The ancients said: "If you want to do a good job, you must first use it", and calligraphers in history attach great importance to tools. There are different tools in different periods, and the characteristics of the posters are closely related to the tools of the time. Calligraphers would choose the best possible paper, ink and pencil to write under the social conditions of the time.
We can see many "well-written and paper-wise" discourses from ancient treatises. Indeed, different tools bring the writer's experience to a completely different one, and this difference is not only expressed in the texture of writing, but also directly affects the mood of the writer.
And now people do not care much about this matter, often do not think so, with a very unsuitable tool, although it takes a lot of time, to get its effect, but the work is half the work, or even the double the work. Over time, they lose interest in practicing, or they give up naturally.
When we post, most people can experience the different effects and feelings of different tools. Attaching importance to the choice of tools and being familiar with the performance characteristics of pen and ink paper is the key to whether it can be effectively and deeply studied, and it is also the key to whether it can play a role in the posting effect. Sometimes, without the right tools, even if you can barely do it, the effect will be very different
Specifically, when studying different books and works of different periods, the requirements for pen, ink and paper are also different. Knowing what kind of brushes, paper and other materials are used in calligraphy works in different periods, when copying, we must pay attention to choosing tools and materials that are close to the model used as much as possible for copying.
In some cases, the effect of copying is not ideal, not for other reasons, but because of the inappropriate tool material. For example, using a long-fronted sheep to practice a thin and firm iron wire seal will certainly not have a satisfactory effect. For example, in the Order of the Holy Teachings, it is difficult to make a similar appearance with raw rice paper. At that time, most of the nobles and the court used silk, aya, or soft and delicate paper. ShengXuan was born at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and there was no Shengxuan in the era of the Holy Order, so if you want to be in a good place, you must avoid using this excessive amount of water to seep out. It is also not advisable to use paper with too many impurities and too thick particles, otherwise the subtleties of the king character cannot be reflected. Of course, we can't often use expensive silk and aya in the real world. You can choose some delicate and soft paper, and the water absorption is smaller, such as element paper, newspaper, antique propaganda, cooked propaganda, wrapping paper and some book paper.
Here, we must remember a simple truth, that is, using pen and ink paper similar to the original post to have the corresponding effect, reproducing the pen and ink characteristics and spiritual charm of the original post. Therefore, when posting, you should first study the characteristics of the pen and ink paper used in the era of the model, study the habits of the pen and ink paper used by the bookmaker to create, and then select the paper, pen and other tools that match the model.
It should also be clear that in addition to being limited by historical conditions, the selection of tools is also related to personal habits, and the ones that are convenient for their own use are the appropriate tools. Any good tool, if there is no deep skill to control, it is difficult to write a good effect. Therefore, no matter which tool is selected, it is necessary to hone for a long time, accumulate rich experience, and reach the degree of arbitrariness in order to give full play to the effectiveness of the tool.
The choice of tools is very complex, and a short article is difficult to explain thoroughly. Here we mainly introduce the following four aspects from the following four aspects.
First, how to choose a pen
The role of the pen in the creation is second only to the human factor. The same person, using different pens, the lines are not the same, and the different lines bring about the difference in the charm and style of the work.
When it comes to pens, we must first understand what the bristles are made of? The pen holder can be ignored. The brush hair is mainly made of animal hair. There are many varieties and different performances. It is roughly divided into three categories: hard, soft and neutral.
Hard pens, there are rabbit milli (purple milli), mouse milli, deer milli, wolf milli and so on. Soft pens, such as sheep and chicken.
Here we focus on neutral pens. Neutral pen titles. At present, there are two kinds of sheep purple and sheep wolf. Sheep purple and ancient times can be subdivided into a variety of kinds, now only divided into seven purple three sheep, three purple seven sheep, five purple five sheep three kinds. Seven purple and three sheep, purple milli components, so harder; three purple seven sheep, sheep milli components, so softer; five purple five sheep, the two components are equal, so the softest and hardest moderate. There are two kinds of sheep and wolves, sheep and wolves. The former has many wolf components, so it is harder; those who are accustomed to soft pens can use hard pens, which can be more handy; those who are accustomed to hard pens will find it difficult to master if they use soft pens. Therefore, for beginners, it is still good to use sheep.
Yang Zi and pen, can only write words below the inch, can not write larger words, such as Linyan characters, it is even more incompetent, so what pen to choose, but also depends on the size of the word.
From the size of the pen, the pen used for writing should be large and not small. You can write Xiaoyu with a large pen, do not write large characters with a small pen. Small characters should be written with a middle letter, the middle letter should be used with a large letter, and the words written in large letters or about three or four inches should be written in pairs with a pair of pens.
