The Bony Meaning of Calligraphy

In Mrs. Wei in Jin Dynasty, the written characters, or the lines of the characters, are divided into four types: bone, tendon, meat and pig, which are used to illustrate the brushwork. The original words are not difficult to understand, and they are also very close to modern Chinese. The excerpts are as follows: "Those who are good at writing are bony, those who are not good at writing are fleshy, those who are bony are called Jin Shu, those who are fleshy are called ink pigs, those who are muscular are called saints, and those who are weak and muscular are called diseases." The theory of this family attracted thousands of solutions. Therefore, there is a review of "Six Valleys of Yan Jin". The words of two great calligraphers, Liu Gongquan and Yan Zhenqing, are universal in the world. According to Mrs. Wei's classification, later generations defined Liu's body as bone and Yan's body as bony and fleshy.

Both muscle and meat are indispensable. Tendons are bone veins, spirit and strength. It is the internal force of calligraphy. The beauty, fullness and richness of meat lie in calligraphy. Tendon and flesh are both external and internal in calligraphy. Both are indispensable.