This session I had to miss due to snow on the Grapevine. I was very disappointed because this was a session I was looking forward. I think the art of calligraphy is beautiful. There’s been many movies where they show the art and the time and skill it takes to become a master. When you first look at a finished product I suspect that some think they could do it without any training. Calligraphy has more to to it than just the art part. It is filled with emotion and years of training.
In the book Chinese Calligraphy: An Introduction There are several paragraphs on tools and stories. On page 233, there is a paragraph talking about the way a proper brush should be held. I’m sure this is an opinion but an interesting one. Each artist would have their own style, but there are some agreed upon steps to holding the brush. First, The brush be held firmly whether in an upright position, or slanting. To have more freedom of movement, the hand, wrist and arm has to be lifted above the surface of what you are writing on.
The first aphorism is told on page 245. Sun Chien shares that he studied calligraphy for 24 years. He had several mentors, Chung Yu and Chang Chih Calligraphy for him “evoked exquisite sensations of the mind.” He felt that “Only nature can create such beauty, and not man.” Because of this he was not surprised certain strokes were given special names. For example: “Queen-swans in majestic flight”, “a surprised snake snake in steely recoil” and “Peaks tumbling down a precipice” are just a few.
On page 246 a metaphoric paragraph compares calligraphy to a war. “The paper is a battlefield...The inkstone is a wall and moat...The twists and bends are the killings” This is fitting if you have studied the art of calligraphy.
edited by cgao on 5/6/2016
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