Breath Entering the Characters
Tags
Summary
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Enthusiasts with a calligraphy foundation who want to understand ancient methods from a physical and mental perspective
- Calligraphy majors and researchers interested in cross-perspective approaches to calligraphy research
- Practitioners of stillness/concentration or traditional health cultivation interested in combining writing and breathing
- Calligraphy teachers seeking supplementary ideas for teaching copying and brush holding
Not a good fit for
- Complete beginners—the book does not systematically teach basic strokes and character forms
- Readers hoping for rapid improvement in writing skills—the book leans toward research and experiential reflection
- Those interested only in contemporary calligraphy trends—the content focuses on the Han, Tang, and earlier periods
Reading tips
- Read the 'Ancient Methods' and 'Brush Holding' chapters first, then return to the calligraphy history section with questions in mind.
- Before copying, browse the relevant chapters; during writing, pay attention to your breathing rhythm and keep brief notes.
- Readers unfamiliar with Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist stillness theories can skim those parts first, focusing on comparing with examples.
- Read slowly in the order of the eight chapters, and after each chapter observe a Han or Tang stele or ink manuscript.
About the publisher
Jinan University Press is a comprehensive university press known for publishing in language and writing, history and culture, and medicine. Judging from the 2,481 titles in the database, its publishing focuses on language and writing research, the compilation of unearthed documents, Chinese culture and Eastern philosophy, traditional Chinese medicine, and grassroots medical standards. Representative books include the Chinese Dictionary (Second Edition), the series on the collected interpretation and modern translation of Warring States documents from the Language Services Series and the series on the language of unearthed documents, Chinese Cultural Psychology (6th Edition), Illustrated Compendium of Traditional Chinese Medicine Processing Techniques, and Construction and Technical Standards for Standardized Bronchoscopy Rooms in Primary-Level Pediatrics. In terms of authors, scholars such as Zhu Cheng, Zhang Yujin, Wang Fengyan, Zheng Hong, Cao Hui and Ma Zhiguo form its author base in language and documents, cultural psychology, and traditional Chinese medicine. In terms of publishing characteristics, the press emphasizes the collected interpretation and modern translation of unearthed documents and language service research, while also systematically organizing cultural psychology and medical techniques. Public information on specific matters such as overseas Chinese-language education is limited and is therefore not elaborated here.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 序 书宗禅风
- 壹 书史辩
- 一、原始边界记号：具茨山凹穴
- 二、字法之祖：胎迹乳渍、雪地鸿爪
- 三、文字创造不能简单归结于个人成就
- 四、方言是古文字的活化石
- 五、国学的根基何在
- 六、春秋战国为何能出百家学说
- 七、书法必先有人格才有书格
- 八、言必“二王”为唐人之误
- 九、三国吴简、敦煌经文对书学的意义
- 十、书法笔法为道家呼吸之法
- 十一、刹那定力：书法可以这样写
- 贰 源流
- 一、夏朝鸟篆符书
- 二、商晚期甲骨文
- 三、周朝大篆
- 四、秦代小篆
- 五、汉代隶书
- 八、魏晋碑帖
- 七、隋朝楷书
- 八、唐人书法
- 九、宋代行书
- 十、元明文人书法
- 十一、清代复古碑学
- 十二、近现代书法
- 叁 古法
- 一、力
- 二、势
- 三、气
- 四、韵
- 五、品
- 六、趣
- 七、禅
- 八、法
- 肆 风格
- 一、风格概述
- 二、大篆——金石之气
- 三、小篆——圆、匀、劲、净
- 四、汉隶——瘦劲险绝
- 五、魏碑——斩钉截铁
- 六、晋帖——自然之韵
- 七、隋唐楷书——出规入矩
- 八、宋元行书——笔随人意
- 九、明清复古，笔墨意趣
- 十、南北书论
- 伍 书评
- 一、鹰犬之祖——李斯
- 二、酷吏——程邈
- 三、妙有绝伦——蔡邕
- 四、楷书帝——中繇
- 五、卫夫人的《笔阵图》
- 六、王羲之，女郎才也
- 七、王献之的一笔书
- 八、西域孤松——索靖
- 九、凭虚欲仙——陶弘景
- 十、气吞万象——杨坚、杨广
- 十一、心月孤悬——高僧智永
- 十二、瘦劲遒逸——欧虞褚
- 十三、颜筋柳骨，身正笔正
- 十四、张颠素狂，落墨如烟
- 十五、“疯子”杨凝式
- 十六、宋四家——苏黄米蔡
- 十七、别开生而——张即之
- 十八、赵佶多能，唯不能为君
- 十九、书画一体——赵孟頫
- 二十、书禅南宗——董其昌
- 二十一、猿臂翁——何绍基
- 二十二、北李南曾
- 陆 执笔
- 一、执笔方法之争论
- 二、古今各种执笔法
- 三、正确执笔在得笔势
- 四、书写姿势八字诀
- 五、笔位
- 六、笔法
- 七、永字八法的意义
- 柒 文房
- 一、笔
- 二、墨
- 三、纸
- 四、砚
- 五、书房
- 六、格式
- 七、题跋
- 八、笔墨
- 捌 临摹
- 一、器识
- 二、取法
- 三、师门
- 四、识帖
- 五、眼界
- 六、习性
- 七、情怀
- 八、临写
- 九、养气
- 十、创作
- 后记 吾道南来
FAQ
Can someone without a calligraphy background understand this book?
What specifically does 'breathing into characters' mean?
Must the eight chapters be read in order?
Comments
Find this book
This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.
About the author
Public information about Liao Guangming is limited, and details such as his nationality, dates of birth and death, and English name cannot currently be confirmed. Judging from the two works held in the collection, his writing spans the fields of art and biography, showing considerable range in subject matter. Breathing into Characters leans toward art writing; the title itself suggests an interest in the relationship between words, writing, and breath, and it carries a certain tone of artistic reflection and personal experience. The Biography of Zhao Junmai, by contrast, belongs to the biographical genre, taking a person's life as its narrative thread and emphasizing the careful arrangement of historical facts and the portrayal of character. Because these two works fall into different categories, they indicate that the author has tried his hand at both art essays and biographical writing. Given the limited available material, his specific life experience, development as a writer, and external reception are difficult to describe in detail; readers may turn to the two works themselves to better appreciate his prose style and thematic concerns.
