SFZD.cn - Shu Fa Zi Dian website (useful resource for Chinese Calligraphy)

[Special thanks to my former Chinese calligraphy classmates in NAFA for sharing this very useful info!]

Check out this very useful resource at www.sfzd.cn

It shows you how to write a character in different styles. Very cool.

So, what does Chinese calligraphy have to do with the Guqin? Well, in my personal opinion, training how to use my wrist to write with a 'light' touch really helps me when I play the qin. Also, there is a natural rhythm in writing Chinese characters and my rhythm in breathing (usually one breath per small sized character, or one breath per stroke in larger size characters, so my hand won't shake) that can also be applied to guqin playing. Guqin music, in my personal opinion, does not sound that good if played with a straight-laced Occidental-styled 44 (four four) beat, or a 34 (three four) beat. To me, guqin music sounds much better if one mimics some of the natural rhythms found in nature, for example, the rhythm of the circada, or the rhythm of the sea lapping gently onto shore or water ripples or rushing water, or the rhythm of leaves fluttering in the wind, or the sounds of the howling wind. But that's just me. *smile*

In my personal opinion, if a person only learns how to play guqin without learning how to write Chinese calligraphy, he or she is seriously missing a huge part of the experience of learning how to 韵 (pinyin: yun) with one's wrists.