A Line in Motion: 22.03.09

The 84 Laws - Translated

I'm waiting on some friends of mine to verify that my translations are sound/makes sense.

My favourite ones: #46, #48, #59, #82

天覆 (Sky Covers)：要上面盖尽下面，法宜上清而下浊。 The top covers the bottom entirely, in this law, the top is clear and the bottom is turbid.
地载(Ground Carries)：要下而载起上画, 法宜上轻而下重 The bottom supports the top, in this law the top is light and the bottom is weighty.
让左 (Concede Left)：须左昂而右低，若右边有谦逊之象。 The left side raised high while the right side hangs low, if the right side possess a modest appearance.
让右(Concede Right)：宜右耸而左平，若左边有固逊之仪。 The right should dominate while the left side is suppressed, if the left side originally appears unassuming.
分疆 (Divide Boundary)：取左右平而无让，如两人并相立之形。 Assume that left and right are equal, neither yielding, as if two people mutually standing side by side.
三匀 (Even Three)：取中间正而勿偏，若左右致拱揖之壮。 Assume that the center is straight and upright, made stronger if the arched left and right greet the middle.
二段(Two Parts)：要分为两半，较其长短，微加饶减。 Divide in half, compare lengths, add a little, spare a little.
三停(Three Stops)：要分为三截，量其疏密，以布均停。 Divide in three sections, estimate how disperse or close to arrange the stops.
上占地步 (Divine Top)：要上面阔而画清，下面窄而画浊。 The top is broad yet drawn clear, the bottom is narrow yet drawn turbid。
下占地步 (Divine Bottom)：要下面宽而画轻，上面窄而画重。 The bottom is wide yet drawn light, the top is narrow yet drawn heavy.
左占地步 (Divine Left)：要左边大而画细，右边小而画粗。The left side is big yet drawn slender, the right side is small yet drawn thick.
右占地步 (Divine Right)：要右边宽而画瘦，左边窄而画肥。The right side is wide yet drawn lean, the left side is narrow yet drawn fat.
左右占地步 (Divine Left-Right)：要左右瘦而俱长，中间肥而独短。Left and right are lean yet long, the middle fat yet short.
上下占地步 (Divine Top-Bottom)：要上下宽而微扁，中间窄而勿长。The top and bottom are wide and minutely flat, the middle is narrow and not long.
中占地步 (Divine Center)：要中间宽大而画轻，两头窄小而画重。The center is wide and large but drawn light, two ends are narrow and small but drawn heavy。
俯仰勾 ( Bowing ‘Gou’s’)：要上盖窄小而钩短，下腕宽大而钩长。 The top possess a narrow but short ‘gou,’the bottom possess a large curve and long‘gou.’
平四角 (Four Equal Corners)：要上两角平，而下两角齐，法忌挫肩垂脚。The upper two corners are level, and the bottom two corners uniform，this law avoids a limp back and bent foot.
开两肩(Open Two Shoulders)：要上两肩开，而下两脚合，法忌直脚卸肩 The shoulders open up, and the feet are together, this law avoids a straight legs and relieved shoulders.
匀画 (Draw Evenly)：黑白喜得均匀。Black and white in pleasant unison.
错综 (Criss-Cross) ：三部怕成犯碍。Three parts afraid of obstructing each other.
疏排 (Sparse Arrangement)：疏排之撇须展，不展则寒乞孤穷。In Sparse Arrangement, the ‘pie’ stroke must show, if not, the word resembles a lonely poor in the cold. *
缜密 (Precision)：缜密之画用蹙，不蹙则疏宽开散。Precision word is drawn tightly, not sparse, scattered and wide open.
悬针 (Hanging Pin)：悬针之字，不用中竖，若中竖，则少精神。Hanging Pin words do not use Vertical Stroke, because the Vertical Stroke reduces vigor.
中竖 (Vertical Stroke)：中竖之字，不用悬针。若悬针，则字不稳重。 Vertical Stroke words, do not use Hanging Pin, because the Hanging Pin looks unstable.
