Nine Common Forms of Chinese Calligraphy (Part 3)

In this blog, I will share the final three forms of Chinese calligraphy with you.

7. Fan: The size is fan-shaped, with a fan and folding fan, and can also be mounted or rolled into a book.

There are three common forms of fan:

1. Make full use of the upper end and not use the lower end. This format is appropriate to write two characters per line, arranged in order from right to left. The signature writes on the left side of the text. The signature should be longer. And the paragraph characters should write from one to several lines, and the seal should be smaller than the body.

2. Write fewer numbers, use the width of the fan to write two to four characters horizontally from right to left, with a certain degree of storage, and the signature can write in several lines of small characters, which contrast with the main text.

3. The upper end writes in sequence, and the lower end writes alternately, forming a pattern of staggered lengths. It can avoid the sloppy upper and the crowded lower end, achieving harmony throughout the story. In this format, write long lines first, with five characters or so, and short lines with one or two characters. The signature should be excellent, usually written at the end of the text, one or several lines. That is, the chapter should be smaller than the inscribed word.

8. Album: Mount the small works for flipping through, combine them into a book, unfold into a book, and name album pages, whose contents are either coherent or established separately.

Because the body of the painting is not large, it is also called "Small Pieces," also call Caye and Ye Ce. It is composed of pieces of cardboard folded in half and can read left and right or up and down. There are three styles of the album. One is the horizontal painting heart which mounted up and down called the "push-top style"; the other is the vertical painting heart, which folds left and right, called the "butterfly style"; One type is mounted into a single piece and connected into a whole that called "jing fold type", and the smaller vertical strips called "folders"; some are mounted into a single piece called "bulk".

Generally, the pages of the album are even numbers, ranging from four to eight, as many as twelve, sixteen, twenty-four, etc. The number of pages can divide into two volumes, each with plain white supplementary pages ( Also called guard page) two or four open. Generally, the outer frame is inlaid, and the top and bottom covers with sandalwood, nanmu, or Song brocade difficult shell board as the front cover and back cover, and it becomes a book when folded. In this way, it is more convenient to appreciate, carry, or preserve.

9. Handscroll: It is also a horizontal axis, which is inconvenient to hang. It is only suitable for stretching on the desk and scrolling the banner works after viewing.

The hand-scrolled style has existed in the Jin Dynasty. It evolved from the "Jingjuan" and "Juanziben" of the Qin and Han Dynasties. The contents of the hand-scrolled can be two types:

One is composed of multiple independent characters. If it is composed of independent characters and characters, the font can unify, or it can be in Kai, Xing, Cao, Li, and seal. The second is that multiple independent characters are mixed and interspersed. This type of handscroll can be the joint creation of multiple calligraphers or the work of one calligrapher. If you are a calligrapher and painter who write poems and paint according to the meaning of poems, this is what people call the "three musts." 

Nine Common Forms of Chinese Calligraphy (Part 1)

For those who are new to calligraphy, in addition to teaching some writing skills about calligraphy, the calligraphy teacher will also tell some knowledge related to calligraphy works. And even ask everyone to write a calligraphy work at the end of the course. There will be questions for many people. First, what content I want to write. We will not talk about this today. Second, what format do I want to write? Is it a scroll or nave? Here, the scroll and the nave are the names of the form of calligraphy works. Today, I organize the related knowledge of the nine common types of calligraphy works, mainly including scrolls, couplets, naves, Doufang, plaques, strips, fans, albums, and handscrolls. These are more traditional forms of calligraphy. I will also sort out a batch of more popular contemporary forms of calligraphy. I hope everyone has to help.

1. Scroll: Use long Xuan paper to open, and a half (half or half-fold), and the works in the straight script are the scrolls.

The scroll is a long work written in vertical lines. The size is generally a whole piece of Xuan paper cut. When arranging the rules and regulations, they should be able to conceive carefully according to the characteristics of the script and have new ideas. When creating, pay attention to the primary and secondary relationship between the main text and the signature. The signature should be patchy, natural, and vivid. The signature can write below the bottom line of the article, and there should be room for a layout. The bottom of the paragraph is generally not flush with the body to avoid rigid form. It can also occupy another line or two lines after the text, and the top and bottom should not be flush with the article. The seal should be smaller than the type, and the stamp must generally leave more than one word, or it can place on the left side of this.

There are two usual formats for banners:

One is writing in two or three lines. Two-line format: Write on the left and right sides of the paper, leaving more spaces in the middle. Pay attention to the rhythm of the upper and lower worlds and the echoes between the two lines. The signature usually writes at the end of the second line, and the position should be slightly higher than the last word of the first line. The signature can write in one or two lines. In the three-line format, pay attention to the interrelationship between the three lines, interspersed with tapes and rhythm changes. The inscription can be at the bottom of the last line, which is slightly higher than the one or two lines of the main text; it can also write separately, and the signature should be shorter than the main text and should not be parallel to the main text.

The other is to write a line in the center (fewer words). The written content is generally a saying, aphorism, or a poem, etc. The number of characters is small, so pay attention to the opening and closing of the characters, and the rhythm changes when writing, to be vivid. The signature can divide into single or double. The simple signature generally writes in the middle of the left side. The content of the signature includes the writing time, the author's name, or only the author's name or number. The seal places under the paragraph, and generally, two sides are appropriate, and the distance between the seals suitably separate. In the double section, the last part writes ten in the upper middle part of the right side of the work.

