Calligraphy couplets. Shi Chen Stele: New Concept Calligraphy Series · Issue 2

Author: Xu Qinghua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: Beginners in calligraphy must start by copying ancient steles and tablets, striving for strokes, structures, and styles to resemble the originals. Once copying is mastered, the desire to create one's own works often leads to failure. The transition from copying to creation is not easy to cross; some may never make it or fail to cross it well, leading them astray. Selecting characters from the copied steles to form works is an excellent method. However, the text in the works may not all be found in the copied steles, even if they are found, they cannot be pieced together to achieve coherence in size, weight, inclination, and mutual correspondence. For this reason, we decided to invite experienced calligraphers to edit and publish a series of couplets and poetic works composed of characters selected from famous steles and tablets of past dynasties, using computer image processing technology to strive for the most perfect presentation to readers.
The full name of Shichen Stele is Lu Xiang Shi Li Si Xiang Kongzi Miao Stele, with two stones, hence also known as Shichen Front and Rear Steles. It was erected in the second year of the Jianning era during the Eastern Han Dynasty and is now located in the Confucius Temple in Qufu, Shandong. The stele is meticulously crafted with a strict and imposing structure. It exudes a profound and powerful ancient charm, with well-structured and balanced strokes, making it a model for temple halls. Yang Shoujing once remarked on this stele: "Some may argue that not all Han Dynasty clerical scripts are excellent, but one cannot match its ancient and profound aura. This is one such example."
The compilers devoted several months to carefully selecting and comparing characters for each couplet, ensuring both faithfulness to the original works and that all strokes were derived from the original steles, with no substitutions. At the same time, they avoided rigid adherence, appropriately using computer technology to achieve harmony. Ultimately, this stele was completed.