In modern times, some so-called calligraphers and calligraphy theorists have associated "pen and pencil center" with terms in ancient calligraphy such as "cone painting sand", believing that the center theory is an immutable calligraphic truth.
Is this really the case? The theory of the center forward is "to make the pen edge always in the painting", and the following picture is the contemporary calligrapher's understanding of "center, side, and flank."
Schematic diagram of modern people's understanding of center, side and flank
The dynamic diagram is as follows:
What modern people call center forward demonstration
What modern people call a biased demonstration
What modern people call a flanking demonstration
In the case of this center forward, what is called "pen edge" does indeed walk in the middle of the stroke, while the side and flanks are not.
This sentence first appeared in the "Calligraphy and Painting" article of the Northern Song Dynasty Shen Kuo's "Mengxi Pen Talk", the original text is as follows: Jiangnan Xu Xuanshan Small Seal, Reflecting the Sun. In the center of the painting, there is a wisp of thick ink, right in it; as for the bends, there are no deviations. It is the pen edge that goes straight down and does not fall to the side, so the front is often in the painting, and this method of using the pen is also. Hyun-hyun said to himself, "In my old age, I began to get the method of the plaque." "Where the small seal likes to be thin and long, the method of the plaque, non-old pen can not also."
That is, what Xu Xuan said recorded by Shen Kuo, his words were actually taken out of context by the center theorist, and later people quoted his sentence only to take the sentence "The front is often in the painting", which gave birth to the "center theory" and gave rise to the so-called center forward writing above.
In fact, this is the misunderstanding of Xu Xuan by later generations, because people who emphasize the theory of the center forward often only see the sentence "The old front is often in the painting", and do not understand the more critical sentence he said earlier, that is, "the pen is straight down and does not invert the side" is the reason why "the front is often in the painting", so the word "so" is used in the middle.
This very important sentence has been overlooked. This out-of-context approach led to the later "center forward theory" becoming a complete misleading writing theory.
Combining the two sentences he said, "The pen is straight down and not upside down, so the front is often in the painting", he said that the method should be like this, as shown in the following figure:
The pen edge does not turn upside down, so the sharp edge is in the painting, and the lines written are thin
In this way, the pen edge is upright and not inverted, and the front is often combined in the painting, but the lines written are relatively thin.
However, the center forward mentioned in the modern "center forward theory" is often the inverted side of the pen, and the front is in the painting.
So why did people after the Song Dynasty want to misinterpret Xu Xuan's sentence out of context?
There is only one reason, after the Song Dynasty, with the development of paper technology, the emergence of large paper, and some other reasons began to become popular large character calligraphy.
If you follow Xu Xuan's method, you can only write small lines if the strokes are very thin, but the pen is soft, and it is thin when lifted, and thick when pressed.
In order to write large characters, you have to press the pen down, and the pen has to be turned upside down. Therefore, later generations took his words out of context and misunderstood the calligraphic deception of the modern "center forward theory".
Because the amplitude of the pen press is large, the starting pen and the closing pen cannot come out of the form of the ancient people, so there is a drawing method of "starting the pen and hiding the edge and closing the pen back".
Hidden Front Back Front wrote horizontally
The dynamic diagram of the Tibetan Front Back Front Painting is as follows:
Draw the horizontal with the center theory
The same is true of other strokes, the Tibetan front has become a painting, so without this method of painting, can the pen not be written on the upside down? Yes, as shown below:
You can write it in one stroke without hiding the front
Therefore, many so-called masters in modern times have been misled by the seemingly correct "center forward theory" and have become masters of painting.
The new crown virus will be wiped out in a few months, but the "center forward theory" has misled generations! Poison!