Chinese calligraphy : an introduction to its aesthetic and technique : with 6 plates and 155 text illustratons

CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY

the right and left sides of a character, and the top and bottom, asymmetrical. For example, the character 77, which means ‘earth’, when written in a twofold square, has a disintegrated appearance—it looks almost like two separate characters; but when written in a ninefold square, the greater size and weight

FIG. 103.—TI, EARTH

of the right-hand side causes the two elements to lean together and form a whole. The twofold square tends always to produce the effect of falling apart. The character Tan, ‘ sunrise ’, which is composed of the radical ‘sun’ over a line which represents the horizon, is another instance. When written in a twofold square, the sun symbol appears to have no relation to

See ee eee mere

FIG. 104.—TAN, SUNRISE

the horizontal stroke; whereas when written in a ninefold

square, the character is integrated and harmonious. But let us

take a more complex example: the character Chin, meaning

‘to prohibit’. Here we have a combination of two ‘ wood’

symbols over the radical for ‘to show’ (in ancient times

public notices, which would mostly be prohibitions, were hung [ 168 ]