上平 (Top Leveled)：上平者，其小者在左，而莫错方隅。 The Top Leveled word, is smaller on the left, but never misses the border. *
下平 (Bottom Leveled)：下平者，其小者在左，而勿差地位。The Bottom Leveled word, is smaller on the left, but never mistakes the ground position. *
上宽 (Top Wide)：上宽者，下面固然难大，惟长趁而方佳。 For the Top Wide, while the bottom cannot be big, only a slight elongated square is beautiful.
下宽 (Bottom Wide)：下宽者，上面已是成尖，用短蹙而方好。 For Bottom Wide, the top is long and narrow, a short, compressed square is good.
减捺 (Subtract ‘Na’)：减捺者宜减，不减则重捺难观。 A ‘na’ stroke is subtracted, if not the dominant ‘na’ is difficult to see.
减钩 (Subtract ‘Gou’)：减钩者宜减，不减则重钩无体。A‘gou’ stroke is subtracted, otherwise, the dominant ‘gou’ stroke lacks form.
让横 (Concede ‘Heng’)：让横者，取横画长而勿担。For Concede ‘Heng,’draw a long yet unburdened horizontal stroke.
让直 (Concede Upright)：让直者，要直竖正而勿偏。 For Concede Upright, the ‘shu’ stroke is straight and does not lean.
横勒 (Reined in ‘Heng’)：横勒者，但放平而无势。For Reined in ‘Heng,’there is no potential [shi], when the stroke is level.
均平 (All leveled)：均平者，若兼勒以先威。For All Leveled, simultaneously rein in the strokes. *
纵波 (Vertical‘Po’)：纵波之波，惟喜藏头收尾。The ‘po’ of Vertical ‘Po,’ only delights in a hidden head and gathered tail.
横波 (Horizontal‘Po’)：横波之波，先须拓颈宽胸。The ‘po’ of Horizontal ‘Po,’ first needs an extended neck and broad chest.
纵戈 (Vertical‘Ge’)：纵戈之戈，但怕弯曲力败。The ‘ge’ stroke of Vertical ‘Ge,’solely fears of losing strength from bending.
横戈 (Horizontal‘Ge’)：横戈之戈，尤嫌挺直钩平。The ‘ge’ stroke of Horizontal ‘Ge,’particularly dislikes stiff, straight flat hooks.
屈脚 (Wrong Foot)：屈脚之钩，须要尖包两点。The ‘gou’ stroke of Wrong Foot, must envelope two ‘dian’ strokes.
承上 (Prop Up)：承上之撇，宜令叉对正中。 The ‘pie’ stroke of Prop Up, must intersect at mid-point.
曾头(Head)：曾头者，用上开而下合。For head, the top is opened and and the bottom is closed.
其脚 (Feet)：其脚者，用上合而下开。 For feet，the top is closed but bottom is opened.
长方 (Rectangle)：长方者，喜四直而宽大。 A rectangular case, likes its four sides straight and wide.
短方(Short Rectangle)：短方者，贵两肩而平开。A short rectangle, values level and open shoulders.
搭钩 (Build [separate] ‘Gou’)：搭钩者，钩须另搭，不则累苟笔之态 (For Build ‘Gou,’the ‘gou’ is added separately, the strokes do not appear casual or tired.
重撇 (Weighty ‘Pie’)：重撇者，撇须宛转，不则犯排牙之名。 For Weighty ‘Pie,’the ‘pie’ stroke conveys the curve, not committing the fallacy of looking like a row of teeth. *
攒点 (Assembled ‘Dian’)：攒点之点，皆宜朝向，不则为砌石之样。The appropriate orientation of each‘dian’ stroke of Assembled ‘Dian,’ do not resemble a row of masonry.
排点 (Arrangement of ‘Dian’)：排点之点，须用变更，不则为布棋之形。 The ‘dian’ stroke of Arrangement of ‘Dian,’uses variation, not resembling scattered chess pieces.
勾努 (Striving [vertical]‘Gou’)：句努之字，不宜用裹，若用裹，字便不方圆。 A Striving ‘Gou,’ is not suited for enveloping, otherwise, the word will not look square.
勾裹 (Bounded ‘Gou’)：勾裹之字，不宜用努，若用努，字最难饱满。A ‘nu’[vertical] stroke is not suited for a Bounded ‘Gou,’if used, the word won’t fill out.
中勾 (Middle ‘Gou’)：中勾之字，但凭偏正生妍。 A Middle ‘Gou,’is beautiful, merely relying on an upright disposition.
绰勾 (Ample ‘Gou’)：绰勾之字，亦喜妍生偏正。 For Ample ‘Gou,’ the most charming disposition inclines towards upright.
伸勾 (Outstretched ‘Gou’)：伸勾之字，惟在屈伸取体。An Outstretched ‘Gou,’solely aims for a bent, outstretched form.
