How to create calligraphy

1, the content of creation. Creative content is the carrier of calligraphy works. When selecting the content of a work, first of all, it is required that the content is healthy and uplifting, and the poetry and literary association that you feel is better. If we have chosen to write a poem about Tang poetry and Song poetry, we must read the poem carefully before writing, and even consult the creative background and the author's artistic conception at that time. As long as we understand these situations, we can break through the historical sky, connect with the ancients, and put ourselves in the position to sum up the artistic conception of our calligraphy creation. Next, we should start from the artistic conception of poetry and then decide the font of calligraphy creation. If Yue Fei's "Man Jiang Hong" has the spirit of loyalty, it is necessary to use a more wild cursive style, be bold and unconstrained, and contain a spirit of loyalty to the country and perseverance. The calligraphy works created in this way can achieve a high degree of unity in content, form and meaning, and complement each other. For another example, we should write a Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra, preferably in regular script, and we must write it with a quiet and nihilistic artistic conception. One can let the human body experience the tranquility of an empty door, and more importantly, express people's piety and reverence for the Buddha. At this time, if the writer is alone in the dead of night or after the early morning, away from the hubbub, he will light a furnace of sandalwood in front of the book case, or put on a recording of Buddhist music such as "Burning Incense". In this atmosphere, the author writes leisurely and dreamily, and unconsciously, calligraphy works with infinite secrets are presented to people. For another example, it is better to write poems related to the Qin Dynasty with seal script, and it is also appropriate to write poems related to the Han Dynasty with official script. In this way, it can be said that the content and form of calligraphy works are consciously consistent with the times. Mentioning the fashion of the times naturally brings out the content and form of calligraphy works. The times we live in today are very different from those in the past. In contemporary society, the ideological content of some old sayings in Tang poetry and Song poetry can no longer meet people's needs. Therefore, it is not necessary for our contemporary calligraphers to repeatedly write poems such as "Farewell to the White Emperor, Farewell to Colorful Clouds", "Farewell to Hanshan Mountain" and "Straight, Hu, Zhe and Ye". Many children have memorized these poems in kindergarten, and we often write works for people with these contents. If we write some inexplicable old sayings and can't annotate our works, it is even more obvious that our calligraphers are a bit pedantic and pretentious. You can't write this or that. What should you write? In my opinion, it is best to write something that can be generally understood, accepted and loved by people today, which is innovative and beneficial to people and society. In daily life, many people like calligraphy and want to get some famous calligraphers' works to decorate their rooms. Faced with these book seekers, we calligraphers must ask whether the works they want are for their own use or for others, and whether their works are hung in the living room and bedroom of private houses or in offices, conference rooms, hotels or other occasions. These factors all affect the decision of writing content. For example, in the living room of a private house, you might as well write a poem like "A good friend is like a bright moon, and it is better to look at flowers than to read a strange book". It is especially good to hang a couplet in the study. "It is useless to read books about the country often, and it is useless to be exhausted physically and mentally"; In the bedroom, you can write beautiful sentences such as "warm as jade"; In the office and conference room, you can write the words of the times such as "keeping pace with the times, pioneering and innovating"; You can write some poems and phrases related to Chinese wine culture and food culture in the bar ... and so on. The list goes on and on. Calligraphers with writing ability can also write some poems and couplets from time to time to meet the demands of many people. This is the best way, so that the author's emotions and creativity can be fully expressed and life can be closer to the needs of the masses. 