In the final analysis, the calligrapher's observation of nature is inseparable from the understanding and understanding of the human soul. The reason why calligraphers can use a pen to imitate the body of the void and write the "truth" of nature is that the key is to use the source of the heart as a furnace to smelt nature.
In the Han Dynasty, Yangxiong's theory of "calligraphy is the painting of the heart" originally referred to the writing of articles, but it alluded to the relationship between the temperament and character of the calligrapher and the artistic style of calligraphy, so Yangxiong's statement was frequently cited by later calligraphy theorists. Zhu Changwen, a Song man, said: "Ziyun (Yangxiong, Ziyun) takes books as his heart and paints, and Yu Lu believes in it." Liu Xizai, a Qing scholar, also said: "Yangzi takes books as his heart paintings, so those who write books also learn from their hearts." It can be seen that the tradition of attaching importance to the relationship between "calligraphy" and "heart" in Chinese calligraphy theory is really indiscriminate.
Through words, people can express their inner emotions and communicate their thoughts;Through writings, people can record the past and present and the four corners of the world. Through calligraphy, one can also get a glimpse of a person's deep inner and inner world. However, the inner world expressed by calligraphy is not moral, but temperamental. In other words, we cannot identify the quality of a person's moral character and the correctness of his political stance from a piece of calligraphy, but can perceive a person's mind, bearing, temperament and character from the lines and brushwork. This is very important, because there have been many cases of books being scrapped in history, and if it can be understood in this way, it is not necessary.
The lines of calligraphy are freehand lines. It differs from geometric lines in that it fits the heartbeat, carries the body temperature, and implies the rhythm. Some commentators have compared calligraphy to the "electrocardiogram" of the Chinese, pointing out the rhythmic nature of calligraphic lines. Kang Youweiyun: "Being able to move people's feelings is the ultimate of books." This is a remarkable statement. Calligraphy is a silent sound, the so-called "like the overlap of eight sounds", because calligraphy has a first-class rhythm and harmony. In fact, all art has developed to a very subtle realm, which is close to the first and points directly to the hearts of the people.
* Why is it the most lyrical?Because in the flow of time, the flow of feelings and the waves of emotions are shown. Why is calligraphy like **?Because calligraphy is between the return and repetition of dot painting, it exudes the ups and downs and flickering of people's hearts. Shen Yinmo said that calligraphy is "silent and harmonious", and Zhang Huaiqian said that calligraphy is "silent sound", and he is talking about the best problems of calligraphy.
This kind of ** nature is mainly manifested in the rhythm of the pen. In the flow of calligraphy, there is a rhythm of nature, so it has the characteristics of temporal art. In calligraphy, rhythm is expressed as the succession of changes in the length, straightness, and thickness of the strokes, and the thickness is lifted and pressed by the brush. According to the coarse, the mention is fine, the ancients attached importance to mention, press, in fact, is to pay attention to the rhythm. The viewer is often delighted by the fact that the eye follows the graceful and fluid lines, especially when admiring the continuous lines of cursive writing.
It can be said that there are as many rhythms as there are in the human heart, and there are as many rhythms as there are brushes. But generally speaking, there are roughly four forms of rhythm in calligraphy: first, in a dotted line. As the saying goes, "between a painting, it becomes undulating in the peaks;."Within a point, it is very frustrating to be heroic", just like Huang Tingjian's cursive lines, the wave and dot paintings are undulating and ups and downs, like a rowing oar, full of rhythm. Second, in the combination of one-word lines. The dense dots and lines are short and strong, like a rock blocking the way;The sparse dotted line stretches long and stretched, like clouds and smoke. Zhang Huaijun said, "The text is a few words to become its meaning, and the book is a word that has seen its heart", which is also said. 3. In the combination of numbers. A group of several words, made in one stroke, turns the space of the number into a line with an extremely rich rhythm and rhyme. Fourth, in the midst of the ink. Through the change of ink color, the number and interval of dipping ink, the ink color has changes in shade, dryness, and wetness, so as to strengthen the visual sense of rhythm and rhythm.
Joy is laughter and cheerfulness, sorrow is crying and low, shame is blushing and contained, fear trembling and outward. When our emotions occur, the action tendencies associated with the emotions will also arise at the same time. For example, when angry or agitated, the movements are usually tense and stiff;When it is joyful or leisurely, the movements are generally light and gentle. Therefore, different rhythms of the mind will manifest themselves in different line forms;The different forms of lines also reflect different rhythms of the mind.
