Yan Zhenqing Regular Script for Beginners

Author: Lu Zhenping / Edited by: Jia Baoxiong
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-04-01
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Excerpt:
Perseverance and Hard Work
The term "perseverance" refers to having determination. Some people write hundreds of characters in a day when they are happy but remain inactive for days when they are not. Starting and stopping intermittently, as in "fishing for three days and drying nets for two," will certainly not lead to improvement. One must persevere, squeezing out a certain amount of time each day to write a fixed number of characters, and continue this practice in the long run to continuously improve writing skills. The saying "It takes a hundred days to master calligraphy" means that learning to write requires over a hundred days. However, any art is easy to learn but difficult to master. To truly write well and achieve the level of "conforming to the form" or even "transcending the form," it is by no means possible in just a hundred days. One must have the resilience of grinding an iron pestle into a needle and the perseverance of water dripping through a stone to achieve success.
The term "hard work" refers to diligent study and practice. In China's thousands of years of calligraphy history, great calligraphers like Wang Xizhi and Yan Zhenqing all achieved fame through hard practice. It is said that Zhang Zhi, while practicing calligraphy by a pool, often washed his brushes so thoroughly that the entire pool of water turned black. Zhi Yong climbed a tower for forty years to study calligraphy, filling five large baskets with broken brush tips. Living in the 1990s, we cannot stay indoors for forty years, but their spirit of persistent and hard learning is still worth learning from forever.
V. Brushwork (1) Principles of Writing Order
The order in which each stroke of a character should be written is conventional, and this sequence of stroke writing is called writing order, abbreviated as "stroke order." If the stroke order is incorrect, it not only affects the speed of writing and the beauty of the structure but also invites ridicule from the knowledgeable. There are seven principles for stroke order:
1. Top before Bottom. If a character has two or more horizontal strokes, write the top one first, then the bottom one.
2. Left before Right. If a character has two or more vertical strokes, write the left one first, then the right one.
3. Horizontal before Vertical. If a character has both horizontal and vertical strokes, write the horizontal stroke first, then the vertical one.
4. Left-falling before Right-falling. If a character has both left-falling and right-falling strokes, write the left-falling stroke first, then the right-falling one.
5. Middle before Sides. For characters composed of three parts that are symmetrically arranged horizontally, write the middle part first, then the sides.
6. Outer before Inner. For characters formed by an outer frame and internal strokes, write the outer frame first, then the internal strokes.
7. Surrounding before Closing. For characters enclosed by a surrounding frame, write the three sides of the frame first, then the internal strokes, and finally close the frame with a horizontal stroke, as in characters like "Hui" and "Guo."
The above are the general rules of stroke order. Some characters allow flexible handling, such as the character "Yi," which can be written either by first placing a dot, then adding the left-falling and right-falling strokes, or by first writing the left-falling and right-falling strokes, and finally placing the dot.
(2) Methods
Reverse Stroke and Return Stroke
When the direction of the brush tip's movement at the start of a stroke is the same as the direction of the stroke's extension, it is called a forward stroke; when it is opposite, it is called a reverse stroke. For example, when writing a horizontal stroke, one should naturally write from left to right, but first place the brush tip from right to left, then adjust the brush tip to move to the right. When writing a vertical stroke, one should naturally write from top to bottom, but first place the brush tip from bottom to top, then adjust the brush tip to move downward. This reverse method of starting a stroke was called "desire right before left, desire down before up" by the ancients. At the end of a stroke, when the direction of the brush tip's movement is the same as the direction of the stroke's extension, it is called an outward stroke; when it is opposite, it is called a return stroke. For example, when ending a horizontal stroke, one should naturally move to the right, but instead adjust the brush tip to move to the left. When ending a vertical stroke, one should naturally move downward, but instead adjust the brush tip to move upward. This method of ending a stroke can "preserve the muscle and hide the tip, eliminate traces and conceal the end," making the ends of the strokes square and full.
Hiding the Brush Tip and Revealing the Brush Tip
Hiding the brush tip means using a reverse stroke at the start and a return stroke at the end, keeping the tip hidden within the stroke. Revealing the brush tip means using a forward stroke at the start and an outward stroke at the end, allowing the tip to extend beyond the stroke. Strokes written with a hidden brush tip are subtle and harmonious; strokes written with a revealed brush tip are vibrant and spirited. As the ancients said, "Without a tip (hidden) to contain the essence, with a tip (revealed) to shine the spirit." However, excessive hiding can lack vitality, while too much revealing can appear lacking in dignity. Therefore, the characters of excellent calligraphers often combine both hidden and revealed tips, with rich variations. Even within a single stroke, there can be different hidden and revealed techniques.