屈勾 (Yielding ‘Gou’)：屈勾之字，要知体立屈伸。A Yielding ‘Gou,’must know its form exists upright with its extension bent back.
左垂 (Left Droops)：左垂者，右边不得太长。 The left droops, the right side must not be too long.
右垂 (Right Hangs Down) ：右垂者，左边须索要短。 The right hangs down, the left side alone is short.
盖下 (Cover Below)：盖下者，左右宜乎均分。For Cover Below, the left and right sides divide equally.
趁下 (Advantage Below [referring to stroke])：趁下者，两边贵乎平展。 For Advantage Below, the two sides are valued and displayed equally.
纵腕 (Vertical ‘Wan’)：纵腕之腕宜长，惟怕蜂腰鹤膝。The ‘wan’ stroke of Vertical ‘Wan’ is long, only afraid of resembling a wasp’s waist or a crane’s knee.
横腕 (Horizontal ‘Wan’)：横腕之腕嫌短，不宜鹤膝蜂腰。 The ‘wan’ stroke of Horizontal ‘Wan’ dislikes being short, it is not a crane’s knee or a wasp’s waist.
纵撇 (Vertical ‘Pie’)：纵撇之撇最忌短，仍患鼠尾牛头。The ‘pie’ stroke of Vertical ‘Pie’ especially dreads being short, yet worries over resembling a rat’s tail and a bull’s head.
横撇(Horizontal ‘Pie’)：横撇之撇偏喜长 ,惟怕牛头鼠尾。The ‘pie’ stroke of Horizontal Pie favors being slightly long, only afraid of resembling a bull’s head and a rat’s tail.
联撇 (Successive Pie)：联撇之法，取下撇之首对上撇之胸。 The law of Successive Pie, the lower stroke’s head faces the upper stroke’s chest.
散水 (Disperse Water)：散水之法，下点之锋应上点之尾。 The law of Disperse Water, the bottom stroke’s edge responds to top stroke’s tail.
肥 (Fat)：肥者止许略肥，而莫至于浮肿。 Fat words are slightly fat, not to the extent of looking bloated or swollen.
瘦 (Thin)：瘦者但须少瘦，而体反为枯瘠。Thin words are trim, and the form opposes looking dry and weak.
疏 (Scant)：疏本稀排，乃用丰肥粗壮。 Scant words by nature are arranged sparsely, hence, use ample, robust strokes.
密 (Close)：密虽紧布，还宜自在安舒。Although close words are tightly arranged, and also comfortably outstretched.
堆 (Stack)：堆者，累累重叠，宜重叠处以铺匀。Stacked words overlap, again and again, the place of overlap positioned evenly.
积 (Accumulate)：积者，总总繁紊，用繁紊中而取整。Accumulated words, are always invariably complicated and disorderly, seek wholeness within the disorder.
偏 (Slant)：偏者还须偏称。 Incline to one side as appropriate.
圆 (Round)：圆者则喜围圆。 Round words naturally likes circular enclosure.
斜 (Oblique)：斜者虽斜，而其中要取方正。 Despite being oblique, the word in essence possess uprightness.
正 (Straight)：正者已正，而四方无使余偏。 Straight words are upright, its four corners not oblique.
重 (Weighty)：重者下必要大。A Weighty case, the bottom is necessarily large.
并 (Open)：并者右必用宽。An Open case, the right is necessarily wide.
长 (Long)：长者原不喜短。 A Long case primarily dislikes shortness.
短 (Short)：短者切勿求长。A short case does not seek length.
大 (Big)：大者既大，而妙于攒簇。 For Big case, the words are already big, and its components are amassed cleverly.
小 (Small)：小者虽小，而贵在丰严。Small cases are small, but value an ample and austere appearance.
向 (Facing)：向者虽迎，而手足亦须回避。Although Facing cases greet, its hand avoids the foot.
背 (Back [Away]) ：背者固扭，而脉络本自贯通。The Back case is already turned around, but the artery [of the word] is naturally free flowing.
孤 (Alone)：孤者画孤，而惟患于轻浮枯瘦。Alone words are drawn isolated, and only worries over becoming flighty, dry and thin.
单 (Single)：单者形单，而偏重于俊丽清长。Single cases are alone, slightly weighted, handsome, light and long.

