Deconstruction, Reorganization, Fusion and Derivation A Talk on Introduction to Cursive Script

: Cursive writing is convenient and smooth, with strong artistry and inclusiveness. Since its inception, it has been widely concerned by different social strata and spread rapidly. Through the deconstruction and reorganization of the elements of the cursive script, the author summarizes the common principles, and completes the discussion on the form and technique of the cursive script. This paper starts with the writing method, takes points, lines, surfaces and other elements as the research objects, analyzes and refines, and proposes that in the aspect of structure, attention should be paid to factors such as space and reality, interspersed avoidance and other factors. Then, from the perspective of the comparison of word spacing and line spacing, the basic rules of composition and the relationship between the change of ink method and the use of pen are expounded. Finally, the rhythm changes of cursive script under different combinations are illustrated with examples. Calligraphy is a highly condensed materialized form of traditional Chinese culture, and it is the representative of imagery art. Cursive writing is convenient and smooth, with strong artistry and inclusiveness. Since its inception, it has been widely concerned by different social strata and spread rapidly. However, with the development of science and technology, the strokes of the keyboard gradually replaced the writing of Chinese characters, and people's writing consciousness gradually disappeared, and the ideographic effect of Chinese characters also disappeared. Calligraphy is facing a serious test. The author wants to summarize a targeted approach to cursive script through his own writing and teaching experience.


Writing method
Calligraphy, the variety of stippling and the growth of ink marks are determined by the use of a pen. The first problem to be solved in the process of using the pen is the writing posture. In the Yuan Dynasty, Zheng Piao had a saying: If you are good at writing, you will have eight bodies; if you are not good at writing, you will lose all eight. [1] Sha Menghai and other seniors also have monographs on writing. The five-finger pen method has become the mainstream of pen writing. This method is more suitable for writing large characters. When writing small cursive, the threefinger pen method can be used. The three-finger pen method is convenient for twisting the tube, making the writing more flexible and the lines more changeable. No matter which pen method you choose, the author advocates the use of the hanging wrist method for cursive script, so as to facilitate the vertical and horizontal writing without hindrance, and achieve the effect of smooth blood flow.

Analysis and refinement of points, lines and surfaces
Stroke is the most basic part of Chinese characters. There are eight types of strokes: side, le, crossbow, squat, tee, sweep, peck, and scorpion. However, in the process of writing cursive script, the shape of the basic strokes is very strongly blurred, and even the horizontal and the dot can be transformed into each other, and the vertical script can also be changed into a vertical... In the process of writing the cursive script, the sides and fronts are used interchangeably, and the transitions are applied simultaneously. , the strokes are light or heavy, rigid or soft, as thin as a hairspring, or as thick as a cloud dragon, and the changes are very rich. Therefore, in the process of learning cursive script, it is not just a simple training of basic strokes, but points, lines, surfaces and other elements should be used as the research objects to analyze and refine, so as to achieve better results.

The use of stippling
In the cursive script, the meaning of the dot is changeable, it can be a dot, or it can represent a short horizontal, a short vertical, a short stroke, a short stroke, etc. The point has a very good effect of moving the mind. Just as Jiang Kui said in "Continuation of the Book of the Book": "The eyebrows of the person who touches the word." [2] The means are clever, the point can produce thousands of gestures, light or heavy, fast or slow, square or round, big or small, simple but not simple. The clever use of the combination of dots can produce a unique pattern and show a unique charm. Take Huang Tingjian's words as an example. As shown in Figure 1A, the dots echo to enhance flexibility. As shown in Figure 1B, the convergence and dispersion enhance spatial contrast and strengthen the sense of rhythm. The arrangement of Figure 1C makes the overall composition more formal. feel and so on.

