How to Appraise Caligraphic Work
2 min readHow to Appraise Caligraphic Work
It is very difficult to appraise a calligraphic work.This is because the requirements of a work include the practical function of communicating information through seemingly simple points and lines，the expressive functionof communicating feelings，and the aesthetic function.The simpler the expression，the richer the content.
The more abstract it is，the deeper its implication.It is a medium for expressing the mood，will，feelings，ideas and the pursuit of beauty of its producer.This requires the appraisers and connoisseurs to have extensive knowledge and keen observation.
Coreword to Lanting Pavilion
The“Foreword to Lanting Pavilion” is the best-known example of Wang Xizhi’s running hand.It is regarded as the“First Running Hand Under the Sun.”It is said that on the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar，in the year 353（the ninth year of the reign of Emperor Mudi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty），Wang Xizhi and a group of eminent scholars gathered at Lanting Pavilion in Shanyin，Kuaiji，where，according to the conventions of an old sacrificial ceremony，they drank and enjoyed themselves on the bank of a river.
When the wine cup flowing on the water stopped before one of them，that person would compose a poem immediately，otherwise he would have to take a drink.Wang wrote a foreword to the collection of all these poems:the“Foreword to Lanting Pavilion.”
Dequirement for Calligraphers
True Chinese calligraphers emphasize that the hand should follow the mind when writing.They claim that caligraphers need to concentrate their thoughts and vital energies on the tip of the brush to obtain the perfect state of mind for writing.Only then will their hands be free to wield the brush as the“snake crawls and dragon flies.”