The 84 Laws was a miraculous find. I enjoy selecting books, taking interesting titles off the shelf, reading the back cover, and flip through the pages. I find Chinese bookstores frustrating, the experience is something like shopping at Cosco - books in bulk, stacked high, shoved together on tables, and I spend more time wandering the store looking for the right section than actually selecting the product. I don’t own many calligraphy manuals, because I never know what to buy. The 84 Laws was the only manual I’ve ever picked out. I was drawn to the simple layout: four characters per page and a few short lines of text below them. The calligraphy was beautiful, the layout was simple, and unassuming. I discovered the title weeks later after showing the book to my dad. That was the first time I seriously looked at the cover. I am using this manual above all others, because I found it, by accident, but it speaks somewhat poignantly for all of the major decisions I've made in choosing reference materials for this thesis. I picked paintings and treatises instinctively, based on what felt right or made sense for me. It's not very scholarly I know...

The 84 Laws

In the 15th Century A.D., the calligrapher Li Chun wrote an essay titled The Eighty-Four Laws. Li determined eighty-four typical situations for creating good form. For each case, Li used four examples, written by famous calligraphers showing the types of adjustments necessary in the making of dynamic but balanced form. Li focused the eight component strokes individually, showing the variety of line spacing, line weight and angle of trajectory. Li also identified four composite character types: left-right, left-middle-right, top-bottom, and top-middle-bottom. Each component’s proportion, scale, and position, in addition to line spacing, line weight, and stroke orientation are adjusted as per the composite type. The analysis alternates between the character’s overall appearance and the character’s stroke components. Li observed that many characters look best as simple geometric shapes such as squares, rectangles, trapezoids and circles. Singular character form and composite character form present different challenges. The integrity of a singular character form often depends on the precise rendering of one dominant stroke. Whereas size and spacing in addition to line modifications affect composite character forms.

Chinese Writing System - Part 2

The graphic representation of Chinese characters, rather than being truly pictorial, takes a diagrammatic approach which reveals not the outline, but the meaningful structure of its object. (Shirakawa, 105)

Linguistically, Chinese words are categorized as one of six types – pictogram, ideogram, semantic combination, extended meaning, phonetic borrowing, and semantic-phonetic combination. Pictograms are literal representations of living things and objects. The character for “broom” (fu - 帚) is a conventionalized diagram of a ceremonial broom used to splash wine over the altar. Ideograms are characters that symbolize an idea or action; one is able to discern a disposition from the character’s appearance. The word for “up” (shang－上) and “down” (xia－下) respectively show a upward pull and a downward push. New characters can result from an arrangement of pictograms and ideograms. The word for “return” (gui - 歸) is a combination of the ceremonial “broom” (帚), the word “stop” (zhi - 止)and a diagram that represents the meat offering used prior to the troops’ departure. “Return” not only describes an action but is synonymous with ritual. There are groups of characters that have different configuration and pronunciation but share a common semantic root. Therefore these words by extension of a common symbol also share a similar logic of meaning. When “broom” (帚) is used as a symbolic root, words such as “clean” (sao - 掃) or “soak” (jin - 浸) expand their meaning to describe the tools used and the ritual context they were created from. Some characters are made when the sound of one word is applied to another without consideration for meaning. The first person “righteousness” (yi - 義) is a borrowed homophonous of the word for “meaning”(yi﹣ 意). Ninety percent of Chinese words are made by phonetic-semantic combinations. A word relies on one component to indicate sound and the other to symbolize meaning. The word “ant” (yi﹣蟻) combines “righteousness” (yi-義), the phonetic root with a diagram that means insect. Letters used in European languages are phonetic symbols, and meaning is carried by sound. The Chinese chose to condense sound and meaning into a visual construction. The language retained its visual format:

The fact that Chinese characters not only developed from but retained through time their pictorial / diagrammatic forms indicates just how central the element of visual form is in the Chinese character.” (Nakata, 10)

It is important that one writes correctly and legibly, but historically, it was paramount that one writes beautifully.

