Mao Zedong’s Calligraphy 毛泽东的书法

Mao Zedong is obviously one of the greatest leaders in the Chinese history and today, more that 30 years after his death in 1976, he is still very much loved by Chinese people as a great founder of New China, a great calligrapher and poet, and a protective talisman by many Chinese too. The individual charm of Mao is unmatched among Chinese leaders.

Mao was also a skilled calligrapher with a highly personal style. In China, Mao was considered to be one of the top 10 calligraphers of the 20 century. Today, his calligraphic works can be seen throughout mainland China. His work gave rise to a new form of Chinese calligraphy called ‘Mao-style’ or ’Maoti’, which has gained increasing popularity since his death.

Mao learned to write with brush when he went to a private school at the age of eight. He first studied with stele inscriptions and later practiced hard on copybooks, providing a sound basis for the forming of his own style. Mao always spared time to read stele rubbings or to see stele inscriptions himself, even in wartime.

He observed that the elements of Chinese calligraphy were full of contrasts and balances. Some characters' construction is big, some small; some are dense, some not; strokes are different in length, boldness and curves; the overall settings are balanced with lines and space, black and white. However, calligraphers should concern themselves with the strength of characters' strokes - called ‘bones’ in calligraphy – as well as their spirit. He said, ‘People have faces, bones and spirit, and so do characters.’ Therefore, when practicing calligraphy, ‘Simply copy at first, and then imitate the construction and learn the spirit. If you practice long enough, the bones and spirits will naturally come out.’

His highest achievement was his cursive hand, which was imposing and magnificent, with up and down rhythms – a unique style formed in his middle age. His handwriting was full of energy, but true to regulations, expressing a strong visual beauty. Reading his cursive style handwriting, people immerse themselves in the flow of strokes, slow or fast, dense or not dense. Readers are attracted by the aura his works create, as well as by his presence as the top leader.

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毛泽东很明显的是中国历史上伟大的领袖之一。1976年九月逝世后，过了30年多的今天，他还是以一个新中国的创办人、大书法家、诗人，甚至是人们的保护神而深深地被爱戴。可以说，他的个人魅力在当代领袖中无人能超越。

毛泽东是个高水准的书法家，有强烈个人风格。在中国，他算是二十世纪中十大书法家之一。今天，他的书法在中国大陆无所不在。他书法形成新的‘毛体’，在他死后日益流行。

毛泽东八岁时进入学校就开始用毛笔写字。先学碑帖，后来勤于帖学，为以后自创风格打下良好基础。毛一有时间就读碑帖，有机会就去看碑文；就算是战时，也是如此。

他观察到构成书法的元素充满了对比与平衡。字的构筑有大小、疏密，笔画有长短、粗细、曲直，书法的整体以线条、空间、黑白来平衡。但是，他认为书法家最重要的是要注重笔力（或骨力）及神气。他说：‘人有脸、骨与气，文字也是一样。’所以，练习书法时，先临，再模仿结构，并学其神气。练习久了，骨力与神气自然出现。

他的草书成就最高，壮观雄伟，高低的节奏，是他中年以后形成的特色。他书写时充满活力，但符合书法规律，表现出了强烈的视觉美感。观读他的书法，令人进入笔画川流，有疾有缓，有粗有细。欣赏者会被他的作品的气质所吸引，同时感觉到一个伟大领袖的存在。
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