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

CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY

it was not established until later. Chiian-Shu was the ancestor of both. The need for increased speed of execution brought about the establishment of Hsing-Shu and Ts‘ao-Shu, both of which grew round the basic structural shapes of K‘at-Shu. Hence without a thorough grounding in K‘ai-Shu it is very difficult for any pupil to grasp the principles of strength and posture upon which good composition depends. And the freer and more rapid movements employed for the more widely used Hsing-Shu and Ts‘ao-Shu result in formlessness unless the writer constantly practises the structural shapes of K‘ai-Shu. Chiian-Shu and Li-Shu are also cultivated. Though more formal than K‘ai-Shu, they possess a beauty and rhythm of their own, and the different ways in which their characters are arranged and spaced enlarges the writer’s capacity to arrange his K‘ai-Shu characters distinctively.

By the time a pupil has satisfactorily copied a number of good examples of K‘ai-Shu the tutor is able to decide which manner best suits his particular talents and he then encourages him to concentrate on that manner. As a rule our first model is the writing of either Ou-Yang Hsiin, or Yen Chéng-Ch‘ing or Liu Kung-Chiian. Subsequently we try to copy as many good examples of K‘ai-Shu as possible, in order to gain a really comprehensive mastery of the brush and be able to shape a great variety of good strokes. Actually, the ‘hand’ of a copyist is never exactly the same as the model, but he should never abate his efforts to make it so (Figs. 139 to 141). Here are some pregnant remarks on the subject by the famous calligrapher of the T‘ang dynasty, Sun Kuo-Ting: (4% 54 #2).

The first lesson the beginner should learn is to look attentively at the particular traits of each style. For works of the same style by different artists

[ 192 ]