2, the pen of calligraphy. Calligraphy is about using a pen, and it is about using a sharp pen. It's wonderful in the front and middle. Always use a pen in the middle. There are many kinds of calligraphy pens, such as center, flank, lift, press, twist and turn. Center forward. In calligraphy creation, although there is no definite method of using the pen, the method of using the pen with the center as the main part and other auxiliary parts has been widely adopted by calligraphers. What is a center pen? That is, hide the nib between stippling. In short, when the brush travels on paper, the nib is always in the middle or inside of the ink line. This pen is characterized in that by pressing the pen tip, the ink can freely flow forward from both sides of the pen tip, and the ink on both sides of the formed line is more balanced, with less ink in the middle of the line and lighter ink on both sides of the line. The ink image of this line gives people a visual feeling that the color on both sides is dark and the color in the middle is light, which is similar to the light and dark sides of the sketch object and can enhance the three-dimensional sense of the line. In seal script, official script and regular script, the pen used in the center is the most important. The pen used in the center is a valuable experience summed up by calligraphers in thousands of years' practice. Because the pen is used in the center, his writing freedom is greater, which is most conducive to the random change of writing direction and can also reflect the artistic effect of penetrating the back of the paper. Flank. Mostly used in running script and cursive script. Its main purpose is to enhance the momentum of the work. When using a pen, the pen holder leans to one side, and the pen tip falls on one side or outside the ink line. The ink image of the lines it forms is: one side is important, the other side is light; On the one hand, it is real, on the other hand, it is virtual, with great contrast and intensity. In calligraphy creation, it is not appropriate to use and abuse the side edge. Because our Chinese nation has always advocated the beauty of simplicity and peace, and also advocated the establishment of this aesthetic concept in calligraphy art, it is necessary to write every point of the word realistically and peacefully from the beginning of the pen, so as not to make people feel flashy and nervous. News. Lift, is to lift the brush a little; Press, that is, gently press the brush. The radian of lifting pressure is between millimeters and also between an idea. When the pen tip is raised, the lines will be obviously thinner; Press a dime under the nib, and the lines will obviously thicken. The pressure-lifting pen is the most widely used in big banks and cursive scripts, giving people the strongest visual experience; In the creation of Xiao Zhuan calligraphy, the method of boosting pressure is also adopted, but its behavior is mainly realized through the control of thoughts and feelings. Without long-term practice and exercise, calligraphers cannot skillfully use this method. Twist. This kind of brushwork is mostly used for the turning of words and the internal movement of lines. One is to adjust the strokes in the strokes to realize the alternate use of the stroke center or the middle and side strokes, so as to make the strokes smooth; The second is to enhance the dynamic of lines and add the connotation of lines. Twisting is difficult to master, because it is not only a technical problem, but also mainly because of the emotional induction of calligraphers in the writing process. Therefore, if the twisting method is used naturally and properly, it can best express the calligrapher's thoughts, feelings and artistic conception, and also best reflect the calligrapher's basic skills and aesthetic consciousness. In addition to the above-mentioned pen-using methods, there are many pen-using methods, such as hidden front, exposed front, opposite front, forward front, vertical front and lying front. These methods have their own advantages and disadvantages, and they are also worth pondering by calligraphers in their creative practice. 3. Choose a pen and write it down. There are big and small brushes, including long front, center and short front, soft hair, hard hair and double brushes, each of which has its own purpose, so you can choose. You must choose a suitable brush before writing. The general principle of choosing a brush is: use a large pen to write big characters, and use a small pen to write small characters; Writing cursive script should be flexible and long; Write regular script, seal script, official script with center, short front and hard hair, and two strokes at the same time. We must never write small words with a big pen or big words with a small pen. Writing small characters with big strokes is inevitably not rigorous, and his works give people a feeling of being shoddy; When writing big characters with a small pen, due to limited space and insufficient ink absorption, the thickness of stippling lines in his works has not changed much, and the amount of ink used is relatively light. Even the ink in the brush is not enough, so he can only dry it with dry pen and thirsty ink. His works will definitely make people feel a little frivolous or untidy. Some calligraphers also have their own habits about what kind of brush to choose. For example, Mr. Yu Youren, a great calligrapher, likes to use a medium bald pen, Mr. Chen Shaomo, a contemporary calligrapher, likes to use chicken feathers, and