Although there is no consensus on the authenticity of this evidence, most of the views held in the text are consistent with the academic ideas of the people entrusted with the names and the ideological trends of the times, and have actual academic value, otherwise it will be difficult to pass them on.
A short essay entitled "Fingering" by Li Shimin is such a phenomenon. At the same time, due to the long period of time, many of the good texts have been derived from a variety of ambiguities due to different editions, and it is precisely because of this that editions have flourished. I am not an expert in the field, so I don't care about the differences, as long as I can find a reference that is useful for the practice of calligraphy. For example, Li Shimin's short article has different interpretations due to different versions. It is now based on the "Selected Writings of the Past Dynasties" published by the Shanghai Painting and Calligraphy Publishing House. Although it is inevitable that the text will give birth to righteousness, it is necessary to be able to "justify itself".
The beginning of "Meaning" is cut in like this: the husband character takes God as the spirit, and if God is not in harmony, then the word has no attitude;
Take the heart as the muscles and bones, if the heart is not strong, then the word is not strong; With the vice hair as the **, if the vice is not round, the word is not warm.
A person with an eloquent mind like Li Shimin naturally looks at the problem from a different perspective than ordinary people, so this article starts from a strategic position and directly determines the leading role of "God" and "heart" in the writing process. In his opinion, the mastery of techniques is important, but the regulation of "spirit and spirit" is the real lifeline of calligraphy. The quality of writing skills is far less advanced and authentic than the charm and demeanor presented by the writing results. Li Shimin further put forward specific "three criteria" for judging this, namely, "attitude", "vigorousness" and "warmth".
The so-called "attitude" of words comes from people's own temperament and upbringing. "There is poetry and calligraphy in the belly", this kind of charm cannot be pretended or imitated, but can only be unconsciously revealed. The "attitude" that everyone reveals is not only elegant and vulgar, but also real and contrived. How to truly determine the inner truth of one's own spirit, how to naturally bring this cognition into the writing of calligraphy, and finally present it, is the first problem that calligraphers need to solve.
The most important thing here is to make "God and Harmony", "God and Tao into detail", only "God and Harmony" can freely play between the pen and ink between the heart, not only without a sense of disobedience, but also can fully convey the feelings. On the other hand, some calligraphers at present, because they do not know the location of their own gods, simply imitate the "gods" of others, and there are also those who are too impetuous and impetuous, resulting in the words written without posture, shape, and rhyme.
Therefore, establishing a harmonious and harmonious mental state with distinctive personality characteristics, forming a clear understanding of this, and then striving to present this in the word, is the first criterion for judgment put forward by Li Shimin.
On the basis of "divine harmony," Li Shimin put forward the requirement of "having a firm heart." It is necessary to take the unswerving attitude as the internal psychological support in the writing process, so that the words written can present a bold and firm image. If there is no clear goal when writing, the body suddenly wants to come up with a beautiful posture like a breeze and clouds, and suddenly wants to participate in the wanton shape like teeth and claws, and for a while with the pen to Wang Xizhi's free and easy Qinggang as the sect, and then intends to take Yan Zhenqing's vast and thick body for a while, and the result of his heart and hesitation is to mess up the square inch, and finally lead to the loss of direction and the error of judgment.
The purpose of "taking the heart as the backbone is to form a clear heart direction, not wavering, not hesitating, all the pen and ink are developed around this, so as to achieve the so-called "strong health". The "Jinjian" here is not only powerful and decisive, but also not confused, pointing to where to fight, and what to think.
On the other hand, the works written for the purpose of exhibitions can also be described as "strong", but most of the firm beliefs established at this time are how to be different in the performance of the book style and font, how to promote the strengths and avoid weaknesses in the use of pen and ink skills, and how to be different in the construction of the characters and other technical and tactical considerations, few people can determine the fixed direction and goal in a relatively stable period from the strategic level, so it is difficult to have the emergence of calligraphy peaks in the real sense.
However, some people believe that the "heart" here is actually the "refill", which is the strongest part of the pen structure. If this part of the pen is too soft, the written dots and lines will naturally be difficult to show the effect of strength, so there is a pen heart like the muscles and bones in the human body, if it is not firm here, lack of toughness, it will make the main body appear weak.
In context, it makes sense that this "heart" is a "state of mind" and a "refill", and perhaps this is where the breadth and profundity of ancient Chinese lies.
Although "Shenhe" and "Xinjian" are crucial to the study of calligraphy, they are both internal experiences, and after clarifying the inner "attitude" and "firmness", Li Shimin changed his words and put forward further requirements for "sub-circle" and "warmth".
If we follow the idea of abstract "spirit" and inner "muscles and bones", and gradually extend to the external "**", then the corresponding "harmony", "health" and "run" form a complete chain of aesthetic judgment. Whether it is the external "** or the inner "muscles and bones", the most important thing is to have "spirit and harmony", as long as "the heart is in harmony, the spirit is in the heart", you can "think and God, the same as nature", and its writing behavior can achieve the wonderful realm of "I don't know why it is", and those who can meet this standard will naturally reach the excellent calligraphy.
However, from another point of view, the reference to "Vice-Mao" will produce another interpretation. According to the structure of the brush blade, it can be divided into the core (core) and the secondary hair (secondary hair). "Vice-hair" can also be called "vice-hair", which is due to the fact that the structure of the pen itself has "the heart of the pen, handsome; It is generally believed that the role of the secondary hair is to ensure that the direction of the "pen heart (main millimeter)" can be in a flexible and full state when the direction changes.
Anyone who has practical experience in calligraphy knows that because the pen is guarded by a pair of guards, so that when the pen is "eight sides forward", it can not only lift and turn freely, but also make the pen show a full and round line quality feeling everywhere it goes. Here, Li Shimin directly relates the selection and use of brush strokes with the writing effect, which can also be said to be another annotation of "the desire to do a good job" not only to "sharpen its tools first", but also to "make good use of its tools". (Author: Yu Jianshi).