2. Couplets: Two folio scrolls, written in upper and lower couplets, also known as couplets, pairs, or couplets.

The couplet that named after the Ying-chu hanging in the hall of the building in ancient times. It is a kind of antithetical literature, which originated from the Tao Fu. It is a sentence written on paper, cloth, or carved on bamboo, wood, or pillars. The language is simple and profound, the contrast is neat, the flat and coordinated, the number of words is the same, and the structure is the same. It is a unique art form of the Chinese language.

The couplet divides into upper and lower couplets, the upper couplet on the right hand, and the lower couplet on the left. The size of the upper and lower links can be the same as the banner.  Or larger or smaller than scroll. The rules for the writing content of couplets are strict.

The pair signatures are at the end of the upper and lower pages, and the signatures are slightly higher than the bottom of the article. The position of upper and lower joint characters should generally be parallel. Deal with the size of the upper and lower worlds, the changes in retracting and unfolding, and the echoes between the upper and lower joints make the upper and lower joints become a whole.

The signatures of couplets below the cross divide into upper and lower paragraphs and single paragraphs. In the Upper and lower signatures, the upper signature writes on the right side of the upper line, and the next signature writs on the left side of the lower line.

The above signature generally writes the author and title of the verse, such as "Huang Tingjian Deng Kuaige Poem," the next paragraph, the name and number of the writer, and the writing location and time. For example, if "Book of Bingzixiantang in Beijing" is a donation work, the Shanglian must state the name or number of the recipient, title, and words such as Yazheng, Huicun, and Qingshou. For example, if "Ms. Wenying Hui Cun" is a work that someone asks you to write, the Shanglian will write the name or mark of the person who asked you to be the writer and add the words "testimony" to the title.

The single signature generally writes in the upper-middle position on the left side of the lower line. The content of the signature includes the writing time, the author's name, or only the author's name or mark. The seal place under the paragraph, generally, two sides are appropriate, and the distance between the seals is suitably separated.

Nine Common Forms of Chinese Calligraphy (Part 2)

Following the previous blog post, I will continue to share other forms of Chinese calligraphy. 

3.The nave is a style in which the Chinese paintings mount in the vertical frame, named after hanging on the middle wall of the hall. The floor slabs of old-style houses in China are very high. 

People often hang enormous calligraphy and painting on the middle wall of the living room (main room), called the nave painting. It is a rectangular work written in vertical lines. The content is mostly a four-foot full sheet of large characters with auspicious meanings such as blessing, longevity, dragon, and tiger, with "couplets" on the left and right. There are also calligraphic inscriptions on ancestral mottos, sayings, famous sentences, or portraits of ancestors, landscapes, and tigers. The size is generally a piece of whole rice paper (four feet, five feet, six feet, eight feet, etc.).

Because the size is relatively large, the creator needs to have proficient techniques and the ability to grasp the overall layout of the work. When creating, we must pay attention to the primary and secondary relationship between the main text and the inscription and make the primary and secondary differences between them correspondingly bright. Don't overwhelm the host when signing. The signature can write below the bottom line of the text, and there should be room for a layout. The bottom of the paragraph is generally not flush with the body to avoid rigid form. It can also occupy another line or several lines at the end of the text, and the top and bottom should not be flush with the article. The seal should be smaller than the typeface, and the stamp must generally leave more than one word, placed under the typeface, or on the left side of the typeface.

4. DouFang: Cut rice paper into a style of about eight kai (about 1 square foot), called DouFang.

Dongfang is one of the mounting styles of Chinese painting and calligraphy. It means a page of calligraphy, calligraphy, or poem one or two square meters. The scale is small, generally referring to drawings and calligraphy works of 25-50 cm square. In folk New Year pictures, arts of this size and form are also called "Doufang." There is also a fighting style in the current paintings. The small Doufang that is one-foot square is also called "Doufang Xiaoping" or "Xiaopin Doufang."

The written content of Doufang is generally four to six lines. Because of the large number of rows and columns, the layout of the chapter should emphasize the size, opening, and closing, echoing, and rhythm changes. When creating, pay attention to the primary and secondary relationship between the main text and the inscription. The characters are generally smaller than the main text and should be natural and vivid. The signature can write below the bottom line of the article, and there should be room for a layout. The bottom of the paragraph is generally not flush with the body to avoid rigid form. It can also occupy another line or two lines after the text, and the top and bottom cannot be flush with the article. The seal must be smaller than the word, and it must leave more than one character.

5. Plaque: also known as a horizontal drape, horizontal banners are framed or carved on wooden boards and hung on the wall.

The plaque is generally hung above the door and under the eaves. When the building has gates on all sides, plaques can hang on all sides, but the front doors must have plaques, such as royal gardens, palaces, and some famous residences. Many dragons and phoenixes, flowers, and patterns will carve on the borders of many plaques. Some inlaid pearls and jade are gorgeous.

6. Bar screen: Write a group of works based on the length of the poem and essay on paper of the same size as the nave and banner.

The separately hung ones call "banners," and the ones hung together are called "tang screens" or "strip screens," such as "four screens, eight screens, twelve, sixteen, eighteen, or even twenty-six screens.