How to practice writing brush calligraphy? Mystery of calligraphy

Calligraphy practice should start from Tang Kai, go against the times, and then practice in Nanbei, Beibei, Han Li, Qin Zhuan and other places. Decide which calligraphy style you like, European style, Yan style or Chu style Zhao Ti, as a model for learning.

Regular script is the foundation, not the shelf, and the shelf is not easy to write. All the other plays are ugly. Because regular script is neat and tidy, it is easy to be stiff and inflexible, lacking good manners, and regular script is smart, which can make up for the rigidity of regular script. However, it is easy to float lightly when practicing regular script, and the brushwork can't enter the paper.

Representative works of regular script include Yan Zhenqing's Pagoda and Oriental Painting Praise Monument, Liu Gongquan's Mysterious Pagoda, Shence Army Monument and Ouyang Xu's Jiucheng Palace.

Wang Xizhi's Preface to Lanting, a masterpiece of running script in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, is known as "the best running script in the world". Tang Yan Zhenqing's book "Sacrificing a Nephew" is very bold, and the ancients rated it as "the second running script in the world". Su Shi's Huangzhou Cold Food Sticker is called "the third running script in the world". The famous representative work in the running script is Lushan Temple Monument written by Li Yong in Tang Dynasty, which is fluent and rich. There are Su Shi, Huang Tingjian, Mi Fei and Cai Xiang in the Song Dynasty, Zhao Mengfu, Xian Yushu and Kang Lilong in the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yunming, Wen Zhiming, Dong Qichang and Wang Duo in the Ming Dynasty, and those in the Qing Dynasty. They are all good at running script or cursive script, and many works have been handed down from generation to generation.

The representative works of cursive script are Wang Xizhi's Seventeen Articles and Huai Su's Thousand-character Writing.

Two. Four Treasures of the Study

Beginners, a post, a pen, a porcelain cup, a clock of ink and some yellow paper are enough. The quality of tools should not be too bad, otherwise it will easily dampen the interest of beginners.

Pen: According to the hardness of hair, brushes can be roughly divided into three types: rigid fine brush, soft brush and double brush. Just fine brush is more vigorous, and the words written are more vigorous, such as wolf brush; Soft brush is soft, and the words written are rich, such as sheep hair brush; Doubled both brush's pen, on the other hand, is a pen that combines rigidity and softness, such as seven sons and three yang.

When choosing a pen, we should pay attention to four points: "sharp, neat, round and healthy": the nib should be "sharp"; Press "Qi" when opening; The pen belly should be full and "round"; The bristles are very healthy and elastic. Use cold water to send pens, and wash them after use.

All the pens bought are glued. Take a cup of warm water, soak it for a day and melt naturally. If you are a beginner, you should use a pen tip of three or four centimeters. Some people advocate using wool for beginners, but I think it is too difficult to control. I suggest doubling both brushes. Wet the pen with water before each use, then suck it with a paper towel until it is nine minutes dry, then dip it in ink. You'd better wash your pen after each exercise. Because ink is corrosive. Then hung and air-dried.

Ink: The ink is fine in texture and light in glue. It is best to use light smoke. The ink is black, shiny and slightly fragrant. Clean water should be used when grinding ink, and the main point of action is to "press hard and move lightly" in order to make the ink color moderate. Ink is ground and loses its luster after a night. As for the ink sold by modern merchants, try using paper when choosing. If it is light on the top and thick on the bottom, it is not allowed to buy it.

Beginners don't need to sharpen themselves with ink sticks, just get ink from Dege, and practice is enough.

Paper: Paper can be roughly divided into two categories: strong ink absorption and weak ink absorption. Xuan paper, cotton paper and wool paper have moderate ink absorption and are suitable for writing; As for smooth paper, it is not easy to absorb ink, and it is not easy for beginners to control it, which will hurt the pen and should be avoided. Paper is afraid of wrinkling, and wrinkling is subject to incomplete ink; I'm afraid of the tide, too. When the tide comes, the handwriting will be scattered. I need to wrap it in another layer of paper and put it in a dry place.

