Cui Yuan on Cursive Script: Anxious Birds on the Verge of Flight 崔瑗的草书意象：志在飞移

Cui Yuan (77–142 or 78–143 AD), alternative name Ziyu, was a scholar and noted calligrapher of the Han Dynasty (202 BC–220 AD) in China. He is known for his many written works, although in political life he became involved in court intrigues which damaged his career. Cui Yuan was born in Anping, Hebei province. He was the son of the famous scholar Cui Yin, who died while Yuan was in his teens.

Cui Yuan’s treatise Caoshu Shi (‘The Style of the Cursive Script’) is said to be the earliest written work that touches on the subject of aesthetic imagery Chinese calligraphy.

Below is his treatise on Cursive Script as quoted by Wei Heng. Some of the observations and propositions he made in the essay have great influence on the calligraphy theories. (The English translation may not be able to capture the intended meanings of Cui Yuan. Readers who can read Chinese should the Chinese text so as appreciate better Cui Yuan's theory on aesthetic imagination as applied to cursive script of Chinese calligraphy.)

The Chinese writing system was developed by Cang Ji. He created the Chinese written characters by observing the footprints of birds and animals.

When government affairs grew complicated, the old style lagged behind. Weeding out its superfluities, clerical script came into use. Reducing clerical characters further to bare essentials, cursive script was then worked out.

Lending handwriting the virtue of speed, the new style met all urgent administrative need. Since this is meant to be an adaptation, why should we be punctilious to old fashion? Upon savouring its expression, we see a new standard in its own right. Not as square as a carpenter's square, nor as round as circle by drawn by a compass, the strokes slope backward in a lop-sided manner. Sometimes they appear as alert as anxious birds on the verge of flight, or astonished wily hares about to flee. Sometimes they appear as scattered as a chain of pearls, or a herd of cattle rushing in pent-up fury. In other cases they appear as dangerous as tottering rocks sitting on the edge of cliff, or mantises hanging on twigs. At the finish, the ending stroke flows onto the next character as if a wasp seeks an opportunity to attack, or a returning snake still shows its tail. Viewing at a distance, the whole looks like a gloomy hill or a collapsing precipice; examining closely, no single stroke can be altered.

The variations depend on the context. What touched here is only a brief account.

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崔瑗（77-142或78-143）字子玉，是东汉（公元前202年 - 公元220年）学者与著名书法家。他闻名于著作，虽然涉及宫廷纠纷而影响了他的仕途。崔瑗出生于河北安平县，是著名学者崔駰的儿子。崔瑗少年时，崔駰就死了。

崔瑗的《草书势》据说是最早提到中国书法意象美学的命题。其中所提到的‘方不中矩，圆不副规’，‘志在飞移’，‘将奔未驰’，‘一画不可移’等命题，对后来书法理论的影响很大。

以下是卫恒所录崔瑗的《草书势》：

书契之兴，始自颉皇；写彼鸟迹，以定文章。

爰暨末叶，典籍弥繁。时之多僻，政之多权。官事荒芜，其墨翰；惟多佐隶，旧字是删。

草书之法，盖又简略；应时谕指，用于卒迫。兼功并用，爱日省力；纯俭之变，岂必古式。观其法象，俯仰有仪；方不中矩，圆不副规。抑左扬右，望之若欹。兽跂鸟跱，志在飞移；狡兔暴骇，将奔未驰。或点，状似连珠，绝而不离。畜怒怫郁，放逸生奇。或凌邃惴栗，若据高临危。旁点邪附，似螳螂而抱枝。绝笔收势，馀綖纠结。若山峰施毒，看隙缘巇；腾蛇赴穴，头没尾垂。是故远而望之，漼焉若注岸奔涯；就而察之，一画不可移。

几微要妙，临事从宜。略举大较，仿佛若斯。

Wei Heng on Lishu卫恒：隶书

It was during the Wei Jin period where that rules for calligraphy writing were established. Four families then were famous for producing many calligraphers and Wei family was one of them. The family worked hard for three generation at calligraphy and was particularly good at clerical script (lishu). They revived the old and learned the new. Three members of Wei family, namely Wei Guan, Wei Heng and Wei Shuo, are famous not only for their calligraphic works, also for their contribution to the theories of calligraphy. Wei Guan was the father of Wei Heng and uncle of Wei Shuo.

Wei Shuo’s essay ‘Battle Formation of the Brushstroke’ instructed artists about the flow and law of calligraphy. She maintained that the most important part of calligraphy was the brush, ink, and ink stone. She also recorded seven methods for holding a brush.

Wei Heng’s essay on the ‘Calligraphy Postures of Four Styles’ detailed why calligraphy should be considered a beautiful art form. Below is extracted from the essay that talks about the calligraphy of clerical script (lishu).

