Common Mistakes on Word Structures 结字通病四例

Main Stroke 主笔要突出

In learning Chinese calligraphy, we not only have to master the techniques of brushstrokes so that strokes can be artfully written and their sequence correctly followed, we also need to pay attention to the structure of the Chinese characters. In other words, we need to ensure that the spatial arrangements of the strokes that form the words must be even, balanced and stable.

Here we show four types of common mistakes new learners make as illustrations:



Centre of Gravity 重心要稳



1. The main stroke doesn’t stand out. There is always a main stroke in a word. When writing the word, one should ensure the main stroke must stand out as this will stabilize the whole word structure. When the main stroke is not correctly written, the structure of the word will negatively be affected. 

Slanting Pair 斜度要对称

2. The misplaced centre of gravity. One must be able to identify the centre of gravity of the word exactly so as the word can be stabilized.

3. The angles of slanting strokes not consistent. In a word, when a pair of strokes move in opposite directions, the angles of the strokes must almost be equal and balanced, so that the word will not appear to be heavy on or tilted to one side.

4. The middle is too empty. When a word is formed by various parts, the parts must be close to each other and not too far apart so that the middle of the word will not appear to be too spacious.

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要写好书法，我们除了要有效地掌握运笔技巧来书写笔画笔顺之外，还要注意字的结构；就是说笔画的空间安排要均匀平衡与稳当。

现在举出初学者经常犯的四个结字毛病来说明。

Middle Space 中宫要紧密

1. 主笔不突出。每个字都有一条主笔，书写时主笔要突出，这样才能达到以主笔稳定整个字的作用。主笔写得不好，整个字的结构就会出问题。

2. 重心不稳。字的重心要抓紧，这样字的左右才能平衡。



3. 斜度不等。笔画左右分开时，两边的斜度要平衡，才不会出现左重右轻或左轻右重的情况。

4. 中宫虚空。一个字的上下左右结构关系应该是紧密而不是太过疏松的，这样就不会显得中宫太过空虚。