The creation of works is different from the Pro-Post, in order to change, the same work can be changed, sometimes with a healthy wolf, the pen is very hard, the lines are strong, clean and clean. Sometimes it is softer, with subtle strokes and flesh and blood lines. This will give people a certain visual impact
Here is also a rough talk about what pen should be used in the Linwang Xi Zizhi post? Beginners, there are many people who are studying Wang Xizhi, Linwang Xizhi, to know a common sense, Ming before there is no long front, the second no sheep. Therefore, to learn From Wang Xizhi, one is that the pen should be hard, it is best to use pure wolf, its flexibility and density are similar to the performance of the "Jin Pen" found now, and it is also similar to the writing instrument used by Wang Xizhi in ancient books. Then it is to write it out warmly and elegantly, and make good use of the pen edge to complete various subtle movements.
For the pen to be carefully selected, do not be afraid of people think that picking a pen to write a "bad book". I heard that when a friend went to a pen club in a foreign country, he refused to write because the brush was not suitable, which was actually a manifestation of being responsible for his own work and being responsible for others, not that this person could not write.
"A good writer can choose no pen", not because the "good book" person does not care about the quality of the brush, but that if this person has a high level and profound skills, he can also use the second pen to write better works without a good pen. Choosing no pen is an option that there is no way to choose. With a good pen, who would choose a bad one? In the case of conditions, can "choose the pen" or "choose the pen", after all, a good tool is always beneficial to writing.
For the performance of different brushes, we will no longer talk about them one by one, only emphasize that when learning different posters or writing different fonts, we must pay attention to the choice of brushes, and reach the point of matching and mutually suitable in terms of the size, length, softness and hardness of the pen, in order to achieve the effect of doubling the results with half the effort, and the learner can slowly experience it in practice
Second, how to choose ink
Although the requirements for ink use at the time of posting are not as strict as those required at the time of creation, they cannot be ignored or idle.
Now the ink is widely used, which belongs to chemicals, and the ink brands are more used as "Yide Ge" and "Cao Sugong".
Traditional ink is a pure physical thing, which is divided into "pine smoke" and "oil smoke" according to different production processes. Traditional ink-written works remain discolored after a long period of storage. At present, the traditional ink making, the famous ones are Hu Kaiwen, jin does not change, etc., before learning ancient posts, it is best to grind ink yourself.
In terms of ink use, the ink used for cursive writing should not be too thick, and the ink for small works such as the writing fan should be dry. When actually posting, you should choose your own ink for different types of posts, and the required writing speed, the difference between thick and light, dry and wet.
Different paper, the requirements for ink are also different, such as the use of illuminated paper pro, we must pay special attention to grasp the scale of ink, with too thick ink will produce stagnation, can not open the pen, with ink slightly thin, will be gray floating, there is no light. When the next young scholar is posting, he uses three dishes, one with thick ink, one with slightly diluted, one with water, and when writing, he uses a pen to convert and reconcile back and forth between the three to achieve the desired effect. This is very valuable for those who use ink to post.
Third, how to choose paper
Paper is one of the four major inventions on which we are proud, as early as the Western Han Dynasty, China created paper, which has a history of two thousand years, and paper was widely used after the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Before the Song Dynasty, the general water absorption and permeability were not very strong, and the water absorption permeability of the paper after the Ming and Qing dynasties was very strong.
Paper is an important material of calligraphy, and the so-called "paper and ink" can increase the author's interest. The paper used for the practice of the post is generally suitable for water absorption and slightly softness. If you write a larger word, the paper surface should not be too smooth. Commonly used are yuanshu paper, raw edge paper, soil newspaper and other handmade paper. This type of paper is inexpensive, which is conducive to practicing penmanship, increasing wrist strength, and familiarizing yourself with ink techniques.
Pro-ti avoid using non-absorbent mechanism paper, these papers are slippery, not conducive to forging wrist strength, because the ink can not be paper, the dot paintings written out are also prone to floating and slippery diseases.
It is also inappropriate to use raw rice paper to practice words at the beginning, because it is difficult to concentrate on controlling the infiltration of ink, and the penmanship is difficult to master. The linkai book should be paper that is not very absorbent, not easy to ink or smudge.
Here we focus on the rice paper commonly used in pro-posting. Rice paper is named after Xuancheng in Anhui, and now Zhejiang, Sichuan and other places can also produce paper with such properties.
