书法是音乐与舞蹈 Chinese calligraphy: It is Music and Dance

好的书法要有节奏、情感、美感、优美、神韵，更重要的是要体现书家个性。书法作品以线条的不同形态与形式，通过运动与排列组合，来表现不同美的元素，平衡、均匀、多样、一致、对照、运动、变化与和谐。所以说，中国书法是‘无象之画、无声之乐、无演员之演出与无原料组合之建筑物’。

犹如音乐，书法的重要元素是节奏。那些浓淡的点划与方折形状明显的表现了节奏感，与无限变化及流动的音乐节奏一样，表现了书法家与音乐家起伏思潮与情感。

相同的，音乐也可以说是舞剑于纸上。

唐代（618-907）著名的书法家张旭以草书而闻名。草书与其它书体不同，看似容易，其实写起来很难。他的草书成就是他登上了‘草圣’的宝座。

张旭与著名剑舞家公孙大娘是同时代的人。公孙大娘舞剑时大胆跳跃、优美转换、精确冲刺，在张旭的眼中，就如文字点划的书写一样。他从公孙大娘的舞剑中得到灵感，把他所见到的紧张刺激的舞姿融入书法里。所以，我们看到他的书法时，还会感觉到毛笔在纸上移动时的势态与优美动作。

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Good calligraphy possesses rhythm, emotion, aesthetic, beauty, spirituality and, perhaps most importantly, the character of the calligrapher. Calligraphic works express various essential factors of beauty - balance, proportion, variety, continuity, contrast, movement, change and harmony - through the different shapes and forms of the lines, their combinations and ways of movement. Chinese calligraphy is therefore said to be the ‘painting without images, a piece of music without sounds, a stage without actors and actresses and a building without components and materials.’

Like music, calligraphy has rhythm as its main element. The dots and strokes in thick and light ink or in round or square shapes demonstrate obvious rhythms, like changing and moving musical rhythms, expressing the surging thoughts and emotions of the calligrapher and musician alike.

Similarly, one may say calligraphy is swordplay on paper.

Zhang Xu, a famous calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) particularly excelled at the caoshu (cursive) style of calligraphy. Cursive script differs from other styles of calligraphy in appearing deceptively simple when it is actually very difficult to execute. His calligraphic artistry resulted in his epithet as ‘sage of cursive script.’

Zhang Xu and expert swordplay dancer Madame Gongsun were contemporaries. The attitudes struck by Madame Gongsun in her dance sequences of bold leaps, graceful swoops and deadly accurate lunges were, in Zhang Xu’s eyes, unusually defined outlines of Chinese characters. He drew inspiration from Madame Gongsun’s swordplay and incorporated everything he found thrilling about her performances into his distinctive style of calligraphy.

Hence, when reading his calligraphy work, one can feel the momentum and gracious movements of his brush moving on the paper.