I was writing some calligraphy works for Snow Forest's aroma therapy oil project, and when I created this calligraphy I realised that this is a perfect example for illustrating how does the calligraphy brush tip move during writing. The magic of Chinese calligraphy is based on many factors, but one of the key elements is the mastery of the brush pressure control against the paper surface. This is especially visible in cursive script, which is very dynamic, and the line rapidly changes the direction or thickness. Look at the remarks I made on the pictured single stroke calligraphy work, and note how much is happening from placing the brush on the paper surface to lifting the tip at the end. The brush tip is moving like an elevator, it goes up and down all the time, it also twists and turns, which moves are coordinated with the entire arm, as the wrist barely moves during writing. Those are microscopic movements, but the brush is held at its end of the axis, and the brush tip is at the opposite side. A tiny movement of the calligrapher's arm can cause massive alterations to the brush strokes. Those moves are subconscious, not thought out, and completely intuitive. How does one achieve such coordination? Here is your answer. Writing in cursive hand could be compared to a skilled martial artist, who does not think, but reacts instinctively when performing various techniques. Constant and extensive studies are the only path to mastering this script. In the history of Chinese calligraphy art, there were a few calligraphers whose cursive script skills were beyond human perception. Those were, Dù Dù (杜度, early 1st century C.E.), Cuī Yuàn (崔瑗, 77-142 C.E.) , Zhāng Zhī (張芝, died 192 C.E.), the sage of cursive hand Zhāng Xù (張旭, 8th century C.E.), who was also the creator of wild cursive hand (狂草, kuáng cǎo), Huái Sù (懷素, 737–799), the brilliant drunk monk, the Two Wangs: Wáng Xīzhī (王羲之, 303–361) , the sage of calligraphy, and his son Wáng Xiànzhī (王獻之, 344 – 386), Sūn Guòtíng (孫過庭, 646–691), also known as Sūn Qiánlǐ (孫虔禮) whose Treaties on Calligraphy (書譜) is not only a well of knowledge on calligraphy but also a bible of cursive script forms (see a fragment of this masterpieces in the picture to the left), and Xiān Yú Shū (鮮于樞, 1246 – 1302). Naturally, this list does not exhaust the list of brilliant Chinese calligraphers, who excelled in cursive script. You can view and read about the masterpieces of some of those Masters, here. Very popular way of studying cursive script is by performing rinsho (臨書, lit. “facing and writing”, i.e. copying of masterpieces) of “Thousand Characters Essay” (千字文), an essay (written as a rhyming poem) composed of 1000 non repeating Chinese characters, in the first half of 6th century C.E., by Zhōu Xīngsì (周興嗣, died in 521), upon the order of the Emperor Liáng Wǔ (梁武帝, 464 - 549), for the sole purpose of calligraphy education. Many great calligraphers copied this text imbuing it with their own style, writing it in two, three or even more forms, one aside another. Reading and copying standard (楷書), semi-cursive (行書) and then cursive forms character after a character is considered one of the best and most proper ways of beginning and continuing studies of Chinese calligraphy. Simplifying certain radicals in cursive hand carries dangers. Left-hand side radicals such as 言 (gen, i.e. “word”), 氵 (sanzui, i.e. “water radical”), and 冫 (ni sui, i.e. “ice radical”), can be written in the exact same way. Therefore, the only way of deciphering the meaning of the given text will be either studying the right-hand side of the character, or guessing it from the context, which by the way will be quite intuitive in cursive script. On the other hand, one radical can be written in various manners. If we take 言 as an example then it can appear in one of the forms shown in the picture (left). Chinese calligraphy in cursive script is, or ought to be, written without thinking or planning. Any pondering or hesitation will ruin the flow of precious energy. Thus, there is no time for deciding how to write given character. It happens automatically. And since some characters have repeating radicals, it is the calligrapher’s mastery level of the art that will determine how rich in various forms the text will be. None of the Chinese scripts is rule free. Cursive hand is no exception here. These are: 1. Merging strokes that are separated in standard form 2. Changing the starting point of a following stroke 3. Dots merged in one single line 4. Straight lines are represented by curved lines, sharp corners by loops 5. Reduction of total number of strokes 6. Long lines are shortened or symbolised by dots 7. Complex radicals are significantly simplified 8. There is a change in a positioning of given stroke 9. Stroke