For example, horizontal lines give people a sense of security;The curves change gradually, giving a softness;The irregular, sharply shifting lines give a sense of tension and strength. A straight line, on the one hand, is stationary and stable, and on the other hand it is hard and powerful;Curves, on the one hand, are fluid and changing, and on the other hand, they are also flexible and free. When we appreciate the crisp and strong lines, we often get a sense of affirmation and confirmation of ourselves;Appreciating the sluggish and frustrating lines is to show the strength of the subject's will through the experience of hardships and difficulties, so as to obtain a deeper level of self-affirmation.
When people accumulate a variety of different psychological feelings in their life experience, and then experience lines with similar psychological expression when writing, and taste these lines, they turn the abstract lines of calligraphy into a living sense of life. Lines have a sense of strength in people's feelings, a sense of life, and become "alive". When a calligrapher writes a line that is compatible with a certain emotional feeling in his heart, he can convey his inner emotions and cause the same emotional experience in the viewer's heart, and the viewer also constantly improves his aesthetic ability in the process of understanding the line.
Jiang Kui, a Song man, said: "After tasting the famous books of the ancients, all of them vibrate with dots, such as when they are wielded." "In the static dot painting, you can see the rhythm of the writer's vibration, so as to turn the static into movement, so that the rhythm of the still dot painting is in tune with the psychological rhythm of the viewer. At this time, the rhythm of the writer's mind has actually been activated in the heart of the appreciator. Shen Yinmo also said: Whether it is stone carving or ink, it is always a static situation when it is expressed externally, and the reason why it can achieve this situation is the result of action. The momentum of movement only remains quietly in the static form today. In order to reactivate the still, it is necessary to imagine and experience the activity of the player before he can expect it to appear again. Thus, in the established form, we will see the tendency of lively and uncertain. At this moment, not only can you get in touch with the colorful look, but also feel the rhythm of the ** light. Every word that has life has this magic that makes you look more and more alive. 
It should be said that each calligrapher has his own unique rhythm of mind, which undoubtedly comes from his personal character and temperament. Personality is a relatively stable psychological habit of a person, and temperament is a very significant but relatively stable psychological characteristic that forms his personality. In calligraphy, what lines can express is precisely this relatively stable psychological habit and psychological characteristics. People's personalities and temperaments are different, and the style of calligraphy is also different, so Sun Guoting said
Those who are upright are not sloppy, those who are rigid and ruthless are stubborn and unpolished, those who are restrained are not restrained, those who are easy are lost in the rules, those who are gentle are hurt by softness, those who are impatient are too coercive, those who are suspicious are drowned in stagnation, those who are slow and heavy are finally dull, and those who are trivial are dyed by the vulgar. (The Book of Books).
The relationship between lines and human personality and temperament is particularly prominent in cursive writing. Cursive writing has the strongest sense of line and is the most suitable for lyricism, so Liu Xizai said: "Watching people in books is better than watching their grass." We look at Wang Xizhi's "Orchid Pavilion Preface", which is a beautiful example. What it embodies is a kind of calm harmony, showing a simple, bright, complete, and clear beauty. Wang Xizhi's brushstrokes seem to have an angelic tenderness, and his brushstrokes seem to have no idea of his deep sigh for fate. He never let the tears of fate wet his art world, but shone on his art with a calm and transcendent spiritual peak. This really symbolizes a beautiful and innocent heart, transcending and triumphing over this cruel world!Yan Zhenqing's "Manuscript for the Sacrifice of Nephews" is different, it is a sublime model. It shows the intensity of an emotion with strong bones, a large amount of thirsty pen and dry ink, and traces of manual alteration.
This is true not only for the grass, but also for regular script. Zhu Guangqian said that when he saw Yan Zhenqing's words, he thought of the majestic peak, and unconsciously shrugged his eyebrows and shoulders, nervous and nervous, imitating his seriousness;When I saw Zhao Meng's words, I thought of the wicker that helped the wind, and unconsciously stretched my waist and slacked my muscles, imitating its charm. In fact, the Chinese have long regarded the traces of ink painting as something with life and character, so the abstract lines are "alive" in the viewer's heart.
Whether it is the abstract refinement of natural objects or the subtlety of the inner world, we can see that Chinese calligraphy is indeed the purest art. It's the simplest, and it's the most profound. The Chinese characters written are nothing more than a combination of dots and lines, and the tools used are nothing more than simple pen and ink. However, it is precisely in the flow of lines with minimal and meaningful meanings that the subtlety of the inner rhythm of the calligrapher's mind is traced, the dynamics of the complex objects and images of the world are traced, and the continuity of the popular atmosphere of the universe is traced. With a single brushstroke, Chinese calligraphers touch the deepest life in the universe. And the brush is really an unrivaled tool when it comes to expressing the characteristics of this profound world.
A bamboo pipe, a pine smoke, how many Chinese literati have been entrusted with the feelings of life for thousands of years!