For beginners, Jiugongge fringed paper is just fine, which is very convenient. If you don't have a grid, fold your own prints, and the width is about seven centimeters.

Inkstone: Inkstone is top grade, with fine texture and fine ink color. Wash the inkstone immediately after use, so as not to accumulate Su Mo and damage the nib.

For beginners, take a small porcelain plate instead of an inkstone. The advantage of ceramics is that it is easy to clean, and it is extremely convenient to wash with tap water and touch with paper towels after use.

In addition, some other writing instruments, such as paper paperweights, should be prepared to press paper to avoid wind and slip affecting writing; Pad cloth, use wool fabric to absorb ink under the paper to avoid smoothness, so as not to stick ink and dirty the paper; The pen holder (pen mountain) is used to stop the pen, so that the pen and ink are not easily contaminated with other things; Pen curtain (pen bed), wrapped with fine bamboo weaving brush, easy to carry, etc. It is essential for those who practice calligraphy with heart.

3. Writing posture and writing style

Writing posture, based on the principle of natural comfort, is generally based on sitting posture. If you practice to a certain extent, you can also take care of the overall situation with standing posture. Beginners should pay attention to sit up straight, relax muscles, keep their chest away from the edge of the table, naturally spread their elbows outward, put their feet flat, keep their heads straight and lean forward slightly. Usually, they hold the paper with one hand and the pen with the other. They look straight at the end of the pen and look at the back of the paper out of the corner of their eyes.

The pen should be straight, the nib should be straight, and it should not be tilted inward. If the pen is not straight or the nib is tilted inward, it is difficult to write well and it is difficult to write well. Even if you write with a pen, you should move your right hand. At the same time, the lines written have no backbone and rhythm, and the font is not generous.

Inclination of the pen, the big pen is facing up, the inclination of the pen is slightly larger, the small pen is facing down, and the inclination of the pen is slightly smaller. Generally, the slope should be inclined at the index finger joint, and the strokes written here are either rigid and flexible. The inclination of the pen is not suitable, and the speed of using the pen is limited, so you can't write floating and verve glyphs, so you shouldn't tilt at the "tiger's mouth".

Easy to hold the pen, the pen can be transported freely; Hold the pen too tightly, and the written words will not be open and generous.

There is an absolute relationship between writing quality, posture and writing style. Just like a carpenter sawing wood, if the posture and grip of the saw are incorrect, even if the "line" is drawn straight, it will be sawed askew.

When writing, we should also pay attention to the wrist method, which can be divided into three types: pillow wrist, lifting wrist and hanging wrist. Wrist and elbow flat on the table at the same time is the pillow wrist method, suitable for writing small characters; Wrist hanging, elbow still sticking to the desktop for wrist lifting, suitable for Chinese character writing; As for large characters or cursive scripts with a square size of more than 12 cm, the wrist hanging method should be used, and all wrists and elbows are suspended in order to be free.

Fourth, calligraphy theory.

Calligraphy font should be divided into two basic points, one is "bone" and the other is "meat", and any word is made up of the same flesh and blood. The so-called bone is the shelf structure of calligraphy characters (density, distance and neatness between words), density between strokes, compactness, stability, spatial distribution, font size, stroke spacing and opening of the whole character. Is a combination of distance and angle. The so-called meat refers to the thickness, length, smoothness and kink of strokes.

The basis of practicing calligraphy lies in the "bone" of calligraphy, and the essence of calligraphy lies in the "flesh". Calligraphy with bones and no flesh has no wonderful feeling, and calligraphy with flesh and no bones has no harmonious feeling. Beginners of calligraphy should first learn from the "bones" of calligraphy.

There are four stages in practicing Chinese characters: the first stage is practicing Chinese characters, the second stage is practicing Chinese characters, the third stage is practicing flesh and blood, the fourth stage is practicing fonts, and the first two stages are copying.

The first stage, the stage of practicing Chinese characters and bones

First of all, don't practice directly with a brush. Beginners of calligraphy should trace lines on copybooks with pencils. The method of tracing lines is to stack translucent paper on the copybook, and then draw the stroke center line of the word with a pencil. Because the brush strokes are generally several millimeters (mm) thick, it is a good practice to draw the center line yourself.