order is altered 10. Starting point of an initial stroke is changed This does not exhaust the subject of cursive script. Its another very characteristic feature is so called “unbroken line” (連綿体i). This technique is also essential in Japanese kana script, which was based on cursive forms of Chinese characters, or more precisely, manyōgana (万葉仮名, lit. "kana of ten thousand leaves [words]"). The “unbroken line” is the connection, be it visible or not, between the characters. In other words, an instance where two or more Chinese characters are literally or metaphysically combined into one flow. If a calligrapher was to stop after each Chinese character, and think how or where to write the next one, the flow would be broken. The secret of the rhythm and beauty of cursive hand lies in both well balanced forms of the characters, as well as the natural appearance of the composition, that allows the eye of the reader to glide with ease down the row of Chinese characters. “Unbroken line” seeks its way through a page of paper as a mountain creek searches for the shortest way to the sea. The undisturbed flow of energy (行氣) is the beating heart of cursive hand. Cursive script is extremely intriguing. It is difficult to read, write and even to place its origin on a timeline (see this link to read my articles on the history of calligraphy and calligraphy scripts). Its definition is irregular and very flexible, just like its appearance. Even though it was, and still is in some cases, the most common script used daily by all the nations whose language is based on Chinese characters, not many of the modern native speakers can actually decipher it, let alone apply it with natural fluency in every day written communication. Modern civilization and computerisation of lives is to blame. It is no wonder, however, that the vast possibilities of expressing oneself are the reason for so many calligraphers to prefer to write in cursive hand. It is dynamic, abstract, passionate, favours subconscious creativity, and it is extremely expressive. Calligraphy written in cursive script may seem to be a maze of random brush strokes, or a late Picasso painting of anaconda snakes mating in their nest, but the paradoxical feature of it is that despite its random looks, cursive script requires a lot of precision and knowledge. The studies of cursive script are long and taxing, starting with learning the basics of standard (楷書), semi-cursive (行書), and clerical scripts (隷書). Even though, historically speaking, cursive script preceded semi-cursive and standard scripts, it could be seen as an allegory for all three. The concept of cursive script is to emphasise the most characteristic features of the characters, and simplify them into a form that allows for faster and more fluent writing. However, those “shortcuts” are not any near being random, but rather carefully designed blueprints by some 2000 years of practical use. There are two major factors of cursive script that define its complexity. First one is that to writing in a way that brush is lifted from the paper surface as few times as possible (see my articles on the “unbroken line”). The second one is omitting and simplifying certain parts of a characters. As you may know, Chinese characters are built of radicals. Some characters may have completely different meaning, even if they share the same radicals (or radicals that look identically or nearly identically in modern standard script form). For instance 左 (hidari) means “left”, whereas 右 (migi) means “right”. The appearance of the 𠂇 (Japanese: sa, i.e. pictograph of a hand) seems to be nearly identical in both characters in the standard script, but its cursive forms will differ. This is because the etymology of the character 左 tells us that 𠂇 depicts the left hand, and in 右 it depicts the right hand. The stroke order of both differs in seal script (篆書), hence the difference in writing in cursive script. The stroke order of writing both characters in standards script also differs. Those may seem like small nuances, but such details have a massive impact on the composition and the flow of writng. Even in the case of a simple radical 口 (kuchi, i.e. “mouth”), the cursive forms might, or might not, have similar shapes. It all depends on the overall appearance of given character, or the calligraphy work composition. For example, it is possible that a cursive form of the Chinese character 口 in 右 may be written in a completely different way than that in 和 (wa, “harmony”), and usually it is so (see the diagram above). I invite you to view my tutorial on cursive script (videos included) To read part 1 and 2 of this tutorials, please see the cursive script tutorials page. Visible unbroken line, that connects two or more characters (some