Rice paper is divided into three types of raw propaganda, cooked propaganda, half-cooked and half-cooked (cotton, net material, leather material three categories), raw propaganda is caused by unprocessed paper, the degree of infiltration is strong. In terms of varieties, there are net skin, jade plate, boiled sleep, ribbing, tiger skin, coral, cloud field, mud, cicada wing and so on. In terms of size and specifications, there are four feet of Xuan, five feet of Yi, six feet of Xuan, eight feet of Xuan, Zhang'er pi Xuan and so on.
In the practice of temporary study, it is necessary to choose paper with similar performance to the creation of the model, and constantly figure out how to achieve the fun of pen and ink blending and paper and ink, so that our writing is handy, comfortable, and has both form and spirit.
Raw paper can make the ink unpredictable, which is an effect that other papers cannot produce. Sheng Xuan is difficult to master when it is first used, but after proficiency, it makes the penmanship rich and thick, and the ink color changes vividly. After writing raw paper, wrinkles are often caused by ink contraction, and after mounting, the spirit of pen and ink is fully out, and the face is new. There are two kinds of thick and thin propaganda, thick paper is called sandwich propaganda, and thin paper is called single propaganda. Clip should write, the line pen is easy to condense, but it is difficult to flow, used to write large characters are not easy to break, thick ink, can produce a lush and majestic effect. The writer is required to have three points of pen power. Single rice paper is easier and smoother than the clip propaganda pen, and the ink color infiltration is extremely sensitive, so it is necessary to prevent the lines from floating.
Cooked rice paper is rice paper made of alum glue. Paper does not melt water, it is advisable to write small characters, make it in chinese letters, and large characters can also make the penmanship cool and refined. But it is easy to produce a thin disease. The same is not absorbent and it is completely different from the mechanism paper. It is easy to line the pen because it is soft and soft. The effect before and after the framed paper is close.
Boiling sleep propaganda is a half-cooked and half-cooked paper between raw propaganda and cooked propaganda, and the length of both. This kind of paper is relatively easy for people who are new to rice paper to master.
If necessary in order to try the effect. Occasionally, it is not impossible to write on other papers.
The emergence of rice paper is a miracle of mankind, without rice paper, calligraphy without it, there is no way to express the wonderful taste of art. It is not required that everyone who is engaged in calligraphy be required to become an expert in paper appreciation, but strengthening the understanding of paper will be of great help to the post. In order to achieve pen-and-paper harmony, understand the paper used in the original post, grasp the different properties of the paper and try, it will be very beneficial
Bi Wang Xizhi used a rat whisker pen and silkworm cocoon paper when writing the "Orchid Pavilion Preface", and if he used rice paper or Taihuan paper, it was certainly not possible, and it was difficult to show its pure effect. If you want to achieve the nuance of the original trace, generally use poor water absorption, so that the author is easier to grasp the shape characteristics of the line, will not be too dizzy and lead to bloating, which is especially important for beginners. In general, it is not appropriate to come to the Letter of the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Because there was no shengxuan in that era, the paper selected should also be more delicate and dense, with the semi-cooked xuan and yuanshu paper that are not too brewed.
And also
It is inappropriate to write small print with a raw proclamation that is easily wet. In turn, the large-scale works of Wang Duo, Fu Shan and others in the Ming and Qing dynasties had to be selected for Changfeng Yang and Shengxuan, because such tools were used in that era, which was more suitable for the requirements of this type of book. Some ink blocks are large, and the shop is full of inscriptions, and it is also advisable to use Xuan.
In short, the choice of paper is very important, and the reader will feel it.
Fourth, about the Yantai
The materials of yantai are rich and diverse, in addition to the end stone, the stone, the Taohe stone, the clay stone, the red silk stone, the stone stone, the chrysanthemum stone, as well as the jade stone, the jade mixed stone, the tile stone, the lacquer sand stone, the iron stone, the porcelain stone, etc., a total of dozens of kinds. Since the Tang Dynasty, Duanyan in Duanxi, Guangdong, Sheyan in Shexian County, Anhui, Taoyan in southern Gansu, and Chengniyan in Luoyang, Henan, have been collectively known as the "Four Famous Yans."
The use value of the yantai is gradually weakening, and then turn to ornamentation and collection, and now there are also in order to pursue special effects or find some feelings and insist on grinding ink with bricks, but after all, there are very few. Here we will no longer analyze the difference between the use of bricks.
In short, tools are very important, and we must pay more attention to and choose in our pro posts. Of course, for the practitioner, we must not make too many demands, so as not to seek the end of the book and ignore the calligraphy itself. Nor can it be an economic burden in order to pursue the sophistication of tools. After all, the root of calligraphy is self-cultivation and inheritance of culture.