Now you can paint red with water-based brush cloth, red with atmosphere strokes and red with fonts.

The second stage, the stage of practicing Chinese characters.

At the initial stage of practicing Chinese characters, it is still necessary to practice with common characters, mainly by practicing arm strength and wrist strength at the same time. You should practice your arm strength first, then your wrist strength, and you must practice your arm strength in big letters. Another advantage for beginners to practice Chinese characters "Zirou" is that they can really understand the thickness, length, turning point and speed of strokes. So it will make rapid progress.

The way to practice "word meat" is to copy from big to small. Practice common characters first, then Chinese characters, and then practice "flying small characters" when the level is very high.

The third stage, the stage of practicing flesh and blood.

In fact, in the second stage of practice, we should also practice Chinese character bones, but often many people have a good grasp of individual words, but the spacing between words and the size of each word are not well grasped. Some practitioners write some big and some small words, some tight, some sparse, some gradually larger, some gradually smaller, some more oblique, some paragraphs bent and so on. These are all manifestations of the poor comprehensive ability of fonts.

At this stage, you should be able to get rid of tracing, copying, writing according to it, or writing from your own memory. The main fonts for writing are Liu Ti, Zhao Ti, European Ti and Yan Ti.

The fourth stage, the font practice stage.

This stage is to copy all kinds of copybooks, not only regular script, but also practice running script and cursive script. Practice not only Liu Ti, Zhao Ti, European Ti, Yan Ti and Shoujin Ti, but also famous copybooks.

This stage is completely out of the copying stage and into the pondering stage.

This stage has basically entered the stage of "concept practice". Generally, you don't need to write it yourself, as long as you write it in your heart, you can improve your level.

Generally speaking, a good calligraphy learning process should go through four stages: the tracing stage, the copying stage, the pondering stage, and finally the creative stage. From the order of practice, first practice the character bones, then practice the character bones, then practice the comprehensive character bones, then practice various schools, and finally practice freely.

5. Steps and methods of practicing calligraphy

It is the minimum procedure and method to learn calligraphy to copy before creating, inherit before innovating. Copying focuses on technical training and mastering the technical rules in ancient calligraphy works; Creation focuses on the artistic understanding and appreciation of the artistic charm of ancient calligraphy works. Without solid, serious and hard copying, creation is just empty talk.

Learning calligraphy is inseparable from pioneering films and copying. Only by manually describing the excellent rubbings in ancient times can we master the basic techniques of various calligraphy styles (such as using a pen, tying characters, composition, charm and so on). ) and appreciate the subtleties in ancient calligraphy works.

The process of choosing fonts is called post selection. On the basis of selecting posts, it goes through five steps: reading posts, describing posts, copying posts, carrying posts and creating posts.

The first step is to read the post. Read fonts, read structures, read strokes, and analyze the relationship between stroke characteristics and strokes of Chinese characters. For example, when we read the word "Zhong" in bold, we should read that a vertical line of the word "Zhong" passes through the middle of the word "Kou", and the horizontal length of the word "Kou" is slightly flat. The long vertical line in the middle is divided into two sections with the same length by the lower horizontal line of the word "Kou", and the upper horizontal line of the word "Kou" is divided into two sections with the same length. This is an interpretation of glyphs and structures.

About posting, you should go in first and then out. Yao of A Qing Dynasty put it well: "Posting can't have me, but it's vulgar to have me"; When posting, "you can't live without me, it will be very complicated without me." "There is no me here", that is, to study the ancient law posts wholeheartedly and grasp the spiritual outlook of the posts, "every word must follow the ancient posts". If you don't enter the post, there will be no books. "You can't live without me" is to absorb the advantages of other inscriptions on the basis of images, integrate them, and gradually form your own style by combining your own artistic accomplishment and creative ability.

When reading a post, you should not only be aware, but also be aware. In other words, from reading the posts, you will realize that some excellent ancient calligraphy posts do not have to be available. As long as you read carefully and appreciate it repeatedly, you will naturally blend into your own calligraphy creation.

