It's an idea I learned from Su Shi, the smart and gifted guy who was famous on his essay, poem, drawing, calligrapgy, cooking, handcraft and all other things you can image. He said," if you wanted to talk me with the poem, I'll say that the secret of the poem isn't in the poem." Someone's handwriting is good and someone's is bad. But in China a nice handwriting is still far away from a good calligraphy. By the basic theory of Chinese arts, a works at least should tell what a person you are. It looks easy because now we always think our handwriting show out some of our characters and many books tell about that. But calligraphy at last is a kind of art, so above it, it still need a hard training to get the skill. It's a technology outside to show a character inside. So the

I think the only secret skill different from the west is the use of the blank. It's so important that there's a saying," if you can treat the blanks as the strokes, you have already known more than a half in calligraphy." But other skills on the implements of the brush, the ink and the paper also need a hard training. There's a real story that when a calligraphy master attended the imperatorial art academe, others didn't know what he could do so they all looked down on him. One day when there built a new wall. All the artists were gethered to elect one to draw or write on it. This new calligraphy master walked out with no word and quickly drew an I-go chessboard and a target on the wall without any implement. The straight lines on the I-go chessboard were like they were drawn by a ruler and the round storkes on the target were like they were drawn by a compasses. Not only all the storkes are in a same width but also the blanks between the strokes are also in a same width. Although it was such a legpull to draw those things on a new wall, everyone respected him from then on.

Some topics in this essay:
Zi Tao, Su Shi, Xizhi People, Jin Dynasty, Lao Zi's, Mao Zedong, Wang Xizhi, Song Dynasty, Cai Xiang, Song Huizong, song dynasty, calligraphy artist, chinese arts, calligraphy master, wang xizhi, cai xiang, mentioned calligraphy, i-go chessboard, mao zedong, calligraphy people,