After Chuan, Li and Kai comes the Hsing style

Dear friends,

After Chuan, Li, and Kai, the next style is: HSING

The word Hsing means to walk. It refers here to a manner of writing that is freer than the Kai style, from which it evolved; it appears sketchy in comparison with Kai, yet it is very readable. Neat in appearance, capable of being written at high speed, it is a most useful style, widely used for personal letters and other social writing, although it is rarely taught.

A viewer looking at the example from the novel The Three Kingdoms might ascribe it to the Kai style; however, because of the speed of execution, it can only be categorized as Hsing.

Among General Wang's masterpieces in the Hsing style, Lan Ting Hsu, a recording of a meeting of literate friends, at the Orchid Pavilion in Kuai Chi, Che-Kiang province, is the most popular. The brush work is considered the best he produced. Rubbings from this tablet have been used as an orthodox model for learning the Hsing style of writing.

In the poem Yen Ch'en-Ching presented to his friend General Pei, who was going off to battle, he used a combination of different styles: Kai, Hsing and Tsao. Owing to the contrast between the dense and the loose portions of the characters, and the spaciousness of the composition, points of tension were created most effectively.

An example of the work of the calligrapher Hwang Ting Chian is the section of a poem which he wrote and dedicated to the Fu Po Shrine. His art was influenced by Yen Chen-Ch'ing in both brush work and spirit. Notice the composition of the characters in each column; they don't follow a strict vertical order. His use of that effect makes his calligraphy more lively and exciting.

In early Sung (10th century), the great scholar O-Yang Hsiou denounced the conventional manner of writing and encouraged other artists to break away from tradition. Both Su Tung-Po and Hwang T'ing-Chian followed him. The revolutionary spirit reflected in both artists' work has been passed on through the centuries to the present day.

Mi Fei enjoyed the same homage as his contemporaries, Su and Hwang. He was one of the leading painters of the Northern Sung period (10th century), and the creator of Pointillism -- the painting of landscape with dots of pure color. His brush work, like that of the masters before him, was full of variation, and he had the skill to produce as many styles as the brush is capable of.

Chao Meng-Fu (1254-1322) is another famous name in Chinese art history. When speaking of important names in calligraphy, critics often mention Yen-Liu-O-Chao (four masters). Chao was also well known as a painter of horses. His brush work is free and full of taste (Fig. 41).

Throughout Chinese history, most emperors were great lovers of calligraphy. Naturally, they encouraged others to master this art. During the Ming period, most of the scholars and artists gradually moved away from the traditional school, and followed the revolutionary route of the Sung masters, such as Su Tung-P'o and Hwang Ting-Chian.

Wen Cheng-Ming was the most celebrated artist in the Ming dynasty. His poetry, painting and calligraphy were all famous. His representative style of calligraphy was Hsing-Tsao (less sketchy than Tsao).

Hsu Wei (1521-1593) was the most influential artists of the Wen Jen (Scholar) school. Among many famous names of the Ch'ing period (1644-1912), Ho Tsao-Chi was held in special esteem for his outstanding style.

Like all calligraphers, he passed the civil examinations, and held high office. He also followed the traditional path to calligraphy, mastering Chuan, Li, and other classical styles, but eventually developed a strong personal style, quite different from the established ones. No other artist shows nearly as much freedom as Ho. The structure of the characters is still within the traditional framework, the Li and Kai influences are clearly evident, but the lines are completely of his own creation. Although at times they seem like mere doodling, the expression of strength is carried all the way to the very tip of each line.

-- Kwo Dan-Wei