The so-called feeling after reading refers to that calligraphers read rubbings and ink before copying rubbings, or in their usual work, that is, they carefully analyze, study and ponder the strokes and structure of each word in rubbings, as well as the composition, momentum and charm of the whole work. They often can't help but compare pictures with their fingers, and they are excited to copy them by hand.

Read the post from a little painting, carefully study and ponder the beauty of the ancients' pen, word, composition, momentum and charm. Through reading, we can see God with our eyes, so as to deepen our understanding, exercise our visual memory, and enrich, preserve and improve our artistic appreciation. Attach a book and read a hundred books. Reading posts is not limited to one or two books. The practical experience of many calligraphers in ancient and modern times proves that it is better to read posts than to copy them. We don't have to get close to some inscriptions, but we can read them, deeply understand the three flavors in ancient calligraphy works, and gradually absorb and digest them, so that we can rush to the bottom of our wrists and enrich them on paper, and our hands will naturally follow the height of our eyes, making them smart. Eye-catching, heart-catching, hand-catching, heart-to-hand correspondence, get twice the result with half the effort.

The second step is tracking. "Tracing" refers to tracing red, that is, beginners use a blue pen to trace the printed red copybook along the handwriting. "Imitation" refers to copying the post, that is, covering the model words with transparent paper and writing them one by one along the shadow of the words on the paper, which is also called writing imitation.

When copying a post, you should pay attention to the pen that follows it, and never go out of shape. You should look at the ins and outs of strokes and try to figure out its brushwork and structure. Copying posts means "writing", and the strokes are full and accurate, so don't fill in the gourd painting.

Copy a pen with a shadow, and we will write like the ancients did. Size, length, width, thickness, Fiona Fang and skew should be written according to the post requirements, and there are certain norms and constraints. The characteristic of copywriting is that it is easy to learn the structural position of the ancients.

The third step is to post. It means to put the copybook aside and watch the copybook written on the homework paper word by word. This method is helpful to master the brushwork and meaning of Chinese characters, but it is not easy to master the structure of Chinese characters.

Sticking a post is to have a basic understanding of the rules of using a pen and writing on the basis of copying a post, and then you can write a post. There are three ways to post: face to face, face to face and back.

Face to face, that is, put the copybook on the opposite shelf and write according to it. This is the most convenient and commonly used face-to-face method.

A glimpse, that is, make a grid with transparent paper (Tian Zige, Mi Zige, Jiugongge, etc. ) and write in style. Mainly used to master the structure of the post.

Back-to-back is to put away the post and write the words in the post by memory, seeking both its shape and its spirit. After the recitation, you can define the words as couplets or articles, and then enter the creative stage.

The fourth step is to recite the post. Refers to the method of removing the copybook on the basis of copying, recalling the font on the copybook according to your own memory and writing it on the homework paper. This is a key step in practicing calligraphy. Only by carefully examining the words you read and write, can you write accurately.

The fifth step is creation. On the basis of mastering the writing method of the words on the copybook, I learned the writing method of the words not on the copybook by analogy. According to the needs of self-expression, writing a paragraph with center, content and self-contained system is creation.

Six. Several problems in practicing Chinese characters

1, what are the steps to learn calligraphy?

Start with the basic strokes of regular script, that is, point, horizontal, vertical, skimming, pressing, lifting, hooking and folding.

A word is like a machine. When the basic strokes are practiced, it is equivalent to processing the "parts"; Practicing radicals well is like starting to "assemble"; Practicing the whole shape is equivalent to entering the "final assembly". In other words, learn "decomposition" first, and then learn "coherence". Therefore, regular script is the foundation, and basic strokes are the foundation of foundation.

When practicing writing basic strokes, you should practice them in different categories. For example, when practicing writing "three", first practice three, three, three, three, and so on, then write "coherence" and combine them.

General rules: practice basic strokes first when practicing regular script; Practice the stroke order again; Third, practice radicals; Four-practice glyph structure; Practice branch layout.

