Collection of ancient poems by Zhao Ziqian: New Concept Calligraphy Workbook. Issue 2

Author: Xu Qinghua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: Beginners in calligraphy must start by copying ancient steles and scripts, striving for strokes, structures, and styles that closely resemble the originals. Once the initial copying is mastered, they often wish to create their own works. However, this creative passion usually ends in failure. The transition from copying to creation is not an easy step to cross—some may spend their entire lives failing to do so or may go astray in the process. One effective method is to select characters from the copied steles and compile them into works. However, the characters in such works may not all be found in the copied steles. Even if they are found and pieced together, they often fail to achieve harmony in aspects like size, weight, inclination, and overall coherence. For this reason, we have decided to invite experienced calligraphers to edit and publish a series of couplets and poetic scripts composed of characters collected from famous steles and scripts across history, using computer image processing technology, to present the most perfect results to readers.
Zhao Ziqian (1829–1884), styled Zhisu, also known as Yifu, and known by the sobriquets Beian and Wumen, was from Shaoxing, Zhejiang. His calligraphy is most notable for its achievements in Northern Wei script, though he was also skilled in seal script, clerical script, and running and cursive scripts. Zhao Ziqian’s study of Northern Wei script focused on grasping its brushwork essence rather than emphasizing the aesthetic of stone-carving, resulting in writing that is smooth, elegant, and flexible. His style is characterized by a blend of Yan’s foundation and Wei’s appearance—three parts Wei and seven parts Yan. His brushwork is square yet round, with structures that are bold, open, and expressive, exuding great grace and charm. Compared to Northern Wei script, his work may lack the rustic simplicity of ancient calligraphy, but its lively and vibrant charm truly reflects the unique qualities of writing with a brush on paper, making it more appealing to a broader audience of calligraphers.