Mr. Ru Gui uses dragons and phoenixes. They can skillfully control the brushes in their hands and write unique and infinitely wonderful calligraphy works, from which we can easily see that they choose their pens properly. Here, let me say another digression: from the works of calligraphers of past dynasties, we occasionally find their works with improper pens, and we should treat and evaluate them objectively. For example, Mr. Yu Youren's literal contact area is large, and his handwriting and inscriptions are too large or his pen is rough. I think this may be because of the conditions at that time, or because he is full of passion when writing, and there is no need to change pens in a hurry. Like these calligraphers, you will meet some calligraphers anytime and anywhere. Calligraphers don't understand the calligrapher's habit of using pens, and they are ready to stop using pens and ink in advance (perhaps fine pens and good paper), but calligraphers can't turn away, so they can only write books for them, thus forming a phenomenon of poor pen selection. Let's talk about writing. The ancients said that "there is no fixed method for writing", which is a big concept. Actually, it's the same. Whether in ancient calligraphers or in modern calligraphers, their writing methods are varied. Among them, there are five-finger writing, three-finger writing and full-grasping writing; Some hold the pen low, some hold the pen high, and some hold it in the middle of the pen tube. In a word, they can make the pen handy and write exquisite calligraphy works. However, there are still principles to follow in writing. In short, the pen is important and the wrist should be alive; The finger is solid, the palm is empty, and the finger is Qi Li. In fact, calligraphers who have cultivated to a higher level have ignored the pen in their hands, but consciously or unconsciously regard it as an extension of their arms. In their minds, they wrote my heart with my hand, reaching a wonderful fantasy of harmony between heart and hand and harmony between man and nature. 4. Use ink and paper. If using a pen is the "bone method" in calligraphy, then using ink is the "skin" in calligraphy, and the two are unified in one operation. In the history of China's calligraphy, there are three milestones in the reform of using ink: first, Yan Zhenqing reached the extreme by "moistening things silently" in Sun's calligraphy creation; Second, Huang Tingjian uses the water in the grass to reflect the charm of ink painting; Thirdly, on the one hand, Dong Qichang and Wang Duo inherited Huang Tingjian's water to enrich the layering of pen and ink; On the other hand, they began to mix ink and wash, and intentionally or unintentionally used Su Mo, which made the stippling of Chinese characters appear dark black "cutting" at the edge of ink and wash infiltration. The mixing of ink and wash has a great influence on the calligraphy creation of later generations, and teachers are still fascinated and puzzled. Many beginners don't pay much attention to using ink. They simply think that calligraphy is just writing on white rice paper with a brush dipped in black ink! This understanding can be said to be correct, but not accurate. Lin Sanzhi, a modern calligrapher, summed up seven colors of ink, namely, broken ink (strong ink, water), Su Mo, accumulated ink, Jiao Mo, light ink, strong ink and thirsty ink. In fact, there are not only seven colors of ink, but also many kinds. How are these black inks adjusted? What is the significance of the change and application of various ink colors? Below, I will give an example to briefly explain. Take ink breaking as an example. The so-called broken ink is broken by water, water, ink and water. Breaking ink and wash is to dip a brush into thick ink first, and then dip a proper amount of water. When pen and ink are infiltrated and blended on the brush, write a book in time, and then ink and ink continue to infiltrate and blend on the rice paper. The final ink image is light and thick, the middle color of the figure stippling is dark, and there is a faint and even ink halo around it. Among them, the dark color is like bone, and the light color is like meat, which has a three-dimensional sense of "iron wrapped cotton". Dip in water first and then ink. This is called breaking ink. The ink image formed on rice paper also has a three-dimensional effect. Different from the former, it is thick and light, with the middle color of the lines lighter and the outer color darker, which breaks the plane sense of the lines and gives people a rounded visual experience. When some water is properly mixed into the ink, the ink will no longer be dead, and the traces left on the rice paper will be richer and more diverse, with a sense of life, like human blood flowing in blood vessels and moving silently throughout the body. Except Jiao Mo, all other inks rely on water to adjust their hue. Generally speaking, cursive script should use thick ink and light ink; Jiao Mo applies to seals, official seals or small print; Su Mo or thick ink is usually used