2. To learn Chinese characters, you should practice regular script first.

Practice first; Practice again; Third, practice grass. Only when the regular script is well practiced and the foundation is solid, it will be easy to write cursive again. Only by practicing regular script and writing words, the pen will not slip and the body will not be fragmented.

3. How to arrange the font size?

Chinese characters in China are large and small with different shapes, which we call "uneven". Writing with more strokes shrinks slightly, while writing with fewer strokes spreads slightly. Write in a symmetrical size, and don't arrange all the pieces regardless of size.

4, there are principles to write.

Writing "horizontal" is slightly inclined, with the left side low and the right side high, and its inclination is about 5-7 degrees. Don't go below 5 degrees. Not higher than 7 degrees. This is because people's vision is unbalanced. If the "horizontal" picture is written straight, it seems that the end of the right end has fallen off due to the illusion of both eyes, which is unnatural.

The "vertical" drawing of Chinese characters is more important and plays a pillar role in a word. Yu Shinan said in "Explaining Lines with a Pen": "To be honest, you must be arrogant." Therefore, writing vertical paintings should be powerful. Such as China, Niu, Qian, Shan and so on.

5. Writing paper

It's better to use a grid book, because it has a certain grid, which has certain constraints on the font specifications of your writing practice. When practicing calligraphy, you should do it word by word, in order. After writing a page, you should analyze it and see where the gap is. Every time you finish writing a book, you should keep it to identify the contrast and measure the progress. When practicing calligraphy, you must not write one thing in the east and two things in the west, which is irregular and will affect your mastery of composition and layout.

Practice writing in order, first, you can practice your composition, second, you can arrange the whole layout, and it will help you develop the good habit of writing good line order. If you write casually, when you write formally, although the glyph itself is still well written, the layout of the whole article is definitely not standardized, which is a big deal.

6. The speed of writing

There is a great relationship between writing and writing speed. The beauty of fonts and the charm of lines are mostly reflected in writing speed. The coherent gesture of echo is also reflected in the quickness of brushwork. The slow words have no lasting appeal.

In order to write quickly and achieve satisfactory results, it is more important to have a good understanding of the structure of the font itself, and to write straight and upward as much as possible.

Every word should be conceived according to the basic definition of the word, and it should be written with letters and wrists, without affectation or embellishment. "The pen is full of beauty and the book is thin and hard." This is the speed of writing.

7, writing basic strokes should pay attention to the problem.

(1) Write a "point" as heavy as a stone, with broken shape and continuous meaning;

(2) Write "horizontal" slightly obliquely. There are two "horizontal" characters in a word. The top "horizontal" should be upward and the bottom "horizontal" should be downward.

(3) The "vertical" painting is thick and powerful, and the handwriting should not be crooked;

(4) "skimming" is profitable, and "holding" is profitable;

(5) The stroke of "fold" is slow, and the stroke of "hook" is dull.

The initial training was a bit slow and gradual. You know, to achieve the achievement of calligraphy style, we must first practice the basic strokes of regular script, which is the foothold of writing all calligraphy styles.

8. How to evaluate and measure a word and an article?

First, look at the "pen power" of words; Secondly, it depends on the mastery of the laws of font and shelving structure; The third depends on the whole technique and layout. What is the distribution of "pen power", whether the density of the structure is appropriate, and whether the words, lines and the beginning and end are clear. You know, the real calligraphy skills should also focus on the straightness of regular script.

9. Practice calligraphy shortcuts

Before you start writing, have you read the words carefully, then formed that expression in your mind, and finally relaxed your shoulders on both sides and waved your hair boldly? If you do this, I think your calligraphy level will be amazing, focusing on discovery and appreciation.

In addition to persistence, we must look at the theory. Theory is a summary of font rules, including basic writing techniques such as strokes, structure and posture. Flexible use of theory will play a great role in the progress of practice and avoid being tired of calligraphy because of blind hard practice.

From stippling, shelf structure to overall size arrangement, every step should be down-to-earth, from similarity to similarity, from similarity to spirit likeness, and the most difficult point is the arrangement of shelf structure. In addition to memorizing posts, you should also create some words that are not on the copybook. Without a deep understanding and mastery of font rules, this step will be an insurmountable gap for practitioners.

