbued in China. A Chinese artist always masters and venerates the work of his predecessors, believing that by studying their achievements he can capture their quality and at the same time profit by their experience and avoid the pitfalls which they have uncovered. Hence we regard the devoted copying or imitation of old masterpieces as the shortest path to the production of new work of comparable merit.

Writers who have passed the third stage of development

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