Riding the wind of rebirth

All three paintings deliberately downplay the flaws in the artwork, intentionally or unintentionally avoiding its shortcomings.

A very important aspect of traditional Chinese painting is composition and variation. Composition refers to rules; both the composition and the brushstrokes need to follow certain rules.

Variation is an advancement of rules. Lines should be able to express various aspects such as speed, pauses, and breaks. The beginning, entry, movement, ending, and conclusion of a stroke cannot be without variation. Rhythm, style, and personality are expressed through these.

The best example to learn from is calligraphy. Applying calligraphic principles to painting is the dividing line between artisan painting and literati painting, and the aesthetics and style will be greatly enhanced as a result.

This is not affectation, but because the aesthetic system and brushwork style of calligraphy are themselves expressions of high aesthetics. When incorporated into painting, they do add a dynamic variation and elevate the "quality" of the painting.

Of course, these things are irrelevant to my aunt's current level. Even if I told her, she probably wouldn't understand or be able to express them. So when she paints plants like bamboo, plum blossoms, and pine trees, the disadvantages of her poor calligraphy are fully reflected in these paintings.

To paint bamboo well, one needs a thorough understanding of horizontal, vertical, diagonal, dot, and stroke techniques. To paint plum blossoms well, one needs a certain level of proficiency in running and cursive scripts to express the natural and lively nature of the branches. To paint pine trunks and bark, one needs a certain level of skill in writing seal and clerical scripts with a dry brush. Pine bark, on the other hand, requires extremely high control of the brush.

These skills cannot be acquired in just one or two years.

Actually, orchids, chrysanthemums, and lotus flowers also require certain brushwork techniques, but not as much as other subjects. Although orchids do require certain lines, they mainly use sweeping strokes and rising strokes, with relatively fewer variations. The leaves of chrysanthemums and lotus flowers are modular, and the petals are also relatively simple to outline, so it's less likely to reveal any weakness in the brushwork.

"Write something." The third aunt opened the inkwell, took out a pen, and handed it to Zhou Zhi.

"Are you really going to write it down directly? Isn't that a bit inappropriate?" Zhou Zhi said. "The main problem is that the teacher can tell at a glance. What if they don't give you a grade then?"

"What should I do?"

“Here, I’ll write it down on a list for you, you can copy it down.” Zhou Zhi took the pen, found a piece of Xuan paper, and wrote down the following lines: “Wherever there is a secluded forest or a remote valley, it is not less fragrant because there is no one around,” “Let my white hair be adorned with hairpins, and let me laugh and sing at the banquet,” and “Who can perceive my heartlessness and resentment? When the moon is bright and the wind is clear, it is about to fall.”

Zhou Zhi wrote in traditional Chinese characters, and there were many characters that the third aunt didn't recognize, nor did she understand the poem. So Zhou Zhi wrote out the simplified Chinese characters next to it and explained the origin and meaning of the poem.

"Third Aunt, can you write your own characters so I can see?"

"Then you can't laugh at Third Aunt." Third Aunt picked up a pen and copied down the two lines "heartless yet full of hatred." How about that?
It's really not very good. Zhou Zhi thought for a moment: "Third Aunt, try to control the pen, keep the thickness of the strokes about the same, and for the rest, make the beginning of each stroke a little slower and the end a little faster."

The third aunt wrote it again: "Oh? It looks a bit better now."

Zhou Zhi said, "Write it again, keeping the feeling of starting and ending the strokes as we did just now. This time, let's write the characters a little flatter."

The third aunt wrote it again: "Hmm, it's getting better and better."

“If you can’t control the size,” Zhou Zhi said, “then alternate them. Write the characters with complex strokes larger and the characters with simple strokes smaller, and strive to achieve a good balance of sizes.”

Zhou Zhi wrote it down using the brushstrokes he had just taught his aunt, but his writing was much more beautiful. It was a kind of "simplified script," which is an early form of clerical script written on bamboo slips by the ancients. The bamboo slips were held upright in the hand, and the writing was done with a small brush.