Lifting the Brush and Pressing the Brush
Lifting the brush and pressing the brush refer to the vertical movement of the brush relative to the paper. Lifting the brush means slightly lifting the brush from the paper, with the brush tip touching the paper less. Pressing the brush means slightly pressing the brush downward from the paper, with the brush tip touching the paper more. The thickness of strokes is achieved through lifting and pressing actions. If the brush is gradually lifted during writing, with the brush tip touching the paper decreasing from more to less, the stroke will become thinner. Conversely, if the brush is gradually pressed during writing, with the brush tip touching the paper decreasing from less to more, the stroke will become thicker. Even if there is no change in stroke thickness, the entire process from the start to the end of a stroke is carried out through continuous lifting and pressing. Additionally, during turns, lifting and pressing help adjust the brush tip and maintain the central stroke. Therefore, mastering lifting and pressing is crucial for writing well. It must be emphasized that lifting and pressing must be moderate. If lifted too high, the strokes will appear light and floating; if pressed too low, the strokes will appear stiff and lifeless; if lifting and pressing are too abrupt, it may result in the flaw of a "honeycomb waist."
Square Stroke and Round Stroke
Square stroke refers to strokes with square edges at the start, end, or turns. Round stroke refers to strokes with rounded shapes, slightly curved, at the start, end, or turns. The ancients said, "Turning creates roundness, folding creates squareness." That is, round strokes are the result of turning, while square strokes are the result of folding. Round strokes give a subtle and contained impression, while square strokes give a strong and daring impression. However, excessive squareness or roundness, or purely square or round strokes, are both flaws. Therefore, excellent calligraphers often combine both square and round strokes. For example, Yan Zhenqing's Qinli Stele is primarily round but contains square elements; Liu Gongquan's Xuanmi Pagoda Stele is primarily square but includes round elements; Ouyang Xun's Jiucheng Palace Stele has square shapes but is actually round in execution, specifically with square starts and ends, and round mid-sections. As Wu Fanggang said, "Ouyang's calligraphy takes round and robust strokes as its temperament, while square and orderly strokes as its appearance."
Turning the Brush and Folding the Brush
When the brush tip swirls, creating round strokes, it is called turning the brush. When the brush tip bends, creating strokes with edges, it is called folding the brush. Turning and folding are writing techniques using the brush, while square and round strokes are the shapes of the strokes. When turning, the brush tip moves smoothly without stopping, so the turning process is generally uninterrupted. When folding, when writing a horizontal stroke, the brush tip first moves from right to left, then turns to the right. During the turn, the brush is lifted and then repositioned, or slightly lifted before pressing, with a clear pause. Additionally, the lifting and pressing during turning are not obvious, while during folding, there is a more noticeable lifting and pressing.
Retracting the Brush and Stopping the Brush
Retraction means folding or stumbling, and retracting the brush means shortening the stroke and turning it back, like a snail retreating into its shell. Liu Gongquan often uses this technique when writing vertical hooks. The specific method is to press the brush downward after moving downward, then suddenly reverse the direction and move upward along the original path, increasing the friction between the brush tip and the paper. Retracting and returning strokes are both movements in the opposite direction of the brush tip, but returning is a pause before lifting, while retracting is a pause without lifting. Returning strokes move back from the edge of the stroke, while retracting strokes move back from the middle of the stroke.
Stopping the Brush means pressing the brush tip heavily downward, but it is different from pressing the brush. Pressing the brush is done without stopping during movement, with a gradual transition from lifting to pressing. Stopping the brush is a sudden downward press during movement, with a larger and stronger amplitude, and a sudden transition from lifting to stopping.
Ducking the Brush and Pausing the Brush
Ducking the brush means pressing the brush tip downward, but it is different from stopping the brush. Stopping the brush involves a heavier press and a larger downward amplitude, while ducking the brush involves a lighter press and a smaller downward amplitude, like a dragonfly touching water. If stopping the brush is like a person sitting down, then ducking the brush is like a person lightly crouching. Pausing the brush means pausing slightly during movement and then continuing. The differences between stopping, ducking, and pausing are: pressing heavily downward is stopping, reducing force after stopping is ducking, and reaching the paper and continuing is pausing.
Twisting the Brush and Sticking the Brush
Twisting the brush means twisting the main hair and the surrounding auxiliary hairs together, often used at the start and turns of round strokes, creating characters that are round and strong. Sticking the brush means moving the brush with difficulty but with force, as if the paper has an invisible resistance to the brush hair. The ancients said, "Moving the brush is like rowing a boat against the current," describing the sticking force of the brush.
Brushwork must avoid "sliding through without pressing." "Sliding through without pressing" means moving the brush too quickly, with the brush hair sliding over the paper without pressing. Such lines "do not enter the paper," appearing flat and shallow, so beginners must adopt a sticking force when moving the brush. Sticking does not necessarily mean slow, but beginners must move slowly to achieve a sticking effect.
Finally, there is also the rhythm of brushwork. Moving the brush cannot be at an average speed but must vary between fast and slow. For horizontal, vertical, left-falling, right-falling, dots, folds, and hooks, horizontal strokes should be slow, vertical strokes fast; right-falling strokes should be slow, left-falling strokes fast; folds should be slow, hooks fast. For vertical strokes alone, hanging vertical strokes should be slow, while hanging vertical strokes should be fast. Moreover, even within a single stroke, there are variations in speed, such as writing a right-falling stroke: the start should be slow, then gradually faster, the foot of the stroke should slow down again, and the tip should speed up once more. Music lacks a rhythm of fast and slow and becomes dull; calligraphy must also have a rhythm of fast and slow to be rich and varied.