How to Practice Calligraphy#
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Should I start practicing calligraphy with individual characters or sentences?
Answer: Many beginners tend to copy an entire article without thinking or analyzing, just focusing on practicing. However, this only reinforces their incorrect writing style. The beauty of calligraphy depends on individual characters. No matter how good your brushstrokes are or how harmonious the whole piece looks, if your individual characters are not visually pleasing, your calligraphy cannot be considered beautiful and practical. Therefore, it is important to start practicing calligraphy with individual characters. -
How long should I practice calligraphy each day?
Answer: The key to calligraphy practice lies in consistent and focused practice, not the length of time. If you have plenty of time, you can practice more, but make sure your hand doesn't get tired. Don't turn calligraphy practice into calligraphy copying, where you only write once and then don't write for half a month. The principle is simple: Rome wasn't built in a day, but it was built one brick at a time. -
How many times should I practice a single character?
Answer: It is best not to practice a single character more than ten times. If you read the post carefully, compare, and make modifications, you can write it well after six times. Even if you can't write it well today, don't practice it again. Writing a character repeatedly with the wrong method actually reinforces the mistake. After a while, when you write the character again, you will find that it is better than before. This is the effect of subconscious practice. -
With so many calligraphy copybooks available, which one is better to choose?
Answer: Calligraphy practice is a personal interest and hobby. Practice with the copybook of someone you like. However, pay attention to selecting copybooks from experienced calligraphers and try to practice until your writing is almost indistinguishable from theirs. Don't just pursue a writing style by intentionally turning a vertical stroke into a circle or extending a horizontal stroke unnecessarily. These are not styles, but bad habits. Also, don't keep changing your practice materials. If you learn from Zhang San today and Li Si tomorrow, you won't be able to master either of their calligraphy. -
What kind of copybooks are suitable for beginners?
Don't start by practicing each character in the order of the copybook. Calligraphy practice relies on learning from one to infer many, not on quantity. For example, you can directly trace or imitate with transparent paper, and then compare it with the original. Beginners should not be greedy for too much practice. It is not suitable to start with a copybook that requires a solid foundation. A copybook with basic stroke and radical explanations is recommended. Once you have mastered the basic strokes, there will be no problem with the "永" character. That's the idea. -
Practicing individual characters can be boring. Are there any good methods?
Answer: I would like to share my own experience of practicing calligraphy: 1. Write a sentence that you like, not too long. Find the corresponding characters in the common character copybook, cut them out, and paste them into a grid notebook. Compare and analyze your own shortcomings. 3. Analyze the character by observing videos and studying stroke order. Understand the writing techniques of strokes, radicals, and structures. 4. Practice repeatedly by comparing the copybook characters in the grid notebook. Mark the date each time you practice. With continuous practice, you will see your progress day by day, which will give you a sense of achievement. -
What should I do if I can't write well without transparent tracing paper or red lines?
Answer: The ancients said, "Copying can easily lose the position of the ancients but gain their brushwork; tracing can easily find the position of the ancients but lose their brushwork." Therefore, it is recommended to combine "tracing" and "copying" to help us grasp the "form" of the characters. Transparent tracing paper and red lines are like crutches when we are learning to walk. Eventually, we need to let go of the crutches and write on our own. Many beginners are often reluctant to let go of these crutches and naturally can't write well without them. A calligrapher once said that if you want to progress quickly, you must "copy and trace" intensively. -
Can I write with a hard pen using the techniques of a brush pen?
Answer: In general, if you can write well with a brush pen, you will also be able to write well with a hard pen. Hard pen calligraphy originated from brush pen calligraphy, and the techniques and principles of brush pen calligraphy are applicable to hard pen calligraphy. The only difference is that when writing with a hard pen, certain stroke writing methods have been simplified to improve writing speed. Therefore, practicing with a brush pen is very helpful for practicing with a hard pen. -
I am older and my handwriting has already formed. Can I still practice calligraphy?
