PM Zhang Writes Cursive Style 张丞相写草书

It is said that the Chinese calligraphy is analogous to both music and building architecture. The brushwork takes shape in rhythmic movement that reflects the calligrapher’s mental flow. The Chinese calligraphy also reflects the harmonious balance of lines/strokes that form the Chinese words and the empty space, or the harmony of the occupied and unoccupied spaces.
The dynamic balance of the brushwork and the harmony it creates should be appreciated in a spatial-temporal context as the movement of the brush introduces a temporal dimension into calligraphy. The aspect of the Chinese calligraphy is most apparent in the cursive style of writing.
However, the emphasis on the temporal dimension should not result in making the words illegible. This was what happened to Prime Minister Zhang during the Song dynasty.
It is recorded that PM Zhang enjoyed writing in the cursive style but his handwriting was too illegible for recognition. All his friends laughed at him but he didn’t care. One day he got a sentence he liked, so he quickly noted it down with his brush. The paper was filled with lively cursive characters. He asked his nephew to copy it down. While transcribing it, his nephew came to an illegible character and stopped at a loss. He showed the paper to his uncle and asked, ‘What is the word?’ The PM stared at it for a while, also failing to figure it out. He scolded his nephew, ‘Why did you ask me earlier before I forgot it?’
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有人说，中国书法可比拟音乐与建筑。毛笔在有节奏的运行中反映了书法家的精神流动。中国书法也反映形成汉字的笔画与空间之间的谐和，或实与虚的谐和。
毛笔笔画的动力平衡，与它所造成的和谐应以时空关系来理解，因为毛笔的运行把时间面带人了书法。书法的这个状态在草书中最为明显。
可是，过于强调时间节奏，以致写成不可辨读的字是不可取的。这就发生在宋代张齐贤丞相的身上。

‘张丞相好草圣而不工，流辈皆讥笑之，丞相自若也。一日，得句，索笔绝书，满纸龙蛇飞动；使其侄录之，当波险处，侄惘然而止，执所书问曰：‘此何字？’丞相熟视久之，亦自不识，诟其侄曰：‘胡不早问，致我忘之。’

One-Year Calligraphy Learning Plan 学习书法的一年计划

Learning Chinese calligraphy is a lifelong process. Before start learning Chinese calligraphy, some people think that they can master the skill in a few weeks. It is with more practice and study then they realize that it will take a lifetime to become a competent calligrapher.
Here is a suggested one-year learning plan for adult learners. It is generally agreed that adult learners should start with writing Kaishu.
The one-year lesson is to be done in four 10-week courses. The duration of each weekly lesson should be between 1 to 2 hours.
The aims of first 10-week course are to learn the correct sitting posture, correct using of calligraphy brush and executing the strokes, i.e. the proper way to start, move and end each and every stoke. At the end of the course, the learner should have practiced the proper way of writing 40 words.
The aim of the second 10-week course is to learn the method of ‘reading’ the Chinese characters. By reading, we mean the learner will learn how to start the first stroke of Chinese words, using it as a reference to execute the second strokes, and the third stokes, until the last stroke. At the end of the course, the learner should have learned the correct way of ‘reading’ 40 characters.
The aim of the third 10-week course is to learn to write correctly Chinese characters bearing in mind what they have learned in the previous two 10-week courses. At the end of the course, the learner should be able to write 40 characters.
The aim of the fourth 10-week course is to learn writing a complete piece of calligraphy. At the end of course, the learner would have practiced writing a 20-word Chinese poem consisted of four sentences.
One may not be able to master the art of writing Chinese calligraphy in one year. However, it is hope that after learning it for one year, one at least would get an idea on how to appreciate the beauty of the art in terms of its form, word structure and composition of an artwork.
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学习书法是一生的事。在学习之前，有些人以为他们可以在几个星期内学好书法技巧。只有经过练习与学习后，他们才会了解到要成为一个书法家，是要终其一生的努力。
这里为成年初学者建议学习书法的一年计划。一般的共识是，成人初学者应从楷书开始。
这个一年学习计划分为四个十周课程。每个星期上课一次，每课1到2个小时。
第一个十周课程的目的是学习正确的站坐姿势、正确的执笔方法、运笔。运笔指书写每一笔画正确的起笔、行笔与收笔。课程完成后，学员应可正确书写40个字。
第二个十周课程的目的是学习‘读’字的方法。在书法上，‘读’的意思就是学习如何开始第一划，并以此为参照，书写第二笔，第三笔，直到最后一笔。课程完成后，学员应可正确地读写40个字。
第三个十周课程的目的是应用前两个课程所学，正确地书写中文字。课程完成后，学员应可正确书写40个字。
第四个十周课程的目的是写一幅完整书法作品。课程完成后，学员应可完成书写一首20个字的诗。
在一年内，我们可能还不能掌握好书法技巧。希望经过一年的学习，我们对这门美丽艺术的形式、结字与章法有些具体的体会。

