Theories of Chinese Calligraphy

The ancient calligraphers view the structure of a Chinese character as the “character's posture 字勢.” They often referred to a calligrapher’s beautiful characters as flying dragon, jumping tiger, clouds and sunset, and some other natural wonders. This section of theory will discuss briefly strokes, postures, structures, and styles as inseparable components of a good Chinese calligraphy style.

「永」字具中國書法之各種筆法之最佳字例，因此談中國書法筆法多以「永」字為例。惟楷、行、草各種筆法取向角度及結構因人而異，宜多練習他字帖後乃能熟各種字體的筆法。若有教人單單練習「永」字者，恐有以偏概全之虞。

(This Chinese character "forever" contains all basic strokes. It is often adopted by most calligraphers for teaching purposes. However, it's not advisable to practice this character alone. The student should get familiar with various strokes in different styles because the strokes are different in Kai, Hsin, and Tsao Styles in terms of angles and characteristics.)

Strokes are the building blocks of a Chinese character’s structure. Character structures then form a calligrapher’s style. If we compare a calligraphy style to a city’s landscape, then the characters’ structures will be the buildings' curb appeal while the strokes will be the interior design of a building.

Traditional aesthetic theory has valuated individual brush strokes according to four qualities, which should be perfectly balanced in a flawless writing:

各線性成分在書法視覺上含意如何？

1.輕重：即線條之細、粗。在運筆上為提筆與按筆用力上作區別。
　　　　輕而細線代表清秀或細心，其墨量小。
　　　　重而粗線代表厚實、或穩重，其墨量大。
2.粗細：視同輕重，具線條上氣韻變化之妙，粗線為主，細線為賓，二者有主賓之感。
3.疾遲：以運筆之速度作區分。
　　　　疾：速度快，有衝力，率性、乾脆、肯定、自信而意清。　　
　　　　遲：速度慢。
4.滑澀：用墨之多寡與筆紙間之肌理關聯而有差別。
　　　　滑：富潤澤、墨色分明、流暢感。
　　　　澀：富古拙、飛白多、枯躁感、樸實感。
5.曲直：因線條的流向而有差別。
　　　　曲：婉轉、陰柔、多變、流媚、流暢。

直：直率、肯定、樸實、剛直。
6.剛柔：以線性感覺作區分。
　　　　剛：線直而有勁，挺拔，富生命力、精神力，獨立感及陽剛之氣。
　　　　柔：線曲而且綿綿不斷，如流水隨處而安。

7.濃淡：具墨色上氣韻變化之妙。濃的線條比喻接近，淡的線條比喻遠離，二者互有前後變化感。

Once the strokes are established appropriately for a character’s structural design, every stroke is enlivened. Since Zhong Yao (151-231) and Wang Hsi-Chih, the norms of creating a structure in Kai Shu had been set. As Chinese calligraphy develops, the two keys to good calligraphy are methods of holding and operating a brush and structure of the character – and these have not changed since three thousands years ago! Since the Jin and Tang Dynasties, there were more and more calligraphers and the calligraphy methodologies became even more sophisticated; however, the artistic level of Chinese calligraphy was going down. Only few outstanding calligraphers could comprehend the secrets and principles of operating a brush and structuring a character. They studied the essence and spirit of previous calligraphers’ works and then created their own unique styles. Zhao Meng-Fu ( 趙孟頫 ) of the Yuan Dynasty once said, “Learning Chinese calligraphy relies on appreciating ancient masterpieces and comprehending the ancient calligraphers’ operating principles of brushes.” He also said, “ Chinese calligraphy should focus on operating brushwork as well as character structures. The character structures may change over time but the principles of operating brushes never change.”

Since Zhong Yao and Wang Hsi-Chih, no matter how Kai Shu changed and new styles were invented, the norms set by Zhong and Wang were not violated in most cases. For every founder of a new calligraphy style in each dynasty, they were not only great artists – they were also wise men with broad range of knowledge and life experiences. Some were scholars, politicians, officials, musicians, generals, or martial artists. Their insights to creating the structures of characters brought new life to Chinese calligraphy.

The founding principles of a character’s structure can be analyzed into the following characteristics:

All the five major styles of calligraphy follow those principles. For Zuan Style, symmetry is also required. To design a new style of structure is not an easy task. It requires artistic insights and inspirations. The structural design is also closely related to operation and disposition of strokes, spacing, rhythm, and etc.

鄧石如說：“常計白以當黑，奇趣乃出”，這是書法布白的妙境。如果只顧著把每個單一筆畫寫好，注意黑的部份，而不考慮相互的呼應關系，就容易流入單調或不協調，也無法引人入勝。

如果細細品味歷代法書，我們會發現那些富奇趣的空間呈現，往往不是制式的、完全先設想好的、一成不變的，而是每個書家在書寫經驗中養成了一定的審美趣味，學習、發展了自己一套書寫的法則而形成的。例如柳公權的書法中宮緊縮、虞世南舒朗勻稱、歐字險絕、東坡濃密、黃庭堅的幅射特性、八大的簡潔空靈等等。歷代書家已經有一套屬于他們的表達方式，呈現出來的畫面也就各富奇趣。

從這個角度思考，計白當黑就不單只是結構與布局單方面的問題，它與用筆、用墨息息相關。書家對線條特質、墨色、空間的理解越深刻，就越能在自然的書寫中黑白自成呼應，形成空間完美、引人入勝的畫面。

T8: From Structures to Styles