Answer: I can responsibly tell you that age is not a problem. There is no such thing as bad handwriting that cannot be improved, only people who are not willing to put in effort. As long as you are willing to put in effort, you can correct incorrect writing habits. Of course, calligraphy practice is easiest before forming writing habits.
How to Choose a Pen#
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What type of pen nib should I use?
A 0.38mm nib is too thin and does not show the variation in stroke thickness well, while a 1.0mm nib is too thick and requires higher control of the hand. Therefore, for beginners, it is generally recommended to use a 0.5mm or 0.7mm pen nib for calligraphy practice. Steel pens produced abroad are often classified by nib thickness using designations such as EF, F, and M. Even pens with the same designation may vary in thickness among different brands, so it is best to choose based on your actual situation and try writing to see if it feels comfortable. -
Is it good to use a graphic pen for calligraphy practice?
Answer: Many beginners use graphic pens right from the start in order to achieve variations in stroke thickness. However, this actually deviates from the essence of calligraphy practice, as it overly relies on tools and neglects the training of pen control. In fact, a smooth-flowing fountain pen or gel pen is sufficient, and it doesn't have to be expensive. The most important thing is that it feels comfortable and develops a good rapport between you and the pen. As long as you and the pen are in harmony, your writing will flow naturally.
Questions Related to Semi-Cursive Script#
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Can I practice semi-cursive script without practicing regular script first?
Answer: For those who have limited time and just want to improve their handwriting slightly, they can directly practice semi-cursive script. However, it is still necessary to start with the basic strokes of semi-cursive script. If you have time and are not in a hurry to achieve perfection, it is recommended to start with regular script. With a foundation in regular script, it will be much easier to practice other script styles. Once you have mastered regular script, writing semi-cursive script becomes much easier, but the reverse is not true. In addition, for those with a good foundation in calligraphy, it is beneficial to learn some brushwork techniques from cursive script when aiming to write good semi-cursive script. -
Are the stroke forms in semi-cursive script the same as in regular script?
Answer: Regular script requires precise writing of strokes, especially long horizontal strokes, long vertical strokes, and long diagonal strokes, which require accurate positioning. Square-turn strokes require a certain rhythm. In contrast, when writing semi-cursive script, in order to facilitate continuous writing, some long strokes in regular script are simplified by reducing the distance between strokes, and some square-turn strokes are expressed with curved lines. Alternatively, adjacent strokes can be connected to reduce the frequency of starting and ending strokes. -
Some strokes in semi-cursive script are simplified. Are there any rules for stroke simplification?
Answer: Stroke simplification can make writing more convenient and efficient, and the character forms more vivid and varied. However, there should still be certain rules to follow, prioritizing easy recognition and writing of the character structure, and not simplifying strokes arbitrarily. In semi-cursive script, small strokes with smaller forms are often used to replace larger strokes, such as using a dot instead of a horizontal stroke, a dot instead of a left-falling stroke, or a dot instead of a right-falling stroke. -
What is the difference between "虚连" (loose connection) and "实连" (solid connection)?
Answer: "虚连" refers to strokes that are not physically connected but have a sense of connection, meaning that the strokes are broken but still connected in meaning.
"实连" refers to strokes that are physically connected, but it is important to avoid connecting every stroke. -
Are the stroke orders in semi-cursive script the same as in regular script?
Answer: When writing regular script, it is important to follow the stroke order rules such as "horizontal before vertical, left-falling before right-falling, inside before outside." However, when writing semi-cursive script, stroke orders can be adjusted to facilitate continuous writing, but arbitrary stroke orders should be avoided. -
Are the writing methods the same for "耳刀" (ear knife) on the left and right sides?
Answer: The size of "耳刀" generally depends on its position on the left or right side. Generally, when "耳刀" is on the left side, the "耳钩" (ear hook) should be small and delicate, while when "耳刀" is on the right side, the "耳钩" should be larger. In addition, the positions of left and right "耳刀" in a character are not exactly the same. The right "耳刀" is usually slightly lower than the left "耳刀". Furthermore, the left "耳刀" is generally written with a hanging needle stroke, while the right "耳刀" is often written with a suspended needle stroke.