masterpieces have lines with 20 characters or more being merged in a single brush stroke), is a technique often used by Chinese and Japanese calligraphers. The way of connecting two characters is not random, and it should by no means not distort the structure and balance of either of the Chinese characters. It is performed with a single brush stroke, without the brush leaving the paper surface. Merging more than 3 character with the unbroken line technique is more common in Japanese calligraphy than Chinese calligraphy. This tradition takes its origin in Japanese kana calligraphy, in which hiragana (平仮名) and hentaigana (変体仮名) syllabograms are combined in long ribbons of ink. There are also styles of calligraphy which are based on writing the entire text in one brush stroke, which I believe was initiated by a brilliant calligrapher of the late Ming Dynasty (明朝, 1368 - 1644), Wang Duo ( 王鐸, 1592 - 1652), who was inspired by the ippitsu technique (一筆書, lit. one brush stroke calligraphy) found in the Chinese calligraphy masterpieces by Wang Xianzhi (below) of the Jin dynasty (晉朝, 265 - 420). One of the most famous Chinese experts on the unbroken line, was Wang Xianzhi (王献之, 344 - 386), the 7th and most talented son of famous Wang Xizhi (王羲之, 303 - 361), though the unbroken line had appeared much earlier. It was a technique used already during the late Han Dynasty (漢朝, 206 B.C.E. - 220 C.E.) by a brilliant calligrapher, Zhang Zhi (張芝, died 192), who excelled in the cursive script (草書) of Chinese calligraphy. Visible unbroken line is very difficult to execute in a way that will not ruin the composition and the energy flow (行氣), which are the essential elements of good calligraphy. Diligent studies of cursive script masterpieces is a sine qua non step towards mastering this technique. Suggested calligraphers are, except those three mentioned above, Zhang Xu (張旭, he exact dates of birth and death are unknown) and the monk Huai Su (懷素, 737–799 C.E.), of the Tang dynasty (唐朝, 618 – 907), who are well known as “Crazy Zhang and Drunk Su (顛張醉素)".
To read more about the basic concept of unbroken line in Chinese and Japanese calligraphy, please see part 1 of this tutorial. An implied unbroken line between two characters appears in virtually any of the Chinese or Japanese masterpieces in either cursive (草書), semi-cursive (行書) or kana (かな) scripts. The reason for it is very simple, and it is directly related to the direction of writing Chinese calligraphy, but also Chinese aesthetics and philosophy. Traditionally, Chinese characters are written from the top of the page to the bottom, and right to left. Then, the general rules of the stroke order, applied during writing any of the Chinese characters, follow the direction from left to right and top to bottom. Consequently, a brush in hands of a skilled calligrapher moves freely, gliding from one character to another. Both types of the unbroken line (visible and invisible) are a natural outcome of the traditional methods of writing Chinese calligraphy. Invisible unbroken line amplifies the artistic values of calligraphy. When you look at a row of Chinese characters, connected with an invisible unbroken line, your eyes will see much more than it is written. Although the line does not exist, and the connection is only metaphysical, the calligraphy text will appear to be more expressive and richer in form. Similarly to ink painting, Chinese calligraphy is an abstract art. The beauty of both is often hidden in what is not physically sensible. The only way to understand how and where to apply the unbroken line during writing, is through diligent studies of Chinese and Japanese calligraphy masterpieces. The unbroken line (連綿) is a very characteristic element to both Chinese and Japanese calligraphy art. It is easily detectable in cursive script (草書), perhaps even more defined in Japanese kana script (かな). The unbroken line technique is also applied in semi-cursive script (行書), and even some styles of standard script (楷書). The concept of the unbroken line is based on either direct or indirect (visible or invisible) connection between the strokes within one character, or between two or more characters. If you look at the above picture, you will notice that both halves of the right-hand side character 雖 (although) are connected with one brush stroke. Although, in the left-hand side character both halves are separated, the connection is invisible. The brush leaves the paper surface and traces a curved line in the air, to the point where it descends onto the paper once more, in order to complete the right half of the Chinese character. The unbroken line (especially the invisible one), aside defining / altering the structure of Chinese characters executed in a given script, it introduces