Brush and ink to greet the new year
Ahead of the Spring Festival the firm's party branch held an afternoon of calligraphy. Director Luo Deqing began by explaining how to hold a brush, the grip differing for beginners and for those with some practice, and then set out what makes a good piece: form, meaning the strokes, the structure of each character and the layout of the sheet, and spirit, meaning the force, momentum and expression of every stroke. Participants practised from copybooks and by the end of the afternoon had written works of their own.
The golden tiger takes its leave and the jade rabbit welcomes spring. As the year begins and all things are renewed, the Minton party branch marked the festival with an unusual event in which staff wrote their own couplets for good fortune.
At the start, director Luo Deqing explained how to hold a brush, the grip differing somewhat for beginners and for those who already had some practice. He then set out what makes good brushwork: the key is to achieve both form and spirit, form being the strokes, the structure of the characters and the layout of the sheet, and spirit being the force, momentum and expression of each stroke. A piece that is handsome in appearance and alive within is one in which form and spirit are both present.
The calligraphy enthusiasts present took the idea of form and spirit as their guide and practised from copybooks. A good piece comes only from practice repeated a thousand times.
Those taking part forgot the traffic outside the window and lost themselves in the art. The afternoon was short, but their enthusiasm ran high and each of them wrote a piece of their own.
The ink on the brush tip leaves a fragrance that lingers, and in memory it is the blessing written in red. No spring without couplets, and with couplets spring runs deeper. With the scent of ink and the red paper spread out, the feeling of the new year was in the air, and the year ahead will surely be a prosperous one, with plenty for the people and peace for them.