The Dao in Chinese Calligraphy

Preface to Peter Lang Edition – Preface to Original Edition – Calligraphy: Truly Deserving of ‘China’ – Three Incidents That Perplexed Me – ‘Getting to the Root’ – What Does ‘Convenience’ Mean? – The Blind Men and an Elephant – Doubting the ‘Eight Principles of the Character Yong’ – Mastering Brush Grip – ‘Five Fingers’ or ‘Five Characters’ – Visualizing ‘Adjusting the Stirrups’ – Calligraphy: Mastering Brushwork Techniques – Man is the Measure of All Things’ – The Emergence of Brushwork Techniques 1. ‘Gathering the Brush-tip 裹锋’ and Continuous Writing – The Emergence of Brushwork Techniques 2. Writing Without Support – Reasoning Boldly – Diameter of the Brush Shaft – Brush Bristle: Length and Hardness – The Origin of Paper and the Concept of ‘Move, Lift, Hold, and Dye’ – Insights from ‘The Execution of Chen Shimei’ – Brushwork Techniques Root in Writing Posture – The Swan Song of ‘the Ancient Method’ – Unconscious Loss – Merits and Demerits of Using a Table – Exploring the ‘Eight-Point Script’ – Shaping Form and Momentum through Xiang and Bei – What a Giant Elephant! – The Culmination of Calligraphy: Zhangcao – The Physiological Limits of Lihua and Meihua – Wanfa: Weaving Three Strands into One – Shangfa: Engraving the Calligraphy of Wang Xizhi in the Heart – Bianfa: Perseverance of Brushwork Techniques amid Evolution of Characters – Wufa: Accepting the Unavoidable Reality – Is Calligraphy a Visual Art? – Decoding Ancient Analogies – The Regeneration of Rotational Momentum in Brushwork – Understanding ‘Contraction’ and ‘Expansion’ – Semi-cursive Script: the Last to Take the Stage – Personalizing Aesthetics in the Art of Calligraphy – Deciphering the Misconstrued ‘Intention Comes Before Writing – The Impact of Brush Rotating on Right-to-Left Vertical Writing – Debunking the Myth of ‘Solid Fingers and Open Palms’ – Describing the Unseen Sun to the Blind – The Inadvertent Mislabeling: A Reflection on ‘Calling a Stag a Horse’ – Unraveling the Study of Tie: An Examination of Its Collapse – Reassessing the Study of Bei – The Pitfalls of ‘Drawing Characters’ – A Concise Historic Overview of Japanese Calligraphy – Distinguishing the Boundaries Between Calligraphy and Painting – The Frustrating Debate on ‘the Essence of Calligraphy’ – Decoding the Universal Principles of Calligraphy – A Revelatory Moment During Commute – The Confusion about Traditional Chinese Painting – Unveiling the Association Between gufa and Brushwork Techniques – Exploring the Shared Origins of Calligraphy and Traditional Chinese Painting – The Indispensable Role of Brushwork Techniques in the Traditional Chinese Painting – The Singular Trajectory to Mount Hua’s Summit – Literati Painting – The Distant Mountain in the Mist – ‘When a Painting Resembles its Subject, it is Reminiscent of a Child’s Work’ – The Imitation Game – Truth and Helplessness – The Tale of Jizi – Postscript to the Revised Edition – Works by Sun Xiaoyun – Bibliography – Translators’ Acknowledgment – Index.