Zhou Zhixue wrote on bamboo slips from the Yinqueshan Han Tomb. The characters were casual and fluent, written in the free and unrestrained style of the ancient official script, which was very elegant and free. This style was somewhat similar to his aunt's handwriting and did not have very strict rules. Zhou Zhixue thought that his aunt could imitate it.

Sure enough, after such a simple change, Third Aunt's calligraphy improved somewhat. "That's about it." Zhou Zhi nodded: "Keep this habit, and write more casually, just don't try too hard, just like you're casually writing for fun. By the way, Third Aunt, do you have a seal?"

“There’s one, wait a minute.” Third Aunt put down her pen, pulled open a shallow drawer under the long table, and took out a set of things: “This was carved by a teacher at the school.”

The carving was quite mediocre, and the inscription was just a plain "Su Xiuzhang Seal," which made Zhou Zhi shake his head: "How about I grind it down and carve a new one for you?"

“Sure! Our teacher said that if everyone is interested, we can carve it ourselves. There’s also a set of stones, carving knives and a frame, but I don’t think I have the skill, so I didn’t dare to try.”

When Zhouzi opened the drawer, sure enough, there was a set of Shoushan stone seal materials inside, but apart from the previous "Su Xiuzhang Seal", the others were all blank.

"What has been Third Aunt's mood lately?"

"What does 'mood' mean?"

“Besides using surnames, given names, courtesy names, pseudonyms, studio names, and hall names for calligraphy and painting, there is another type of seal called ‘leisure seal’. These can be engraved with poems to express the holder’s mood, ideals, or even complaints, all of which can convey a sense of leisure. I plan to engrave a ‘Su’ seal and a ‘sleeve badge’ for you as separate seals for your name. I will also engrave another leisure seal. Three seals on the painting should be enough.”

"My recent mood... is it... the sea of ​​learning is endless?"

"Don't you have to be so obsessed with studying?" Zhou Zhi was both amused and exasperated. "Can't you choose something that has nothing to do with studying?"

"Why don't you give me a few examples? You know Third Aunt isn't very educated!"

"Oh, for example, 'A gentleman has a constant body' for self-encouragement, 'One can become an immortal' to describe the joy of painting, 'One can be a sage' to find a kindred spirit, 'One can understand the way of the wise' to describe one's ambition, 'One's heart is like reaching for the clouds but no one knows it' to describe one's ambition, 'One should eat more to stay healthy' to express one's spiritual feelings, 'One sits on a white stone under the bright moon' to express one's spiritual aspirations, and 'Heaven's will always be with one's people' to express one's wishes, etc., are all acceptable."

"If you ask me, you should carve 'My dear grandson is Tiedan' on it," Uncle said, pounding ginger and garlic as he came over. "That's what your third aunt loves to show off the most these days!"

"You're talking nonsense, you old man! You just don't support my painting!"

"Oh dear, I can't bear that blame." My uncle picked up the mortar and pestle and left. "I absolutely support it, I support it with both hands! If two hands aren't enough, I'll add two more feet!"

"What exactly are we doing?" Third Aunt rubbed her hands together. "But the old man is right. If I had to say I'm in a good mood lately, it's because we have our precious grandson at home. It's much more lively."

"How about carving 'One hand holding an axe, the other holding an iron egg'?" Zhou Zhi laughed, "One calls you grandma, and the other calls you maternal grandma, wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"Is it okay to carve it like this?" the third aunt asked. "Won't people laugh at us?"

"A personal seal is just a way to express one's leisurely interests; as long as you like it, that's all that matters," Zhou Zhi said. "Why care what others think when it's something that pleases yourself?"

"Alright! But 'an axe in one hand and an iron egg in the other' is just too much. You should carve 'Axe and Iron Egg, two good grandsons' instead!" (End of Chapter)