There
are five major styles of Chinese
calligraphy – Zuan, Li, Tsao, Hsin, and Kai. Each style has numerous
derivatives and sub-styles. Choosing our first style will greatly influence our thoughts,
emotions, styles, and artistic accomplishment in the future. Choosing a bad or improper
style will confine our progress and points of view.Different calligraphy scholars have different assertions about choosing
the first style. Except for Tsao and Hsin Styles, the other three styles can be
chosen for beginners. (Tsao and Hsin Styles both have a lot of irregularities and demand a
faster speed of writing.)
Try to
choose the earliest rubbing from tablets because it will have clearer view
and more characters than later rubbings.
Try
not to buy modified or enhanced version of Form Books because the
spirit is twisted and lost. Always try to find the original size copy and
practice the original size writing most of the time.
If
the masterpiece was created during or after the Tang
Dynasty, there are usually paper copies available. It's
recommended to choose the
paper version over the rubbing version from the tablet since one can observe
the nuances of ink and strokes on paper.
Generally
choose works of the earlier dynasties. Early masterpieces
are more highly regarded than more recent masterpieces.
Do
not choose Li Shu works in the Tang
Dynasty for practice. Compared to Li
Style works in the Han
Dynasty, they lacked delicacy and depth. They were even considered notorious and vulgar in Chinese calligraphy
history.
For rubbings from tablets, it’s better to have more than one version for
comparison.
If there are several versions available, try to buy the one with preface,
postface, seal stamps and interpretations (decipherment) for better
understanding of historical and artistic backgrounds and contents. Also make
sure the editors and articles are reliable.
Never buy any Form Books that are manually amended or traced by publishers.
The spirit and appearances are twisted and will mislead the students.
The
following
chart recommends the first style for beginners. It also lists characteristics, connections,
and
future benefits if we focus on one style and then go from there.
Kai楷 書
Li隸 書
Zuan篆 書
S
A
M
P
L
E
#1
S
A
M
P
L
E
#2
S
A
M
P
L
E
#3
S
A
M
P
L
E
#4
Pros
&
Cons
·Adopted by most new students
·Easy to recognize standard writing
·Easy to learn, but hard to master
·Connect to learn Hsin Style and then Tsao Style
·Does not trace evolution of Chinese characters
·Elegant beauty
·Easy to learn
·Varieties of character structures
·Can trace backward to Zuan and forward to Kai
·Prone to fall in confined style limitation -- cannot connect to
learn Hsin & Tsao directly
·Understanding character evolution
·Strokes emphasize calligraphy theories – good foundation for
Tsao Style
and training Center Tip Principle
·Trace forward to Li
·Not for those who don't know Chinese writings
The
following websites provide free download of Copy Books and masterpieces:
Ancient
Chinese calligraphy Form
Books are the best lifetime calligraphy teachers. Every ancient Chinese
calligrapher went through a long process in their life emulating Form Books and previous masterpieces. The more we dive in and the more humble we are, the more
learning and knowledge we can retrieve from those masterpieces. The more details
and closeness we have observed and transferred to our practice, the more progress we can make.
Rubbing
a Chinese calligraphy work
The
following is an excellent website for versions of rubbings of Chinese
calligraphy masterpieces.
