In the process of writing official script, Cui found that the structure of the word "Yong" includes eight basic stippling. Pointing is like a bird turning sideways; Cross-painting is like painting a horse with a reins; Vertical painting is like pulling a bow hard; Sketching is like a person kicking and jumping, and the force is all on his toes; Swing is like riding a horse with a whip; Long hair is like sweeping it with a comb; Short skimming is like a bird pecking; Hold a pen like a knife to cut meat.
Therefore, he vividly described the basic strokes of Chinese characters, such as point, horizontal, vertical, hook, lift, left and right, with eight actions of side, grip, stroke, sweep, peck and lick, which is called "Eight-character Method of Foreword".
"Eight methods of eternal words" is the embodiment of statutes in basic stippling. In the process of writing, only by mastering the basic statutes and freely using the writing norms of stippling can we realize the freedom of structure, integrate into the writer's temperament and form our own style. Calligraphers of all ages attached great importance to the study of the eight methods of harmony. According to legend, Wang Xizhi devoted himself to calligraphy, specializing in the eight methods of harmony for fifteen years. He thinks that if you write the word "use" well, you can understand all the words.
Is it a coincidence that the first word in Preface to Lanting, which is known as the "best running script in the world", is "forever"? According to legend, Sun Zhiyong, the seventh monk of Wang Xizhi, originally preserved the Preface to the Lanting Pavilion. After painstaking research, he thought that the word "Yong" covered the basic requirements of China's calligraphy in stippling, which was his purport, and passed on the essentials to Yu Shinan. Since then, the eight methods of "Yong Zi" have had a wider influence and have been studied by more and more calligraphers.
Summary: China's calligraphy advocates foundation, and the word Yong contains eight strokes, which the ancients called "eight strokes of Yong", but these eight strokes also constitute all Chinese characters. The proportion of the word "Yong" is also very good, so we advocate practicing the word "Yong"!
Zhao Lu said: "The eight methods of the eternal word are stippling." However, the eight methods do not exist in isolation, and we are considering how to arrange each stippling, which actually involves the structural law of characters. Therefore, the author of Eight Laws intends to explain the writing and combination of basic stippling through the analysis of the word "Yong".