The Chinese Writing System - Part 1

Hsiao Chuan

Li Shu

Chen Shu

Tsing Shu

Tsao Shu

Chinese language developed over 5,000 years, the beginnings of written language were first documented as creation myths. In the Legendary Period, a time before recorded history, there were three emperors-Fu Hsi, Shen Nung and Huang Ti. Fu Hsi the ox-tamer created the bagua or more commonly known as the eight trigrams. The symbols consists of continuous and broken lines. Three continuous lines symbolize heaven, three broken lines symbolize earth, and six variations of broken and continuous lines describe wind, water, mountain, thunder, fire, and lake. The trigrams represent more than 1,471 ideas and objects, but there is no evidence that Chinese language was founded on this system. In Chinese Calligraphers and Their Art, the author Ch’en Chih-Mai speculates that literal representation of objects and ideas preceded abstraction. It is likely that pictograms existed before the bagua. The second emperor Shen Nung created a numeral system using knotted string. It is possible that the brush technique of “return” was inspired by knots, but without proof, these assertions remain conjectures. The Yellow Emperor - Huang Ti is the ancestor of the Chinese people. While Fu Hsi and Shen Nung are mythical figures, Huang Ti may have actually ruled between 2697-2597 B.C. His minister, Ts’ang Chieh is credited for inventing the first writing system. Ts’ang Chieh:

After studying the celestial bodies and their formations and the natural objects surrounding him, particularly the footprints of birds and animals, came to realize that things could be told apart by devising different signs to represent them. (Ch’en, 5)

The earliest evidence of a literate culture came from a period between 2205-1766 B.C., known as the Shang Dynasty. The Shang Oracle Bones consists of 100,000 artifacts engraved with pictograms. The writing is arranged vertically but each word differs in orientation and size. Collectively this language called Chia Ku Wen is made of 2,000 characters, and reveals a first attempt at pictorial abstraction. The Shang Dynasty was succeeded by a period of disunion where feudal states and principalities operated independently. Written language, like the state of governance developed in a scattered way until the Qin Dynasty that ruled from 221- 207 B.C. Under the unified rule of Emperor Qin Shih Huang, a standardized writing system was created and employed. All the characters were reconfigured to follow a uniform orientation, size and rectangular shape. This system became the first calligraphic style called Hsiao Chuan.

The preferred writing tool changed from a stylus to a brush. Writing Hsiao Chuan with a brush is labour intensive because the stroke composition is complex and the character still had to appear as if it were a carved line. The calligrapher wrote slowly, burying the brush tip inside the stroke. Instead of re-inventing the writing instrument, a new style was created to suit the brush’s flexibility. Li Shu was first used by clerks within Emperor Qin Shih Huang’s court. This style reduced the number of strokes in a word, allowed for fluid brush movement and added emphasis upon the points entry and exit in a stroke. When the Han people succeeded Emperor Qin Shih Huang, they adopted Li Shu as the official court script. But Li Shu was still restrictive of brush and hand movement and Tsao Shu was invented as a script that keeps “the basic structure of the character in Li Shu, compromise on its formality, allow it to run wild and free, in order to meet the demands of time.” (Ch’en, 46) Tsao Shu traded legibility for speed, so a compromise came in the style of Chen Shu. Chen Shu is a culmination of Hsiao Chuan, Li Shu and T’sao Shu: burying the brush tip inside the stroke, adopting a simplified pictographic form, and exaggerated line variation. Chen Shu also exploded the Chinese figure into eight stroke types. T’se, lo, nu, yo, tse, lueh, cho, and chih are aesthetic variations of horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines. T’se and yo describe the most pleasing ways to write short strokes, lo and nu for horizontal and vertical lines, and tse, lueh, cho, chih are all variations of diagonal lines. The word yong (永) or “eternity” is character composite of all eight strokes. A manual titled “The Eight of Laws of Yong” described the requisite movements needed for each stroke. When a student begins calligraphy training, the first character he learns is yong. Chen Shu is presently the standard Chinese script. The last calligraphic style invented is called Tsing Shu which in large part resembles Chen Shu but occasionally links brush strokes together. Hsiao Chuan, Li Shu, Tsao Shu, Chen Shu and Tsing Shu are the five major styles practiced by calligraphers today.