The use of line
Line is the most important part of cursive script works. Cursive calligraphers of all dynasties have attached great importance to the use of lines. The linear aspect includes straightness, length, thickness, square and circle, each of which corresponds to a different aesthetic feeling. For example, the straight line is relatively simple and neat, which is more common in small grass. However, these lines are not horizontal and vertical, but mostly oblique lines with different angles. For example, the use of oblique lines in "Frequent Sadness and Misfortune" not only retains the lively rhythm of cursive script, but also overcomes the inflexibility. Curves are more widely used in cursive script, as shown in Figure 2 and even the entire work is completely completed by changing the direction of the curve, crossing and repeating. The curve is more in line with the beautiful and changeable style of cursive script, and it also coincides with the physiological characteristics of the writer. The writing process is a dynamic process. In the process of rapid movement, an arc-shaped trajectory with a certain dynamic tendency is more likely to be born. No matter what posture we write in, the brush moves in an arc with the base of the finger, the wrist, the elbow, the shoulder or the foot as the center, or a comprehensive movement around multiple centers, which will naturally produce a large number of curved lines. Long lines show elegance and stretch, while thick lines show steadiness and solidity. However, both of these lines are difficult to use and require strong brushwork and expressive means, otherwise it will be counterproductive. Very subtle. In essence, calligraphy is the art of lines, and the texture of lines is also an important evaluation criterion for calligraphy. The texture of the lines may be light, or solemn, or vast, or vigorously conveying different charms or artistic conceptions. The texture of the lines can be roughly divided into two types, one is the pedagogical lines with a bookish atmosphere, and the other is the thick and simple, vigorous and ups and downs of the monumental lines. Tie Xue line pays attention to the start and stop of pointillism, and the middle part of the stele line is solid and heavy, with the style of stubborn opening of the cliff inscription. The root cause of the two different linear qualities lies in the different force points. Post-learning line is a conventional "power point", which is mainly located at the two ends of the stroke and at the straight fold, and its "power point" is relatively fixed. Taking horizontal as an example, the conventional "power point" is at the start and end of the pen, and the "power point" is rarely moved to other places. Wang Xizhi, Zhao Zi'ang and Dong Qichang are typical examples in the running cursive script, especially Zhao Zi'ang tends to be more classic, and his "power point" almost completely abides by the rules of Kaifa. Its style is neat, smooth and refined. The stele line is a variant of the "power point", and the position may fall on any part of the stippling. In the cursive script system, Kang Youwei has the most obvious variation in the "power point".

The use of block surface
Due to the corrosion of the gold and stone tablets, stone flowers or peelings appear, resulting in the blurring of the lettering and forming a certain block-face effect. In the actual writing process, the block-face effect is also produced by occasionally using a broad pen, combining the pen, expanding the ink, scribbling, superimposing, etc. These block-face effects will lead to variations in spelling and lettering space, giving people a new look. These intentionally or unintentionally appearing blocks undoubtedly play a role in adjusting the rhythm and achieve the effect of condensing air. For example, Wang Duo's cursive script boldly uses ink to shape the block surface, and more or less intervenes in each line, resulting in an organic echo between lines, making the whole text majestic and dripping with ink.

Analysis and refinement of spatial elements in the junction
The cursive script does not do the general sense of the central palace, but shifts the center of gravity of the characters (Fig. 3A) or does a wide space treatment inside (Fig. 3B), which is actually a kind of Chinese character structure method. In an aesthetic sense, the "hollow" structure is not a "vacuum", but a combination of the virtual and the virtual, and the center of the word and the center of gravity are separated to different degrees, forming a different structural aesthetic relationship. The cursive style should pay attention to the small gaps divided by the stippling. These blanks should not be too many to avoid the feeling of loose and trivial structure, and they should not be too symmetrical. Mr. Sha Menghai proposed that the corresponding changes in the knot characters can also be made according to the direction of the horizontal painting. When the inclination angle of the horizontal painting is too large, the knot characters are mainly tight, and when the horizontal painting tends to be peaceful, the knot characters are mainly wide and broad. Most of the cursive knot characters are mainly obliquely drawn with tight knots, supplemented by flat drawn wide knots.