2014年7月运开注：

我的书法学习观点这几年来已经有所调整。

我的经验是，初学者从楷书开始不易，而且用一年的时间来学习一首20字的诗，在新加坡的环境，进度太慢。提议初学者从隶书开始。

我目前的观点是：

第一学期：学好所有隶书笔画。
第二学期：学好隶书主要部首。
第三学期：集中写几首五、七绝，五、七律与章法。
第四学期：学员可在这时候决定继续学隶书或开始学行书。

Han Dynasty: Zhang Zhi 汉：张芝

Zhang Zhi (?-192) was a Chinese calligrapher during the Han Dynasty. Born in Jiuquan, Gansu, he was a pioneer of the modern cursive script.
It is said that Zhang Zhi was so diligent in his calligraphy practice that the pond by his home was turned inky. He even practiced calligraphy on his clothes. These examples testify that the perfection is not the work of a short time. There is a Chinese saying that ‘one-hundred-day effort will not yield result in calligraphy’. That is to say, calligraphy is a lifetime pursuit that cannot be accomplished in one hundred days.
Even Wang Xizhi, the greatest master of calligraphy in Chinese history, said his Cursive calligraphic script was not as good as Zhang Zhi’s. It is therefore no surprise that Zhang Zhi was traditionally honoured as the Sage of Cursive Script.
A catchphrase is attributed to him: ‘Too busy to write cursively’, which shows that the execution of cursive script, though originally invented for the sake of time-saving, requires a tranquil frame of mind.
Unfortunately, there are not many of Zhang Zhi's calligraphic works available today. Guan Jun Tie and Zhong Nian Tie are regarded as Zhang Zhi's calligraphy.
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张芝 (?-192) 是中国汉朝书法家。出生于甘肃的酒泉，是草书的先驱者。
据说张芝勤奋练习书法，把家旁的水池都给弄黑了。他还在他的衣服上炼字。这些例子是说明写好字不是短时间的事。俗语说：‘百日不能精书法。’就是说，书法是终身的事，不能在一百天内就能学好。
中国书法史上最伟大的书法家王羲之也自认自己的草书比不上张芝。张芝被认为是草圣，那就不足为怪了。
‘匆匆不暇草书’这句话据说是张芝说的。可见创造草书的原意是要节省时间，但是要写好草书，却须要有平静的心，不能匆匆忙忙。
不幸，张芝传世作品不多。一般认为冠军帖与终年帖是张芝的书法。