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.

Calligraphic Space: A Function of Accumulated Time

The brush stroke is a potent reduced form. In The Path of Beauty, Li Zehou, a scholar of aesthetic philosophy calls Chinese characters significant forms. A significant form “incorporates elements of both imagery (generalized simulation), and expressiveness (of emotions).” (Li, 38) An abstract form that exudes life. The Daoist sages believed that images were more adept at conveying meaning than words. Calligraphy is a practice preoccupied with the image of written words.

“...for although calligraphy does consist of written words, its meaning as art has never been restricted to the verbal meaning of the words...the notion of ideas or meaning being communicated in a nonverbal manner by calligraphy is presented by implication.” (Cai, 282)

Chinese characters are a mix pictograms and ideographs. The symbols are not only abstracted objects, but stand for processes and actions. Li argues that the reader perceives phenomena from the written form. Lines create sensations of movement, “like a melody in music, what one perceives in the lines is not a series of objects in space but rather an epoch in time.” (Li, 22) A brushstroke channels the strength and fluidity of the writer’s hand. Chinese words are a composite of lines that describe objects and ideas, and brushwork injects dynamism in the written form, elevating the words to the status of significant forms.

Landscape painting arranges motifs to create tension and induce the propensity for action. Motifs are literal representations: the viewer can easily anticipate cause and effect. When a person is beside a bridge this naturally suggests that he will cross it. In calligraphy, brush strokes are the motifs and tension is apparent within each stroke. There is a correlation between hand movement and the brush trace left on the page. Francois Jullien writes:

The Chinese art of calligraphy can be considered a prime example of dynamism at work within a configuration because, in the case of each ideogram copied, a particular gesture is converted into a form, just as a particular form is equally converted into a gesture. In this schema the figure produced and the movements producing it are equivalent. (Jullien, 78)

To create tension, the calligrapher must disrupt repeated movements. There exist precise rules in calligraphy. Each character is inscribed within and centered on an imaginary square. Unlike Western writing where movement is unidirectional from left to right, the Chinese calligrapher proceeds to build the character stroke by stroke within the imaginary square. The center of the square marks the axis of reflection, rotation and union. The calligrapher first locates the center, his initial strokes mark boundaries, follow by lines that are filled in to complete the character. One always begins from top to bottom and completes the left side before the right side. Not one move is repeated successively: a horizontal motion is followed by a vertical or diagonal motion. Every stroke begins and ends in the opposite way of its intended path. Tension is initiated by the constant alternation of brush movement. Calligraphy skillfully adjusts character composition, entry, follow-through and exiting of every stroke to appear poised for action.

Water never pools over calligraphy paper. The longer the brush remains still, the larger the ink blots. The faster the brush moves, the less ink is absorbed by the paper. Since every type of brush movement follows some semblance of a “pause-pull-pause” pattern, ink opacity varies within a line. These variations describe the duration, speed and pressure of the brush in motion. If a line of uniform width is considered one unit of time, changes in the distance between pauses, in line thickness, in ink opacity, and in the distance between strokes are rhythmic accents. Calligraphy skillfully modulates standard rhythms and speeds. Learning stroke order always precedes developing character recognition. Those versed in Chinese language can detect rhythm, speed, and timing in writing.