The basic rules of the law
Dong Qichang's "Essays on Painting the Zen Room" in the Ming Dynasty said: "The ancients discussed the book with the rules and regulations as a major event, and the so-called dense rows are also." [3] The relationship between characters and characters, lines and lines in the cursive script is changeable, and its composition is more complicated than other fonts, which requires the writer to have a strong ability to control. First of all, let's take a look at the white space between words. If there is too much space, the independence of each word is relatively strong; if there is less space, the relationship between words is closer. Generally speaking, the word spacing is half the length of the word is more appropriate. Therefore, the word spacing is based on this, and the upper and lower ranges are adjusted. It is not advisable to stick to the dead method. It is good that the word spacing and line spacing form a staggered trend. The famous cursive calligraphy masters in the past dynasties dealt with the rules differently. Some of them have small line spacing and need to interspersed with avoidance and the swing of the central axis to achieve the balance of the rules. Such as Huang Daozhou, Dong Qichang, etc.; some line spacing and word spacing are relatively weak, and the composition is dignified. This composition is the most widely used.

Changes in ink method
The ink method is also the most changeable in the cursive script. In Zhang Yanyuan's "Famous Paintings of the Past Dynasties" in the Tang Dynasty, it said: "The ink is transported and the five colors are used.", all of which provide a broad expression space for the writing of cursive script. However, our understanding of Mofa cannot just stop at these appearances, which is superficial. Zhou Xinglian's "Linchi Guanjian": "When writing a book, you must open your pen and point it into the inkstone pond, like a penny point of water, let the ink enter from the tip of the pen, then the pen is full and full of ink; The ink is thick and the pen is condensed." [4] When writing cursive, because the pen moves relatively fast, and it is necessary to maintain a certain center point from time to time, so that the belly of the pen contains ink, and the edge of the pen kills the paper and pours into the lines from the tip of the pen, so it needs a certain amount of effort to support. Those who are good at calligraphy, often because of the skill of using the pen, can write a lot of characters with a single stroke of ink. Therefore, critics praised a book by Wang Xianzhi, Wang Duo and other calligraphers. If the writer masters this method, our ability to control the gradient change of ink color in writing will be greatly improved, and we can easily use the ink color change according to the rhythm of the whole text, so that the expressive power of our calligraphy will be even more. rich and natural.

Changes in rhythm
Rhythm is the soul of calligraphy art. Between a painting, the change fluctuates in the sharp end; within a point, it is extremely frustrating. If there is no rhythm in cursive script, it cannot give people a sense of beauty. The change of ink color, the thickness of the line, and the opening and closing of the structure are all very effective for adjusting the rhythm of cursive script. Let's take an example to understand the change of rhythm. As shown in Figure 4A, dots and horizontals add movement during the writing process, and the rhythm is slow.
B. Merge the strokes of the same type through the thread (the change of pressing should be weakened when merging, so that the combined strokes become a long line). As shown in Figure 4B, the merging of three points of water, the merging of opposite points and the merging of two short and horizontal points, the rhythm is slower.
C. Combine different types of strokes. As shown in Figure 4C, the opposite points merge with the vertical, and the horizontal hooks merge with the short and horizontal, and the rhythm is faster.
D. Combine different parts. As shown in Figure 4D, the three-point water and the word "Xiao" are merged, and the rhythm is faster.
Similarly, the combination relationship between words has a great influence on the rhythm. B. The echo relationship between words is realized through the joint posture in the air, and the rhythm is fast. As shown in Figure 5B, although the strokes are disconnected, the potential is continuous.
C. The characters are connected up and down by pulling the wire to form a character group with the fastest rhythm, as shown in Figure 5C.
In the process of learning calligraphy, especially in the process of learning cursive script, it is not just a simple study of famous works again and again, which often results in twice the result with half the effort. We should deconstruct and reorganize the elements of cursive script, and summarize the common principles, so as to have a clear idea and a clear direction when copying and creating cursive script. Of course, the discussion of the cursive calligraphy techniques provided above can only be a ladder to the entrance of the art palace, and cannot replace the cultivation of art. Being good at both formal techniques and comprehensive cultivation is the only way we pursue.