to make posters. All these methods need to be explored and realized in the long-term practice of calligraphy creation. Ancient and modern calligraphers have different rules and habits in using ink in calligraphy. Thick ink was practical in the Northern Song Dynasty. In the Southern Song Dynasty, thick ink was used together; People's ink in the Yuan Dynasty was thinner than that in the Song Dynasty, between shades; In the Ming Dynasty, Dong Qichang initiated the Pale Ink School, which was called "Pale Ink Epiphyllum". There was a "Prime Minister of Thick Ink" in Qing Dynasty? Liu Yong wrote books with thick ink and Jiao Mo. Zhong Mingshan, a famous modern calligrapher, wetted his pen with clear water before lifting it. When writing small print, it is to mix ink and water evenly before writing a book, which also shows its use of ink. Ancient people used to grind ink before writing. Grinding ink is very interesting, and it can also be said to be a pleasure. The morning sun shines through the window lattice and falls on the quiet book case. The ink grinds evenly and rustles, and the ink in the inkstone pool turns gently, floating fine bubbles, and the fragrance of pine musk deer floats in the warm study. It is no wonder that Li He, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, wrote in his Song of Blue and White Purple Inks: "The gauze curtain warms the spring ink flowers, and the foam floats lightly to loosen the musk"; Su Dongpo's poem in Song Dynasty said: "The small window is empty and charming, which makes you dream of spring"; Zhao Meng in Yuan Dynasty? There is also "Gu Mo gently grinds a few incense, and the new bath in the inkstone is full of light". These wonderful poems all show the elegance of grinding ink. Nowadays, people mostly use ink to write calligraphy, instead of using ink and stone as the ancients did, which not only saves time and effort, but also is easy to buy and convenient. It should be noted that it is recommended that you use calligraphy and painting ink instead of Chen Mo's or Chen Ji's residual ink. The particles of toner in calligraphy and painting ink are relatively fine, and spices are added, so the words written with it have strong penetration and good fixity on rice paper. At the same time, in the process of calligrapher's writing, ink fragrance permeates the whole study, creating a very comfortable creative atmosphere for people; This ink will also be absorbed in rice paper for a long time. When people open the book to enjoy it, there is still a faint fragrance of ink, which is also a kind of beautiful enjoyment. In a word, it is water that enriches the change and charm of ink color, and it is pen that enhances the rhythm and melody of calligraphy lines. In calligraphy creation, we should attach great importance to and deeply understand the corresponding relationship between ink content, concentration and length, pen weight and fluency, pen dryness and urgency, and water and ink use. In terms of paper for calligraphy works, Xuan paper or other traditional handmade paper must be used. Because Xuan paper or handmade paper has strong water absorption, it can better absorb and penetrate ink. Furthermore, Xuan paper or handmade paper has few chemical components, so its life is generally longer than that of machine-made paper which is widely used now. From the unearthed cultural relics, we can also see the paper of 1000 years ago, which is a strong evidence. In calligraphy creation, students usually use raw rice paper and white rice paper. However, when making small regular script, cooked rice paper should be used, because the water absorption of cooked rice paper is worse than that of raw rice paper, so that stippling will not be submerged by the infiltration of ink. Although the art of calligraphy is mainly black and white plastic arts, sometimes in order to break the single form of works or render a unique atmosphere, we can also use some color propaganda, tiger skin propaganda and special rice paper with watermark patterns. If someone needs us to write a book for their birthday, wedding or opening a shop, it is best to choose red and gold rice paper; If you write in a famous Buddhist temple, you'd better choose first-class Buddhist yellow propaganda, which can better set off the dignity of the god Buddha; For another example, if we want to write a poem by Yongmei, we should consciously use a piece of rice paper with a plum blossom watermark pattern, which can't better render the artistic conception of calligraphy works, make calligraphy and painting blend and see the scenery better. 