Although a good calligrapher has absolute mastery over his motor skills, there are several limiting factors that make every work unique. The calligrapher is forbidden to go back and alter a stroke, once made. The brush tip is soft; it is impossible to produce a uniform bead of ink across the paper. The paper is hand made; every sheet differs in thickness and absorbency. The calligrapher’s state of mind and the physical setting that surrounds him all affect the outcome of the finished work. Su Shi’s Treatise on calligraphy writes:

Furthermore, because one writes at a given time, circumstances will provide either discord or harmony. When there is harmony, the writing flows forth charmingly; when there is discord, it fades and scatters. (Su, 7)

Every line trace is specific to the immediate moment of its creation. With every stroke, the calligrapher imparts a mood or tone that reflects the physical and emotional circumstances surrounding the creation of the work. Chinese characters as significant forms, and has the ability of suggestion. Lines reflect the author’s joys and sorrows. A handscroll written by Dong Qichang in the Ming dynasty translates as follows:

In the third month of the guimao year, I was in Suzhou at the Cloud Shadow Mountain Studio. Outside my window it was raining, and I had nothing to do. My friends Fan Erfu, Wang Boming, and Zhao Mansheng dropped by to visit. We sampled some Tiger Hill tea and ground [some fresh] Korean ink. Then I tried out a new brush, writing with abandon and all quite at random. (Bai, 147)

The first section: “In the third month of the guimao year. I was in Suzhou at the Cloud Shadow Mountain Studio. Outside my window it was raining, and I had nothing to do. My friends Fan Erfu, Wang Boming, and Zhao Mansheng” is written in Tsing Shu. Tsing Shu is characterized by simplified characters and occasional linkages between strokes. The words in the passage are generally uniform in size and spacing. The line work follows a consistent range of thicknesses. Horizontal strokes are parallel to each other. Vertical lines maintain a sense of uprightness. In the second section: “dropped by to visit. We sampled some Tiger Hill tea and ground [some fresh] Korean ink. Then I tried out a new brush, writing,” all the characters are larger, and a few columns were filled by only one word. The author no longer follows the rules of periodic uniform spacing and every character is comprised of more loops and swirls. At times an entire column of characters is written with one continuous line. The third part reads: “with abandon and all quite at random.” All characters are reduced to gestures. The brush is dry, and each line is written with haste. Writing “with abandon” suggests the least of restraint in brush work, the freest use of paper space, and the least attention to character legibility. The transformations explained through the story complement the execution. While the handscroll is a record of an ordinary event, the gradual conversion of the lines imparts fresh imagery to the content. Another example is the story of Wang Xizhi’s masterpiece Lan Ting Shu (Orchid Pavilion Preface). In the spring of 353 A.D. Wang Xizhi, the sage of calligraphy and forty of his friends gathered at Lan Ting (Orchid Pavilion) near Shaoxing, a town just outside of Shanghai.

According to Wang Hsi-chih, the place was surrounded by lofty mountains and steep slopes, lush forests and bamboo groves, with a clear brook gushing through, giving reflections to the left and the right. It was a fine day in early Spring. The air was clear and the breeze was soft. After a few rounds of drinks, Wang His-chih composed an essay commemorating the occasion which he wrote down ‘on paper made of the silk cocoon with a brush made of mouse-whiskers.’ (Ch’en, 62)

The piece is praised for Wang’s skillful combination of power and variation. “The character 之－zhi (a preposition, meaning ‘of’) appears twenty times but not two of them are identical” (Yen, 97) Lan Ting Shu was subsequently copied by numerous accomplished calligraphers. Wang himself has rewritten the piece several times. None were comparable to the original. Beautiful scenery, great company, joyous spirit, an experienced hand, all culminated in an instant surge of inspiration, evident in the form and arrangement of characters. The conditions could not be recreated. That is why the original is valued above all other versions.

Historic significance affects technical execution. A moment of inspiration can elevate the significance of technique. The essence of brilliant writing is control of timing. Rhythm is a measure of ruptures in a unit of time. Musical rhythms are written as beats within a section of time. Brush technique is also rhythmic. The general pattern is pause, pull, pause and repeat. Because calligraphy values honest reflection of good technique and no stroke is ever reworked; there is a transparency between the gesture and the resultant form. Dynamic exchange exists between the hand and the brush, between the brush and the paper, between one stroke and another, between ideogram and ideogram, between one unit of images and another.