The paradoxical beauty in calligraphy
Calligraphy, like nature and our real life, is full of contradictions. The difference lies in their different forms of expression. Contradiction is an important factor that constitutes the beauty of calligraphy. We see the black and white colors in calligraphy, the thickness and thinness of lines, long and short, empty and solid, broken and connected, smooth and rough, the thick and light ink, dry and wet, dry and moist; in the strokes The horizontal and vertical, the left and the right, the round and the square, the tightness and looseness of the structure, the straightness and the straightness, the denseness and the sparseness, the avoidance and the simplicity, the odd rise and the straightness, the direction and the back, the outward extension and the inner extension, in the brushwork Center and side, hidden and exposed, lifting and pressing, reversal and smoothness, delay and speed, verticality and release, quickness and astringency, hanging and shrinking, light and heavy, solemn and floating, dense and sparse in the composition, Coherence and dislocation, verticality and horizontality, etc. are all contradictions. These contradictions of all kinds, large and small, and bizarre are intertwined with each other, rejecting and merging with each other, opposing and unifying each other, and are the basis and condition for each other's existence; without 湹, there is no such thing as righteousness, without hiding the front, there will be no forward move, no twist. There is no such thing as straight, there is no lightness, there is no thickness, there is no denseness, there is no such thing as sparseness, there is no horizontality, there is no verticality, etc. In short, all contradictory parties are me in you and you in me, blending together and existing in a unity. This unity of opposites is calligraphy. After it passes through people's eyes and enters the brain, it forms contradictory graphics, stimulating various aesthetic emotions and thus creating resonance. Therefore, we regard the "unity of opposites" as the main factor in the formal beauty of calligraphy.
The unity of opposites is also the fundamental principle of calligraphy creation. Among them, the opposing factors are always the dominant aspect of the fundamental principles of calligraphy. In a calligraphy work, every element needs to highlight its value in contrast. Black is highlighted by the contrast of white, and the curved lines in the lines exist by contrast with the straight lines. Calligraphy without contrast and contradiction cannot arouse the viewer's desire to appreciate it. In the process of calligraphy creation, calligraphers are actually creating and resolving contradictions, pursuing harmony, and pursuing perfection. The ancients have known this aspect for a long time and used it skillfully in calligraphy. Wang Xizhi said in "Shu Lun": "It is important to have smooth and stable characters in calligraphy. You must first use a pen, which may be bent or raised, tilted or sideways, big or small, long or short. ...To make a character, You must pay attention to the details and elegance, alternating between dense and wide. Every time you make a point, you must hang your hand to make it, or make a wave, suppress and then drag. Make a word, horizontal and vertical, facing each other; make a line of bright and bright,... If the book is empty paper , use a strong pen; if you use strong paper, use a weak pen."
Different contrast strengths in calligraphy produce different visual effects and calligraphy styles. For example, in Zhang Xu's wild cursive calligraphy, long and curved lines are in a strong position and short and straight lines are in a weak position. The density and direction of the stitches, the speed and slowness of the pen, form a strong contrast, and different combinations of lines The resulting effect greatly enhances the beauty of calligraphy, thus creating a wild and unrestrained momentum; Huang Tingjian's cursive writing is characterized by slow and fast strokes, with many strokes and fluent strokes, and stagnant and smooth lines. , turning lifting and pressing, turning back and up and down, point painting adopts the tight structure and looseness of the middle palace, the strokes try their best to expand outward and inward, the structure highlights the side and straightness, the result is a strong contrast different from Zhang Xu, forming It has created another style that is thoughtful, harmonious, vertical and horizontal opening and closing, and wanton opening, which has a strong visual impact and spiritual shock. In Mi Fu's calligraphy, factors such as wrapping and hiding, fatness and thinness, sparseness and density, simplicity and complexity in stipples and structures seek to integrate in opposition, achieving unity in change; heavy and light strokes contrast, The twists and turns of the horizontal painting contrast with the straight lines, and the often sideways posture contrasts with the straightness. The thick and light colors of the ink form his vigorous, bold, ups and downs, calm and joyful momentum and style.
In short, an excellent calligraphy work allows the viewer to enjoy artistic enjoyment through the interlocking contrasting relationship between various contradictory elements while the eyes are constantly searching. It makes the calligrapher's thoughts more vivid and interesting. It creates a more profound context, enriches the calligrapher's expression skills, and expands the viewer's aesthetic vision. It makes calligraphy attractive and enhances the aesthetic taste of calligraphy works. Therefore, the beauty of calligraphy is the beauty of contradiction. The beauty of contradiction is both aesthetic and philosophical. It is great beauty.