a rhythm of writing. That rhythm is the foundation of writing Chinese and Japanese calligraphy (especially in "faster" scripts). To be able to apply the unbroken line technique, one has to master the stroke order of Chinese character, and rules of writing in a chosen calligraphy script. This technique does not allow for hesitant writing. I intentionally placed the unbroken line tutorials in the section referring to cursive script, because this technique is mostly used during writing in running hand. To read on the other 9 of the rules of writing in cursive script, see this menu. The 10th rule of writing Chinese calligraphy in cursive script allows for a change of the starting point of the initial stroke. This cursive script rule offers one more tool that enhances the expressiveness and fluctuant nature of cursive script. Changing of the initial position of writing a stroke alters the appearance and balance of the whole character. If you look at the character 大, you will notice that the horizontally rectangular form of this character in standard script (楷書). To fluently and freely apply the rule #10, one has to master and understand the proper stroke order of Chinese characters in standard script. The ten rules of writing Chinese calligraphy in cursive script are the foundation and the elemental knowledge required for mastering both reading and writing in running hand. To read more about and watch my other Chinese calligraphy tutorials on cursive script, please click here. The 9th general rule of writing in cursive script (草書) allows us for altering the stroke order of the brush strokes. Stroke order is essential for the balance, structure and composition of Chinese calligraphy (the same goes to Japanese calligraphy). The most rigid stroke order is applied in standard script (楷書). Cursive script's stroke order is maybe not more relaxed, but the rules can be, and usually are, different. This does not mean that writing in cursive script is less restricted than in other scripts. This is a common mistake of basically anyone who begins to learn Chinese calligraphy, and when he or she sees the "simple" forms of the characters in cursive script, erroneously believes that it must be an easy script to execute. This is a very dangerous path to walk, as it will lead you to making, repeating and memorizing your own mistakes, resulting in a weak calligraphy style (書風). To intuitively sense the correct stroke order in cursive script, one has to learn the standard, semi-cursive (行書) and clerical (隷書) scripts first. There are many exceptions of the general rules of writing in cursive script, and they only make sense and are allowed in this script. I plan on making some tutorial videos on this subject as well. In the video (above) I am writing two Chinese characters in cursive script. One is the 山 (mountain), and the second one is 空 (sky / void). In standard script the stroke order of 山 begins with the middle vertical line. In cursive script it CAN begin with the left-hand side vertical line. In the case of the character 空, the first stroke in standard script would be the dot. Again, the flow of the cursive script suggests us to begin writing with the "roof" radical (宀). However, unlike in standard script where the writing of 空 MUST begin with the dot radical (点), in cursive script we have a (limited) freedom of choice. This choice is made during writing, based on the overall composition, flow, form of the character (characters in cursive script may have many forms), etc.
To read about the other rules of writing Chinese calligraphy in cursive script, please see my other tutorials. Writing in cursive script (草書) follows a unique set of rules, and those rules often allow the calligrapher to write Chinese characters in a way, which differs greatly from those that are applied in standard script (but not only). Sometimes, maintaining the flow of writing is more important that following the exact structure of the character. In other words, if the stroke order or even the positioning of a given stroke would cause us to break the energy flow and the rhythm during writing, it is (sometimes) permitted to reposition such strokes, within given Chinese character. This is a very important rule, as it clearly indicates that the composition, the flow of energy (行気), the power of strokes and the logical order of writing in cursive script, can be more important than the structure of the character. Application of this rule requires a wide knowledge of many aspects of writing in cursive script, including the so called unbroken line (連綿体, i.e. the implicit or explicit connection between characters within the calligraphy text). I will write a separate article on the importance of the unbroken line in the Chinese and Japanese calligraphy.
