| The seal script and clerical script are the origins of calligraphy.The relationship between the cursive script to seal script and clerical script is like that between the running water and its source.Most of the masters of cursive scripts from the past generations have devoted themselves to the study of the seal script and clerical script.In view of this,this paper made an analysis on how the cursive script inherited and developed the ancient seal and clerical scripts,and identified the correlation between the two in terms of both theories and practice,so as to explore the feasibility and necessity for cursive script to draw on the merits of seal script and clerical script.This paper first made a brief review on the origin and development of cursive script from the perspective of the evolution of Chinese characters.Based on the existing research results,the author raised some personal opinion and studied the derivative relationship between the cursive script and the seal script and clerical script,and looked for theoretical support from the origin of cursive script.To pursue the “ancient technique” is the only path for almost every calligrapher to make progress.Why must they follow the “ancient techniques”? What is the essence of the “ancient techniques”? What is the relationship between the“ancient” and the “techniques”? These problems are analyzed and discussed one by one in this paper.The “ancient” was usually held in high regard with a criticism for its counterpart in the “present times”,while the “plain and unadorned of the ancient times” and the “delicate and ornate of the present” has been repeatedly mentioned by calligraphers of all generations.Sun Guoting said that “calligraphy must inherit the merits from the ancient times,without breaking away from the current times or tainted by the deficiencies of today”.This can serve as the best explanation on the relationship between the ancient and the present techniques.This paper also made some reflections on the calligraphic thought of blindly worshiping the ancient technique without adapting to the current times.The inherent nature of cursive script determines that it should be easy to write compared with other calligraphic styles,but“rules and techniques” would put restrictions on the writability of a calligraphic style.In view of this,this paper reviewed the relationship between the elements including“rules and techniques”,“writing”,“ancient artistic conception”,and “naturalness”,and discussed the idea of “technique of no technique”.Finally,from the “technical”level,the author made an in-depth analysis on the techniques used in cursive script that were inherited from the seal script and cleric script.“Middle stroke” has become the most basic method of using brush pen ever since the emergence of seal script,but the “ubiquitous middle stroke” is not the only technique used in seal script.“Momentum” is the key that goes through the entire use of brush.To a large extent,the grasp of “momentum” could determine a calligrapher’s level of using the brush.Although there are a number of different momentum in cursive script,the most fundamental techniques are still those inherited from the seal script and cleric script. |
