Hui Gong Ge Writing Method (Beginner's Book 6)

Author: Yang Guowei Wu Bin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: The Hui Gong Ge (Eight Trigram Grid) divides Chinese characters into two sections—“Inner Palace” and “Outer Palace” for memory. The significance of these sections far exceeds the role of stroke positioning. It demonstrates 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 on a line or surface 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 textbook's first volume focuses on the writing guidance of standalone and vertically structured characters, which forms the foundational part of the entire curriculum. All subsequent compound character structures and their extended patterns are built upon this volume's teaching content. The six-volume writing textbook follows a sequence: starting with standalone characters, then compound characters; first with vertical structures, then horizontal ones; emphasizing stroke extension before guiding the combination and arrangement of the main parts. The teaching process is also designed to progress from simple to complex.
Volume 1 and 2 guide students to focus on the general patterns of standalone and vertically structured characters, without providing detailed instruction on stroke writing. These characters are primarily categorized into three types: regular triangles (or trapezoids), inverted triangles, and rhombuses. As long as students grasp the structural patterns, they can use the Hui Gong Ge to appropriately contract or extend the strokes and structures of the characters.
Starting from Volume 3, there is more detailed guidance on the main parts of characters, especially the combination and arrangement of compound characters. The teaching methods emphasize the following points:
1. Visual distinction between the Inner and Outer Palaces of the Hui Gong Ge should be made. For example, the Inner Palace can be lightly colored or the Inner and Outer Palaces can be distinguished with different colors.
2. The left and right sides of the Inner Palace play a significant role:
- They indicate stroke extension.
- They serve as a local positioning guide.
- They determine the width of the character.
- They show whether strokes are straight or slanted. Thus, they should not be ignored in teaching.
3. The top and bottom sides of the Inner Palace are also crucial. They decisively determine the height of the character and are particularly important for the positioning and emphasis of the first stroke.
4. In teaching stroke extension, it is essential to reinforce the awareness of extension through training. Teachers can guide students to practice using hand gestures, body movements, and writing techniques repeatedly. Additionally, colored pencils can be used to trace or highlight the extended parts.
5. In teaching, attention should be paid to the transfer guidance of students' writing skills using the Hui Gong Ge. This involves helping students develop the ability to write independently without the grid, based on the characteristics of Chinese character shapes. The skip-grid 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: starting with stroke extension, grasping the macro characteristics of Chinese characters, and then proceeding to the micro level in a step-by-step manner. Students visually grasp the simple and iconic combined forms of Chinese characters—the main parts and extensions. This innovative teaching and learning approach undoubtedly adds new vitality to the reform of writing education and greatly boosts the confidence of both teachers and students in teaching and learning writing effectively.