When time-consuming seal script could not keep up with multiplied clerical work in Qin, people in servitude were assigned to assist. Their handwriting was called clerical script, a shortcut of seal script. This script continued into the Han while seal script was confined to seals, banners and title of inscriptions.

Wang Cizhong of Shanggu standardized clerical script. The then Emperor Ling was keen on calligraphy, and his keenness yielded many skilled men. The best of the bunch was Shi Yiguan, who could write big characters three meters square or hundreds of small characters on a wood slip an inch wide, which he was proud of. Sometimes he went to a wine shop with empty pockets. He wrote on its wall while waiting his wine money from admiring crowd. When he had enough copper cash for the day, he would scrape the wall clean. He used to pare or burn his wood slips at the finish. To obtain his slips, Liang Gu pretended to be partaking of his drink, and then stole his slips when he was drunk. Benefiting from those slips, Liang Gu at last advanced to the Minister of the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs. Shi Yiguan joined Yuan Shu's army later. The skilled inscription of Stele of Geng Qiu in Songzi County, which was erected by Yuan, is said to be his handwriting.

Liang Gu joined Liu Biao later on. When Jingzhou fell, Cao Cao recruited him. Cao appointed him the Magistrate of Luoyang, but Liang mistook it for the Constable of the Watch. In confusion, he bound himself to see Cao, thereupon Cao reappointed him to the Secretariat. Liang was a diligent secretary; this is why we can see many of his works today. Cao took delight in hanging Liang Gu's calligraphy in his camp tent and inscribing it on the boards that still hang in his palace. With his favour Cao thought Liang wrote a better hand than Shi Yiguan.

Liang was good at big characters, while his contemporary Handan Chun was good at small characters. He once said that Handan had the essential of Wang Cizhong's standard; his characters in fact exerted it to the extreme. His disciple Mao Hong taught in the Secretariat, whose clerical style is what we practice today.

By the end of Han, Zuo Bo was famous, but a little inferior to Liang Gu and Handan Chun. To the beginning of Wei, Zhong Yao and Hu Zhao defined semi-cursive (walking) script that comes into fashion today. Both of them learned it from Liu Desheng, while Zhong is just a little different from Hu. Each man has his own characteristics; however, both ways of writing are very popular among the people.

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书法书写的法则建立于魏晋时期。当时四大家族出了不少书法家，卫家就是其中的一个家族。这个家族三代勤于书法，尤精于隶书。他们振旧立新。卫家的三名成员，卫瓘、卫恒与卫铄，除了书法闻名，还在书法理论方面做出了很大贡献。卫瓘是魏恒的父亲，也是卫铄的叔叔。

卫铄的‘笔阵图’指导艺术家书法的形势与法则。她认为书法以笔、墨、砚为重。她也详述了执笔七法。

卫恒的‘四体书势’叙述书法何以应是美丽的艺术形式。下面是该文讲书法中隶书。

秦既用篆，奏事繁多，篆字难成，即令隶人佐书，曰隶字。汉因用之，独符玺、幡信、题署用篆。隶书者，篆之捷也。

上谷王次仲始作楷法，至灵帝好书，时多能者，而师宜官为最，大则一字径丈，小则方寸千言，甚矜其能。或时不持钱诣酒家饮，因书其壁，顾观者以酬洒直，计钱足而灭之。每书辄削而焚其捬，梁鹄乃益为捬，而饮之酒，候其醉而窃其□。鹄卒以书至选部尚书。宜官后为袁术将，今巨鹿宋子有《耿球碑》，是术所立，其书甚工，云是宜官书也。

梁鹄奔刘表，魏武帝破荆州，募求鹄。鹄之为选部也，魏武欲为洛阳令而以为北部尉，故惧而自缚诣门。署军假司马，在秘书书勤书自效，是以今者多有鹄手迹。魏武帝悬著帐中，及以钉壁玩之，以为胜宜官，今宫殿题署多是鹄书。

鹄宜为大字，邯郸淳宜为小字，鹄谓淳得次仲法，然鹄之用笔，尽其势矣。鹄弟子毛弘教于秘书，今八分皆弘之法也。

汉末有左子邑，小与淳、鹄不同，然亦有名。魏初，有钟、胡二家为行书法，俱学之于刘德升，而钟氏小异，然亦各有其巧，今盛行于世。

Wei Shuo 卫铄

Wei Shuo (273-349), commonly addressed just as Lady Wei, was a calligrapher of Jin Dynasty (266-420). She was unusual and outstanding in her era during which Chinese women were required to restrict themselves to the care of their homes and children and obedience to their husbands and parents-in-law.

Born in Dong-an Town, Jin He (today’s Xia County, Shanxi), Wei Shuo was the daughter of Wei Zhan and niece of Wei Guan, a famous calligraphy in Jin dynasty.

