Why Do We Copy the Old Masters?

The overall appearance of Chinese words has transformed significantly and visibly; every change reflects the state of Chinese society throughout history. Calligraphy and Power in Contemporary Chinese Society is a study that unearths the influence of calligraphy on an average person who lives in contemporary China. Calligraphy remains an important cultural treasure. Through a series of interviews with calligraphers, scholars and average citizens, the author Yen Yuehping, discovered that many still believed that words embody ancient knowledge.

With each change of written form, the characters are conceived to be endowed with new meanings that reflect changes in the socio-cultural environment. As a result, written characters as a whole constitute a fecund reservoir of ancient ideas and a record of social history. (Yen, 52)

For example, Hsiao Chuan was the official script during the Qin Dynasty. The script’s archaic appearance simultaneously alludes to the ancient cultures that invented language and symbolize the unification of the Chinese empire. Chinese characters also incorporate information of past calligraphic techniques.

Knowledge of calligraphic techniques helps unravel the hidden messages carried within characters, such as the interplay of structural balance and imbalance, and the meaning of the natural rhythm of things. (Yen, 54)

To write Hsiao Chuan, the calligrapher buries the brush tip, applies firm but even pressure to the page. Brush movement mimics the slow motion of chiseling into a hard surface. The brush carves into the paper. Each calligraphic style possesses a unique combination of stroke arrangement, rhythm, pressure and speed, but at no point are the techniques mutually exclusive. In fact, new forms reinvent old techniques. For example Hsiao Chuan requires a large amount of restraint to hide the flexible nature of the brush whereas Tsao Shu liberates the brush across the surface of the page. Hsiao Chuan respects an orderly structure while Tsao Shu is preoccupied with spontaneity. Brush control is paramount in both cases. In the former case, control is visible through the uniform line spacing and thickness, in the latter case, control is visible at the pivot point between strokes. Rigid ends are necessary counterpoints to fluid lines in between. The technique that stops the momentum of a moving brush is constant; the differences are in stroke lengths, speed and pressure.