Theories of Chinese Calligraphy
"即得筆，尚須養氣！筆易致，氣難為。"
"When one gets the brushwork, one also needs to cultivate Qi!
Achievement of brushwork is easier than Qi flowing in the calligraphy."
From
my personal understanding, a master Chinese calligrapher who had the Cracking House Effect
exemplified in his work must have highly coordinated his mind with physical
body. Continuing the previous parable, if an earthquake happens the whole
house may crack. An earthquake definitely has more power than a hammer, nail, or
a drill. Where does an earthquake come from? It’s from the inside of the Earth
or its center. Then when we try to combine our mental power and physical force
for practicing Chinese calligraphy, where does the power come from? It’s from the center
of our body near the navel. Under the navel, there is an imaginary or
metaphysical spot called Dan Tien 丹
田
(others may call it the Ocean of Energy 氣
海 ,
Solar Plexus Chakra, or other
names.) Tenors, sopranos, Yogis and mighty artists all utilize Dan
Tien. Now most Chinese calligraphers, students, and beginners don’t even want to
explore the possibilities and it’s not a topic in Chinese calligraphy books or
lessons. They deem Chinese calligraphy simply as a writing
activity, but not necessarily a way to
combine physical and mental potentials.
Characters Written When the Mind Is Clear and Focused
Say
we are pushing a long pile of twenty
shopping carts at Wal-mart, let’s try three
different ways. First, we only use our hands or elbows to push them. They move just a little
bit. Then we use our arms to push and they move a little bit more. If we coordinate
our body and arms to push simultaneously, the carts move more. This is a human
instinct! However, most Chinese calligraphy students and teachers have forgotten this
instinct. They choose the easy path by resting the wrists or elbows on the desk and
adopt the misconception of soaking part of brush hairs instead all of it. Some
may lift the whole arm but may not utilize the whole body (including legs and
feet.) In this way, our nature and instinct have been veiled and
underdeveloped. This eventually leads to the common misleading instructions to
soak
part of brush hairs. As a result, the “wholeness” has been lost.
Cursive and Semi-Cursive Characters Written with the Hanging Arm Technique
Zhuang
Tzu (
莊
子
, the successor Lao Tzu)
once said, “A true man breathes with his feet ( 真人呼吸以踵
) …” When we are practicing Chinese calligraphy with our mind and body fully
coordinated, every part of our body and level of mind are working for the same
goal. Imagine if our feet can breath and function like our lungs or the
conscious mind, the other parts of our body can also do the same thing! The
Chinese say a foot is the second heart in that each foot has many nerves and
consciousness. And you may judge a person’s health from his feet. (A rare
branch of chiropractic treatment, DNFT,
does use foot diagnosis instead of touching the spine or using the X-rays.)
However, most people don’t pay attention to their feet or even know how
to explore their potential and possibilities. The internal force generated with
the brush actually come all the way from our feet through legs, waist, torso, neck,
shoulders, arms, elbows, wrists, palms, and finally fingertips and the brush
tip, with the mind being the commander.
In
ancient times, most Chinese kids lifted their whole arms in the air when
practicing calligraphy (after they had started the basics for a while.)
Now most students and Chinese calligraphers practice by resting their wrists,
elbows, or arms on the desk. No
wonder Chinese calligraphy is fading nowadays. However, no one can enforce us to
execute such detailed or “tedious” guidelines for good Chinese calligraphy
work in our modern time. The choice belongs to each individual and each will
gain different levels of benefits in terms of patience, insights, and persistence.
Oftentimes I tell my students that Chinese calligraphy is a highly coordinated activity rather than a tedious art that we have to practice for innumerous hours to be good. Most martial arts teachers tell the students when they practice martial arts forms (routines) for enough times, they become part of an individual's system. Even when our instructors don't explain to us the applications of every movement, our body reacts to real situations and applies the techniques instantaneously "without thinking" in case we should encounter an opponent. Likewise, I explain to students that the details of Chinese calligraphy are built in our thinking, nerves, brains, and body "little by little." I would tell them an important point this time and add more points later. When we see a student has practiced enough and accumulated the good habits, we move on to another level of principles. The accumulated points are already built in our system as a live organism provided that the previous principles are practiced correctly and slowly. They are already "alive" in us and need not be retrieved. And like riding bicycles and swimming, they will never be forgotten. The process of learning and building those detailed principles in writing as well as body mechanics may be long; but the processes will make us "enlightened" and benefit our lives as a whole. To bystanders, we may seem to be laboring or practicing hard; inwardly we are experiencing a journey of personal growth without limitation. Our heart delights and our well-being cultivates.
Only
after the stated physical requirements of utilizing the whole body are met can a
Chinese calligraphy practitioner know how
to develop mind power. The highest level of Chinese calligraphy work can be only achieved with the
whole arm hanging in the air – the wrist and elbow cannot rest on the
desk. This requirement is true with all Chinese calligraphy styles regardless of
character sizes. Almost all ancient masterpieces were done with the calligraphers’
arms hanging in the air. Even if the size of a character is smaller than a
penny, the Hanging Arm Technique ( 懸
肘
)
is required (or recommended) to create a good work and this makes it even more difficult. Most people will shake their arms and brushes when
they start doing the Hanging Arm Technique. This is very normal. It will take
many, many years to train our whole body and mind until we won’t be shaking;
and at that moment when we realize the Hanging Arm Technique is not that
difficult, we may realize that what our eyes see are illusions that made our
muscles shaking in earlier stages. A good
way to train our consciousness and nerves is to hold a cup of water and start
walking. Try to walk around and make the water in the cup become more and more
stable.
General
Lee Guan ( 李
廣
) of ancient China
once saw a fierce tiger as he woke up and walked out of his tent. He
immediately took an arrow, aimed at it, and shot it. As he made sure it did
not move, he walked nearer and found out it was just a big rock. He realized he
must have been drunk or too nervous. So he tried to shoot through the rock again
but
he never made it.
The
above story exemplifies the potential power of mind (“Yi Nien
意
念”)
if we can fully focus. If a Chinese calligrapher can fully focus like this, the
intention of one’s mind and artistic intensity will definitely show in the work.
Instilling mind power needs to be persistent and relaxed, but not as nervous as
in the above story. Again, the focus is on the tip of the brush hairs and the
source is from the center of the body with the feet being the support.
Empty the mind and hold the brush as if the brush, hand, and body are one body. The brush is only an extension of mind and intention. When we focus deeply, we will reach a higher conscious level as if the brush and our body do not exist. It’s only the mind that is working, without confinement of brushwork. Remember our mind or intention always lead before the brush or any physical movement.
Please also refer to A4: How to Develop Mind Power in Chinese Calligraphy.