Hui Gong Ge Writing Method (Beginner's Book 5) (Beginner's Book 5)

Author: Yang Guowei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: The Hui Gong Ge (Nine-Grid) divides Chinese characters into two sections—“Inner Palace” and “Outer Palace”—to aid memory. The significance of these sections far exceeds the role of stroke positioning. It reveals to learners the structural principles of Chinese characters, such as “tight inside, loose outside,” “dense inside, sparse outside,” and “solid inside, hollow outside.” Teachers using the Hui Gong Ge not only teach students which stroke is positioned where, but also how to structure certain types of characters to make them compact and aesthetically pleasing. Therefore, the Hui Gong Ge teaching method not only helps students learn to write, but more importantly, teaches them the principles of writing well.
The content of this book focuses on the writing guidance of independent characters and vertically structured characters, which forms the foundational part of the entire curriculum. All subsequent compound characters and their structural and extensional rules are built upon this content. The six writing textbooks follow a progressive sequence: starting with independent characters, then compound characters; first vertical structures, then horizontal ones; emphasizing stroke extension before guiding the combination of main parts. The teaching process is also designed to progress from simple to complex.
Part 1 and Part 2 guide students to focus on the general patterns of independent and vertically structured characters, without providing detailed instruction on stroke writing. These characters are primarily categorized into three types: upright triangles (or trapezoids), inverted triangles, and rhombuses. Once students grasp the structural patterns, they can use the Hui Gong Ge to appropriately contract or extend the strokes and structure of the characters.
Starting from Part 3, detailed guidance is provided on the main parts of characters, especially the combination and pairing of compound characters. The teaching methods emphasize the following points:
1. Differentiate the Inner and Outer Palaces of the Hui Gong Ge with vivid distinctions. For example, lightly color the inner palace or use different colors to separate the inner and outer palaces.
2. The left and right sides of the Inner Palace play a significant role:
- They display stroke extension.
- They serve as a local positioning guide.
- They determine the width of the character.
- They indicate whether strokes are straight or slanted. Thus, they should not be overlooked in teaching.
3. The top and bottom sides of the Inner Palace are also crucial:
- They decisively determine the height of the character.
- They are vital for the positioning and emphasis of the first stroke in many characters.
4. In teaching stroke extension, emphasize reinforcing the awareness of extension through training:
- Teachers can guide students to practice using hand gestures, body movements, and writing techniques repeatedly.
- Colored pencils can be used to trace or highlight the extended parts with pencils.
5. In teaching, focus on the “transfer guidance” of students’ writing skills using the Hui Gong Ge:
- Emphasize guiding students to independently write characters based on the characteristics of their shapes, without relying on the Inner Palace.
- The grid-skipping design in the textbook is specifically for this purpose.
The Hui Gong Ge teaching method transforms the passive dynamics of teaching and learning. The teaching approach is simple: start with stroke extension, grasp the macro characteristics of character shapes, and proceed from general to specific. Students visually grasp the simple and stylized combination forms of characters—the main parts and extensions. This innovative teaching and learning approach undoubtedly injects new vitality into writing education reform and greatly boosts both teachers’ confidence in teaching and students’ confidence in learning to write.