5. Composition and form. Composition stresses structure, while calligraphy stresses rules. Composition is also layout, which is relative to the whole work. In calligraphy creation, there must be relationships between words, between words and around words, and we can't "go our own way". On the other hand, calligraphy is a black-and-white art, and it is a plastic art that uses ink lines to divide white paper and reassemble pictures. Our eyes can't just stare at the black stippling, but also take into account the visual feeling of blank space. The so-called "counting white is black, knowing white is black". Generally speaking, the composition of regular script works is mostly written in grid, with rows and columns, small spacing, large spacing or equal spacing; Big seal script, running script and cursive script are mostly lines and columns. These characteristics require us to pay more attention to our usual posts. In addition, in the creation of calligraphy and cursive script, we should use pen and ink flexibly and naturally, and make more changes in the strength of pen and ink, the density of layout, the speed of writing, etc., in order to express the rhythm and melody of the works. Calligraphy works have various forms. We often have banners, nave, couplets, banners, long scrolls, fans, album pages, book binding and so on. In the banner, there are many pictures, including the square in the main hall. In calligraphy creation, we should make various forms according to different needs. At present, most people still write from right to left and from top to bottom, but this is not absolute. In banner works, the modern writing form from left to right can also be used appropriately, as long as the overall layout is harmonious and understandable. But when signing this kind of works, we must make clear the position of the previous paragraph and the next paragraph, and we must not make jokes. 6. Sign and seal. The inscription, postscript and seal of calligraphy works are important parts of its overall composition. Some calligraphers only pay attention to the perfection of the main content of their works, but despise inscriptions and seals. Therefore, we can often see some calligraphy works, the main contents of which are well written, but their inscriptions and seals are somewhat sloppy, which makes people feel disharmony, and even some works have caused damage to the whole works and are difficult to preserve. What a pity! Booksellers with high cultural literacy are very particular about the inscription, postscript and seal, and even put them into the overall creative composition when making a draft before creation. Generally speaking, calligraphy works are divided into two sections. The first section should indicate the name, honorific title and etiquette of the giver, and the second section should indicate the name, font size, creation season, place and seal of the calligrapher. Text content and writing format must conform to the traditional etiquette norms. The signature font should not be too different from the text font. If the text is in regular script, its signature shall be in regular script; The text is cursive, and its signature can be cursive; It is best to use regular script and running script for seal script and official script. The size of the inscription diameter should be coordinated with the size of the main character diameter, and the most taboo inscription is domineering and wild. We should see the author's temperament in the calligraphy, and peep at the author's skill and rigorous attitude in the inscription. The size of the seal is similar to the diameter of the inscription. You can't use a big seal instead of a small font, and you can't use a small seal instead of a big font. The style of the seal should be basically the same as that of the inscription. On the right side between the first word and the second word in the first line of a work, a casual chapter is often stamped, which is called the first chapter; The middle part of the first line of long and vertical works is often covered with waist seal on the right side and corner seal on the bottom. After signing the next paragraph, affix the author's name. In the next paragraph, two seals were also affixed. According to the convention, the first seal is mostly the author's name or Zhai number, and the second seal is the author's name, and the second seal is more yin. The distance between two seals is generally one pitch, or the same as the word pitch of the inscription. Two seals are used together. The former is in the sun, the printed surface is hollow, and the printed text is mainly lines, ethereal and sparse, while the latter is in the red background and yin, giving people a sense of stability. Be careful when stamping, and the inkpad should be light. When stamping, the force should be even, so that the printed seal can be clear and eye-catching, and it can add the same aesthetic feeling as "finishing touch" to the work. In addition, you must use calligraphy and painting inkpad, and you must not use ordinary office inkpad, because office inkpad contains many chemical components and oils, which are harmful to rice paper and easy to be polluted by oil stains, which will adversely affect the mounting and preservation of later works. People often say that "decoration is not enough", except for the special needs of composition, calligraphy and painting works should not use too many seals, which is both chaotic and vulgar! 