Mr. Qi Gong said that there is nothing mysterious about calligraphy, but how a word makes it look better. You can do it with repeated practice.

Practicing calligraphy requires practicing calligraphy, that is, drawing a ladle and writing according to it until it is a bit like asking God again. It is also important to read posts, that is, to keep this word in mind. Whenever you write this word, the words you have learned will appear in your mind. As for skills, it depends on how much you practice.

Practice calligraphy first, then practice calligraphy, and then practice cursive script. Only when the regular script is well practiced and the foundation is solid, it will be easy to write cursive again. Only by practicing regular script and writing words, the pen will not slip and the body will not be fragmented.

10, how to master the composition and layout?

When writing an article, you can't write one word at a time. You should memorize the content and write it down in one breath. This kind of writing can make the word order neat and full of charm. Looking at one thing and writing another, there will be irregularities between words, between lines, and even the whole length. Although this is a trivial matter, it is very important to measure the overall style of the work.

Although the font is well written, the price will drop by three points if the composition and layout are improper. Therefore, we must pay attention to the arrangement of composition and form good habits in our usual writing.

Emotion, the only shortcut to learning calligraphy should be peace of mind. You should calm down, take a pen and write according to your feelings. Everyone can experience it. If the heart is not quiet, then the learning process will be delayed.

1 1. Steps to learn calligraphy

Start with the basic strokes of regular script, that is, point, horizontal, vertical, skimming, pressing, lifting, hooking and folding.

A word is like a machine. When the basic strokes are practiced, it is equivalent to processing the "parts"; Practicing radicals well is like starting to "assemble"; Practicing the whole shape is equivalent to entering the "final assembly". In other words, learn "decomposition" first, and then learn "coherence". Therefore, regular script is the foundation, and basic strokes are the foundation of foundation.

When practicing writing basic strokes, you should practice them in different categories. For example, when practicing writing "three", first practice three, three, three, three, and so on, then write "coherence" and combine them.

The general rule of practicing regular script is to practice basic strokes first; Practice the stroke order again; Third, practice radicals; Four-practice glyph structure; Practice branch layout.

The "dot" drawing of Chinese characters should be aggravated, such as falling to the ground. For example, according to the writing methods of Zhong Shaojing and Ou Yangxun, writing in a short vertical position will be more powerful.

12, you can't learn books without posting.

You must read the post before posting. Reading a post is to see how the author started, how to write, how to write, further refine and then use it to write. Some people like to practice the same word many times when they are beginners, but it is not necessary. They can write several crosses at a time. If it doesn't look like a word, put it down and practice the next word. Write a page carefully and come back. Even write a few more pages before replying.

There is no conclusion about the time of practicing calligraphy every day. Most beginners can practice for 30 minutes to 1 hour a day. Stick to it every day. Write half an hour more when you are in good condition, and ten minutes less when you don't feel it. If you have other things to do for a few days, you don't have to worry about taking a few days off. Come and get it later. Of course, it can't be intermittent for a long time.

At first, I felt that every sentence was not like it, which was disgusting, but I must get through it during this time. Stick to it for three months and you will get immediate results.

It is best to be calm and sober before practicing calligraphy, which can get twice the result with half the effort.

13. Practical skills

Write 1~2 pages in white paper every day, and don't write too much (it's important to write slowly, carefully and carefully, and the way of writing can be recorded as the jingle "write one stroke at a time, write carefully and write carefully").

After writing, start reading the post (look at the words on the copybook, what is the layout of the radicals of a class of words, and how to put them? When it comes to reading copybooks, you can look at the signs and plaques of some shops on the street or somewhere else, as long as you think the handwriting is good. Very effective.

14. "Practice plan

Then you have to make a plan. How are you going to practice? Don't practice every day or every other day, you'd better stick to it. At the beginning of practice, it is suggested to start with basic strokes, then practice simple words, then practice complex words, and practice the same word repeatedly. After you make progress, you can learn the whole post or wordpad, then recite it, and finally post it, and learn the mental structure of the copybook, not the simple body. if

The most important thing is that it is not a day or two to practice calligraphy. Only through repeated practice for a long time can you master your skills skillfully. If you have a good teacher or master to guide you, you will get twice the result with half the effort.

