Essays on Chinese Calligraphy
Annotations (Selections)
By Su Shi
Calligraphy must have soul, breath, bone, blood, and flesh. It can't be called calligraphy if one of them is absent.
We appreciate because of difficult attainment. Regular script is difficult to be unrestrained, cursive script is difficult to be restrained, big characters are difficult to be compact, and small characters are difficult to be spacious.
Unaffected calligraphy is good. Cursive script means the speed besides its technical involvement with others. “It is pressing, thus in cursive script,” as an ancient saying goes. However, if confuse the speed with hurry, pretended rush will take effect. The inevitable outcome of such a malpractice was the vulgar style of present-day Zhou Yue and Zhong Yi. My calligraphy is not that good, but it is different from the ancients in conception, and this difference is one of the most delightful experiences in my life.
When child Wang Xianzhi was practicing his calligraphy, Wang Xizhi tried unsuccessfully to grab the brush from behind and he new therefrom he had a son of promise. The story does not make sense to me. Brushmanship does not count for how firm a brush is held. Only by giving free rein to the brush while still observing its principles can one know how to handle a brush. The reason Wang Xizhi was serious about the way his son held the brush was no other than an examination on his absorption; otherwise all men of strength have the making of calligrapher.
The brushwork of masters were evolved from their experiences. It is convincible that Zhang Xu was inspired by sword dance, yet it is absurd that present-day Lei Jianfu perfected his technique by listening the sound of surging waves, and that Wen Tong made good progress in his cursive script after watching the fight of snakes.
Zhong Renrong is very poor and I am incapable of financial assistance. I saw emperor's son-in-law Li Wei spent fifteen hundred taels in fine silver on one of Wang Yan's calligraphy. My calligraphy is as good as Wang Yan's, but he considers mine beneath his dignity. This work is my capable assistance, but do not sell unless at fifteen hundred taels in fine silver. What if this will happen in five hundred years? Each meditation of Buddha was sixty small kalpas. What a twinkling five hundred years is!
About the author
Su Shi (1037 - 1101)
Correspondence
Ink on Rice Paper
Su Shi was the Minister of the Ministry of Rites in Song dynasty. Besides his poem and prose, which represent the highest literary achievement of Northern Song, his heroic and unrestrained calligraphy won him the title of one of Four Song Masters. He left quite many annotations on Chinese calligraphy. Setting great store by free expression and detachment from convention, his remarks reflected the general mood toward the art then.
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