Eastern Han Dynasty "Biography of Mount Hua Temple on the Western Mountain"

Author: Lü Han
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Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-12-01
Features: This tutorial focuses on techniques, covering aspects such as strokes, radicals, structure, and composition in clerical script. It emphasizes making basic techniques comprehensive, microscopic, specific, and highly operational. The selected examples are highly targeted, and the accompanying text is concise yet to the point. Clerical script is primarily a static script, with its strokes, radicals, and structures following certain norms and patterns. It matured during the Han Dynasty, particularly flourishing in the Eastern Han period. Eastern Han clerical script is characterized by its flowing, dynamic strokes, expansive structures, and diverse styles, making it an excellent learning model for later generations. This tutorial, A Practical Guide to Copying Famous Clerical Script Masters Through the Ages, selects four masterpieces: The Stele of the Mount Hua Temple, The Stele of Shi Chen, The Stele of Cao Quan, and The Stele of Zhang Qian.
This tutorial focuses on techniques, covering aspects such as strokes, radicals, structure, and composition in clerical script. Its key features are:
First, enhancing editorial involvement. From the development and justification of topics, the drafting of outlines, the selection of authors and calligraphy book versions, to the design of covers and layouts, the editorial team actively participates and seeks expert advice to ensure high-quality content for readers.
Second, improving writing quality. The tutorial emphasizes making basic techniques comprehensive, microscopic, specific, and highly operational. The selected examples are highly targeted, and the accompanying explanations are concise yet to the point.
The Stele of the Mount Hua Temple is a Han stele that combines the strengths of square, elegant, and ancient styles, and was selected by the Qing Dynasty scholar Zhu Yizun as one of the top clerical script masterpieces. This stele features balanced round and square strokes, with deliberate pauses and turns. Its structure is square yet varies in length, with strokes alternating between angles and offsets. The serifs are beautiful, with a harmonious balance of ups and downs. When practicing this stele, one should not solely pursue elegance and fluidity but also focus on capturing its dynamic.