7. Creative image and consciousness of calligraphy art .. After the development of China's Chinese characters from ancient prose to official script, that is, after the development of square characters, they are getting farther and farther away from pictographic elements and moving towards an abstract realm. At the same time, in the face of this abstract square character, calligraphers have a broader space for image creation. Some calligraphers write a cursive word "dragon", which will show the image of a flying dragon in the clouds in their minds with pen and ink; Some calligraphers write the word "Yellow River", which makes people see the Hukou Waterfall flowing down through their works ... We are writing Mao Zedong's poem "Qinyuanchun? For the calligraphy works of Snow, imagine Mao Zedong standing on the edge of the plateau cliff, overlooking the boundless ice and snow, and no one is watching. The calligraphy works created in this artistic conception will better express the meaning of the poem. When we create calligraphy works with large characters, we should imagine that we are on a mountain top or in space. The words written in this artistic conception can be magnificent and intriguing. Some calligraphers like to drink before creation. In a slightly drunk state, they put aside the influence of objective images on their creative consciousness, fly high, make their dreams come true and do whatever they want. The calligraphy works created at this time have an escape and magic that the author himself can't believe afterwards. It's wonderful! No wonder Huai Su has the crazy behavior of "writing two or three lines in a letter, but waking up to read a book". This is that "wine" gives calligraphers confidence, and it is "wine" that inspires the author's creative passion. The ancients said that "jade pot buys spring", and they compared "wine" to "spring", making everything as full of infinite vitality as spring! 8. Books and character. Calligraphy art is a comprehensive subject. In a sense, it is not just writing, but learning and being a man. Because in China's traditional art, the philosophical thoughts of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism always run through, and the core of their thoughts are "benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and faith", "being kind to others, governing by doing nothing", "the golden mean" and "people-oriented, self-improvement". Therefore, many accomplished calligraphers are first and foremost a scholar; There are also many scholars who can write wonderful calligraphy works although they don't spend much time on calligraphy learning. This is a fact. Qin Gui in Song Dynasty and Zhao Meng in Yuan Dynasty? In Wang Duo in the Ming Dynasty, they all had high attainments in calligraphy and were unique. However, due to political or personality factors, the calligraphy style created is not called "Qin style", but "Song style". And Wang Duo, just because he was two ministers, was nailed to the "shame column" of history, looked down upon by people, and it was difficult to get the "name" of history! Until now, do we still remember Hu Changqing, a big corrupt official who was executed in Hunan? His handwriting is also very good. He has written books for many well-known local enterprises, shopping malls and other public places, from which he used his political influence to obtain millions of yuan of "pen fees." Later, people called this kind of income "gray income". When it was caught by the news, it was once in ruins. Now there are some famous calligraphers, whose handwriting is of course very good, and many people love them. However, when fans come to Mo Bao with their love and persistence in art, they often encounter the "sky-high price" created by calligraphers themselves, and they can only hit a wall (of course, some calligraphers are overwhelmed and have to do it). However, have some of them thought deeply? Is art used for fame, or is it used to inherit and carry forward the advanced national culture? Mr. Zhang Xingbin, a famous contemporary calligrapher, is known as a calligrapher with both ability and political integrity. He once said to me, "How many words can a calligrapher write to people in a day? How many words can you write in your life? China1300 million population, the world is very big! "In his later years, Mr. Yu Youren wrote 50 words every day. He created tens of thousands of calligraphy works in his life, most of which were scattered. How many people have Yu Youren's original calligraphy? This cannot but arouse people's deep thinking! Nowadays, we often meet some wandering calligraphers. They don't take books as friends to promote the motherland's culture, but they are mercenary. They often talk about Kan Kan and show off how precious their calligraphy works are. Some people even in vain. In order to improve their identity, they use computer synthesis technology to take photos with senior leaders and artists. The purpose is not "self-promotion, self-promotion". We call these people "calligraphy liars" and "art gangsters"! The laurel of "virtue and art" can't be put on anyone's head casually, and it needs to be measured by personality and morality.