15. The purpose of practicing calligraphy

There are several purposes: first, the calligraphy is good, and the articles written are pleasing to the eye; Second, cultivate your hobbies and practice calligraphy in your spare time as a way to adjust your life in the future; Third, cultivate your perseverance and patience; Fourth, cultivate your own ambitions and ideals.

16. Be good at thinking in writing.

Many people say that they study hard, but the gains are not obvious. I think it's because he didn't practice hard. The "heart" here is thinking. It is difficult to make great progress by blindly learning Chinese characters without thinking.

You should be good at observation, good at taste and good at thinking, no matter whether you are posting it, take it off or watch it. Song Cao said in "Book Post": "Beginners don't need to spend more ink. Bring the ancient extension of a good book and play it carefully, then read it carefully, so that you can reply and ask for it. Learn and think, think and learn, and if you succeed in your heart, it seems that you can't let go. If you study, think and think again, you can make two or three or four or five. From then on, you can expand it. " Writing is not about quantity, but about quality. Only by thinking and doing can we make continuous progress.

Eight. Types and selection of brushes

There are many kinds of brushes. Generally speaking, writing pens can be divided into three categories: soft pens, hard pens and gel pens. There are sheep hair, wolf hair and two brushes. Hard pen: vigorous and powerful pen. Soft brush: The brush is soft. Double brush: both rigid and flexible, both rigid and flexible. Suitable for beginners.

A good brush should have four virtues: sharp, neat, round and healthy.

Sharpness-when the pen is aggregated, the nib should be able to be pointed out.

Qi-pinch the nib flat with water, and the hair of the nib is neat and tidy.

Round-around the belly of the pen, the pen holder is full and round, conical, not flat or thin.

Health-the bristles are elastic, easy to fold after spreading, and the brushwork should be healthy.

Bristle, soft hair and double hair brushes have different uses. Generally speaking, writing running script and cursive script with hard pen is refreshing and easy to write, easy to rise and fall: writing regular script, official script and seal script with soft pen is easy to moisten and enrich. In short, it is not easy to write vigorous and straight words with a sheep's brush and peaceful and flexible words with a hard pen.

For beginners, if you use a hard brush from the beginning, it will be easier to pick up the pen without much skill, because the pen will help you a lot, but over time, you can only use the hard brush. Once you pick up the sheep's hair, you will feel unable to move. On the contrary, if you practice calligraphy with sheep hair when you are a beginner, although it is difficult at first, you must use the method of lifting the front to write qualified strokes, but you also learn the method of using soft pens. With the increase of practice time, you will gradually become handy and use it freely. At this time, if you pick up a hard brush to write, you will feel relaxed.

From the economic point of view, the authentic wolf brush is very expensive, and the good "big blue pearl" costs one or two hundred yuan, while the ordinary sheep brush only costs two or three yuan, and a little better five or six yuan is enough. And because the pen is hard, easy to wear and tear, and the use time is not long, while the pen is soft and durable. It is economical for beginners to buy a wool pen.

Brushes are divided into small letters, medium letters and large characters due to different styles, and the biggest ones are screen pens, couplet pens, bucket pens and planting pens. Beginners can buy a pen with a long front end, about four or five centimeters in length and about one centimeter in diameter. Such a brush can write in block letters 7 cm square. More suitable for people who have just learned calligraphy.

When learning for the first time, I hope you can choose "double brush" Hu Bi. Because the tiger skin of Double both brush is hard and easy to master, which is very important for your future study, why not use "wool" and "wolf hair", because the former is soft and difficult to master, and the latter is hard and suitable for freehand brushwork.

When choosing strokes, you should choose an appropriate length, because strokes are too long to master, but strokes can contain a lot of ink. When writing cursive script in one go, long strokes can ensure sufficient ink. On the contrary, the brush strokes are short, suitable for writing regular script and easy to master.