The First Chinese Written Characters 原始汉字

At a range of Neolithic sites in China, small numbers of symbols of either pictorial or simple geometric nature have been unearthed which were incised into or drawn or painted on artifacts, mostly on pottery but in some instances on turtle shells, animal bones or artifacts made from bone or jade. The question of whether such symbols are writing, primitive or proto-writing, or merely non-writing symbols or signs for other purposes such as identification is a highly controversial one, and the debate still continues today.
Inscription-bearing artifacts from the Dawenkou culture in Shandong, dating to 2800 – 2500BC, have drawn a great deal of interest amongst researchers, in part because the Dawenkou culture is believed to be directly ancestral to the Shang, where the first undisputed Chinese writing appears.
There is clear similarity in style between these signs and pictographic Shang and early Zhou symbols. Both types of symbols also have multiple components, reminiscent of the compounding of elements in the Chinese script, thus eliciting claims of a relationship.
The pictograph shown here resembles the sun and a crescent moon above a cloud or fire or a mountain. It is said to be the Chinese character for ‘dawn’, 旦 dan, or for ‘bright’, 炅 jiong, and so on.
This symbol is significant to the Chinese calligraphers because it has all the elements that are needed to make Chinese word structurally beautiful. The lines that form the graph are symmetrically arranged so as to give one a sense of good balance, fine proportion and harmony. An imaginary line is at the centre which vertically divides the graph into two halfs.
The Dawenkou pictographs undoubtedly can be viewed as the forerunners of Chinese primitive writing.
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在一系列的中国石器时代遗迹中，少量刻、写或画在史前物上的图画或简单几何的符号出土了。这些史前物主要是陶器，少量是龟甲、动物骨，或由骨或玉制成的史前物。关于这些符号是不是文字系统、原始或原型文字，或有其他目的（如标记）的非文字符号或记号，具高度争议性。这个辩论至今还在进行。
距今4500至4800年（公元前2500年至2800年）山东的大汶口文化有铭刻的出土物引起学者极大兴趣，部分原因是一般认为商朝直接承继了大汶口文化，而商朝出现中国文字是不争之事实。
这些记号与象形与商朝及汉初符号有明显相同之处。两种符号都有多元成分，犹如汉字的 多元组合，导致它们之间关系的说法。
这里所示的形象像日与新月在云或火或山之上。有人认为是个旦字，或炅字，等等。
对书法家来说，这个符号很重要，因为它具有汉字结构美的所有构成元素。组成图像的线条对比的排列，达到均衡、相称和协调的感觉。中间一条想象线把字分两半。
毫无疑问的，大汶口象形符号可说是原始汉字中的先行者。

Pan Shou 潘受

Pan Shou (1911 - 1999), Singapore's pre-eminent Chinese classical poet and calligrapher, was born in Fujian, China in 1911. His calligraphic style is so unique that some have suggested he created his own ‘Pan style’.
When he arrived in Singapore at the age of 19, Pan Shou had already received rigorous training in both the Chinese classics and the brush. Over the years, he became a prolific artist as well as, an avid observer and critic of contemporary culture and society.
Throughout his life, Pan Shou studied and practised the archaic scripts of the Qin, Han and Wei dynasties. His unique, personal style evolved from his mastery of the ancient scripts, making him the most celebrated calligrapher in Singapore.
Pan Shou often infused his calligraphic works with poetry. His poems would flow effortlessly through his brush onto rice paper, adding a further touch of originality to his works.
Pan Shou's calligraphic works can be found in prominent places in both Singapore. His works are also on permanent display in China in such places as the Confucius Temple in Qu Fu, in the Forest of Steles in Sian, on the honorific arch marking the beginning of the ancient Silk Road by the Sea in Quan Zhou, on Huang He Lou in Wuhan and in the museum of the Great Wall of China. Rubbings of his inscription in xingshu style mark the archway to his native hometown in Quanzhou.
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潘受(1911 - 1999), 新加坡著名的古典诗人与书法家，1911年出生于中国福建。他的书法十分特别，可说是创造了‘潘体’。
十九岁抵达新加坡时，他已经接受了严格的中国古文与书法的学习。过后，他成为多产艺术家和当代文化与社会去热心的观察者与评论家。
潘受毕生学习与练习秦、汉、魏名帖。从熟练古帖而演变出他特别个人风格，使他成为新加坡最有名的书法家。
潘受经常以自己的古诗融入他的书法中。他的诗词不费力地从他的毛笔进入宣纸，加强了他书法作品的创意。
潘受的作品可以在新加坡著名地点找到。他的作品也展示于不少中国名胜，如曲阜孔庙，西安碑林，泉州丝绸海路起点的庄严楼牌，武汉的黄鹤楼，和中国万里长城的博物院。他故乡泉州的拱道上也刻上了他的行书。