The seventh general rule of writing Chinese or Japanese calligraphy in cursive script (草書), is that the complex radicals (i.e. Chinese characters compounds, or parts that they are constructed of) can be simplified. The simplification depends on the type of radical, the style of writing, but also on the composition of given calligraphy work. Chinese calligraphy is all about conveying the emotional state of the calligrapher. (Japanese calligraphy generally follows similar principal). Naturally, the message that given text carries is vital too, but the most important thing is the feelings of the artist retained in the brush strokes. By reducing the complex elements to much simpler strokes, allows the calligrapher to be much more expressive. This is also why, many Chinese calligraphy classics, such as epistolary masterpieces, diaries, autobiographies, etc. are mainly written in cursive script. In this tutorial (see below video for details) I show two examples of applying the 7th general rule of writing Chinese and Japanese calligraphy in cursive script. Knowledge of the general rules of writing Chinese and Japanese calligraphy in cursive script may come very handy for anyone who wishes to be able to read Chinese calligraphy text. Make sure to see my other tutorials on this subject.
The next rule of the Chinese calligraphy in cursive script (although all the rule also apply to Japanese calligraphy) is that long lines are shortened or symbolised by dots. This rule can be extended to short lines as well (I included the examples of both instances in the movie and the picture). As you can see on the photograph (left) the character 明 (bright / clear) is built out of two radicals. Radicals are kanji (漢字, lit. character of Han China, i.e. Chinese characters) compounds, i.e. smaller units that given character's construction is based on, though it is vital to remember that certain radicals can act as stand alone characters. In the case of 明, the radicals are 日 (sun) and 月 (moon), which can act as independent characters. The line that is reduced to a dot is the left-hand side line of 月, which is also the first stroke of this character. In the case of 言 (word), the top short line becomes a dot, and three remaining lines are reduced to one dot. This merges two rules of writing Chinese calligraphy in cursive script in one character, which is very common for this particular calligraphy script. The first rule applied here is that the total number of strokes is reduced, and the second is that the line is degraded to a dot stroke. As you can see from this example, the rules of writing Chinese or Japanese calligraphy in cursive script are used with great flexibility. Maintaining the balance between the simplification of the form of a character, its structure, power and vigour of strokes, and the flow of energy (行気) in the whole calligraphy work, is the key to well executed handwriting, regardless whether it is Chinese or Japanese calligraphy.
This Chinese calligraphy tutorial explains next general rule of writing in cursive script (草書). The rule #5 says that the total number of stroke can be significantly reduced. Navigate to the "learning" section on this website, to view other calligraphy tutorials. The principle of writing in cursive script is not necessarily to write fast, and by writing fast I am referring to quick brush strokes. Cursive script may often look as if it was written in hasted manner, but the truth is, that any calligraphy script requires precision. If you write too quick, without having a required level of skill, the brush strokes will lack power and the so called "moving spirit" (行気). I will write a separate article on this, so for now it is enough to say that calligraphy beauty and strength is based on the energy flow throughout the single brush strokes, then the characters, and lastly the whole composition. This is the key to writing good calligraphy. If you care to watch another video of mine where I copy a classic by Tang Dynasty (唐朝, 618 - 907 C.E.) calligrapher Sun Guoting (孫過庭, 646 - 691), you will notice that the brush moves with precision, and does not rush through the paper. On the other hand, it does not mean that one has to always write slowly. The rhythm and maintaining the balance between the skill and emotions is the key. Going back to reducing the number of strokes while writing a calligraphy in cursive script, it is crucial to remember that every single character has a given form in cursive script (can be many of them), and those forms are not random. They are all based on the logic of stroke order in other scripts of Chinese calligraphy, the natural flow of writing, personal handwriting style, nature of the text, emotional state of the calligrapher, previous and following characters, and so on and so forth. In short, this and any other rules of cursive script ought to be studied in conjunction with the studies of other calligraphy scripts, and based on a solid knowledge of those.