She was introduced to calligraphy at very young age when she was allowed to watch her uncle Wei Guan practice writing calligraphy. She observed carefully her uncle’s writing style and technique: how he held his brush, execute the strokes and compose the characters. After her uncle finished his practice, she would quickly go into her own room and practiced what she had learned.

She later learned calligraphy from the great calligrapher Zhong Yao. With much practice, Wei became well known for her Lishu (Official or Clerical script) and Kaishu (standard script).

Her calligraphy was described as being beautiful, fascinating and harmonious; it was like a fairy playing with her shadow or like a lovely young lady walking gracefully out onto a stage to perform.

Wei was also a great calligraphy theoretician whose theories resolved around the structural composition of an entire piece of calligraphy.

There is another reason that made her famous in calligraphy. She was the teacher of the sage of calligraphy, Wang Xizhi.

Her calligraphic works include the Famous Concubine Inscription (Ming Ji Tie) and the Inscription of Wei-shi Henan (Wei-shi Henan Tie)(see diagram).

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卫铄（273-349），一般称为卫夫人，是晋（266-420）代著名书法家。她是不寻常与特出的，因为在她那个时代，女人的活动只能限于家庭与孩子间，听命于丈夫与父母。

卫铄出生于晋何东安邑（今山西夏县），是为卫展女儿，也是晋代大书法家卫瓘侄女。

她从小由于允许观看叔叔练字而接触书法。她仔细观察叔叔的书写方式与技巧：如何执笔、运笔、安排字行。叔叔练字完毕后，她立刻回到自己的房间，练习刚刚所学到的。

后来她跟随大书法家钟繇学习书法。苦练之下，使她闻名于隶书与楷书。

她的书法被形容为优美、醉人与协调，像仙娥弄影、美女优雅地登台表演。

卫铄也是个有名的书法理论家，她的理论集中于书写安排之章法。

还有一个理由使她闻名于世。她是书圣王羲之的老师。

她的书法作品有：名姬帖与卫氏和南帖（见图）。

Wang Xun and His Letter to Boyuan 王询传世书法《伯远帖》

Some of the most famous calligraphers in all of Chinese history lived during the Wei Jin period when man of letters advocated the ‘magnanimity’, ‘taste’ in life and ‘neutrality’, ‘elegantly simple beauty’ in art.

Wang Xizhi (303-361) and his son Xianzhi (344-386), who had made the greatest achievement, were the two representatives among the most influential calligraphers in this period.

Another Wang who left his mark in the calligraphy history was Wang Xun (349-400). He was one of three master calligraphers praised by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty as the sanxi, or three rarities. The other two were Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi.

Wang Xun was the grandson of Wang Dao, a prime minister of a Jin dynasty and son of Wang Qia, a famous painter. His was also nephew of Wang Xizhi. He was conferred the Marquis of Dongting, and held a number of high posts in government, such as Kingdom Defence General, Deputy Chief of Wu, Deputy Chief State Secretary and Chief State Secretary.

Wang Xun excelled at running-cursive script. In the Southern Song imperial catalogue The Calligraphy Catalogue of the Xuanhe Period (1119-1125) (Xuanhe Shupu), he was honoured as ‘the great master of cursive script’.

His masterpiece Letter to Boyuan, written in an easy and free style, is the only authentic signed calligraphic work from the Jin dynasty. When the famous calligrapher Dong Qichang of Ming Dynasty saw the work in Chang-an (currently Xi’an), he went wild with joy and wrote, ‘Wang’s calligraphy shows freedom of expression, it is simple but quietly elegant. This masterpiece I see here in Chang’an is really a rare beauty.’ ‘It is like seeing the free-spirited Jin people in front of my eyes.

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中国书法史里，魏晋时代出了不少名书法家。当时士人所提倡的是宽雅、乐趣的人生，追求的是中性与淡雅之美的艺术。

王羲之(303-361)与其子献之（344-386）的成就最大，是这个时期最有影响力书法家中的两个代表人物。

王询（349-400）是王家中另一个在书法史上留下痕迹的人物。他是清朝乾隆皇帝赞为三稀的书法家之一。其他两名是王羲之与王献之。

王询时晋朝宰相王导之孙，画家王洽的儿子。他也是王羲之的侄儿。他受封东亭侯，累官辅国将军、吴国内史 、尚书仆射、尚书令等。

王询善草书。宋宣和时期（1119-1125）的《宣和书谱》称他‘草圣’。

他的《伯远帖》尽得悠游俊郎之风神，是晋朝传世书法作品中仅有的真品。明代董其昌于长安(今西安) 见到此帖后，欣喜若狂，题跋说：‘珣书潇洒古淡，长安所逢墨迹，此为尤物。’ ‘东晋风流，宛然在眼。’