This is the fourth general rule of writing in cursive hand. To read more about other rules, please visit the learning section of this website, which contains more cursive script tutorials. Cursive script (草書) ought to flow. Consequently, corners and and straight lines (although not all of them) are often represented by curved lines and loos, various bent lines, arches and so on. It is not a technique that can be applied freely and randomly to any character and any stroke, as one pleases. There are rules that need to be followed, but those rules are rather difficult to explain in words. They are more of an intuitive nature, which sense is built gradually through studies of classical literature written in other four scripts of Chinese calligraphy. This is why only diligent studies of mainly standard and clerical, but also semi-cursive scripts are essential to understanding and proper execution of cursive script. View the video (below) to visually see how this rule is applied in writing in cursive script. The third out of ten general rules of writing in cursive script (草書) . Radicals (radicals are components of Chinese characters) represented by dots in standard script (楷書), can be replaced with a single line. There are several types of radicals represented by dots. Radicals that contain two or more dots can be represented by a single line in cursive script. The diagram (left) and the movie (below) show only one type of such stroke in cursive script. There are many styles in calligraphy and also any of the radicals which are composed of dots can be written in a slightly different way. Being able to write the same character or the same type of radical n Chinese or Japanese calligraphy is a proof of mastery of this art, and shows a great knowledge and experience of the calligrapher. It also has a great impact on the appearance and aesthetical value of given masterpiece. It is important to realise that it is not the only one out there. Careful and diligent studies of cursive script are the key to learning and understanding other variants of this stroke. The second rule of writing in cursive script (草書) (second of of ten in total; to read more about cursive script and the rules in general see my article here) is that some strokes can begin in the position where the previous stroke ended. This is quite a vital rule and goes along with all 10 rules of writing in cursive script. Those rules not only define the appearance and dynamics of the cursive script itself, but also influence the overall composition and mood. There is a technique known in Japanese as "unbroken line" (連綿体, lit. unbroken script). This technique applies to Chinese and Japanese calligraphy on many levels and I will discuss it in greater details in a separate article, however, the basic idea is to write calligraphy in a way to create an illusion or continuity, or actually merge all characters (or some) in one long brush stroke (where the brush does not leave the surface). As you can see in the diagram (above) and the video, the cursive script is all about the flow, but a flow that follows strict calligraphy rules (other than 10 general rules of writing cursive script). Those rules can be only mastered via studying and copying of ancient classical Chinese (or Japanese, in case of Japanese calligraphy) literature.
Cursive script (草書) evolved from the clerical script during the Han dynasty (漢朝, 206 B.C.E. - 220 C.E.). The embryo of cursive script is known in the calligraphy world as “draft script” (章草) which literally means “a draft (governed by) rules”. The use of character 章 (draft) is not accidental, however, and it is related to a name of the Emperor Zhang of Han (漢章帝, 57 - 88 C.E.), who introduced many governmental reforms, which required maintaining a close contact with all of the officials throughout his territory. He was the first ruler whom local officials could contact via letters written in cursive clerical script, i.e. “draft script”. It may seem not much of a change, but if we compare this to modern times, it would be similar to a situation when a city governor is contacting a president or a prime minister, by texting them from his iPhone. At that stage, draft script still bore visible elements of clerical script, yet was much smoother and curvier. Eventually, “draft script” developed into what we know today as cursive script. In the West, cursive script is often referred to as grass script, which is incorrect. Although the character 草 means "grass", its other meaning is "draft". Cursive script is one of the most difficult scripts to master. It is difficult to read, and difficult to write. A tiny movement of the brush tip in a wrong direction, can result in writing a different character from whichever was intended. Many people see this script as "easy", and attempt to write it without solid foundations in standard script (楷書) or semi-cursive script (草書), but I can tell you that it will only cause repeating and learning one's own mistakes. I will write on cursive script much more in the near future.
There are 10 major rules applying to cursive script: 1. Merging strokes that are separated in standard form 2. Changing the starting point of a following stroke 3. Dots merged in one single line 4. Straight lines are represented by curved lines, sharp corners by loops 5. Reduction of total number of strokes 6. Long lines are shortened or symbolised by dots 7. Complex radicals are significantly simplified 8. There is a change in a positioning of given stroke 9. Stroke order is altered 10. Starting point of an initial stroke is changed The diagram and video *above" explain the rule # 1. |
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August 2020
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