Shūfǎ líguō 書法離鉤
Calligraphic Method beyond the Hook by 潘之淙 (Pān Zhīcóng, fl. 1627, 明, zhuàn 撰)
About the work
Pān Zhīcóng’s ten-juàn late-Míng calligraphic compendium, gathering older treatises by category. The title — “beyond the hook” — alludes to the Chán saying “the line dropped a thousand feet, the intent is in the deep pool; three inches beyond the hook, [the fish are caught]” (垂絲千尺，意在深潭，離鉤三寸): real attainment is the state beyond the apparent rule. The doctrinal position: every brush-stroke has its method, but the calligrapher must first immerse himself in method before he can “depart from method” (lífǎ), and once detached must transcend method to enter into method again. The vulgar practitioner sticks to the rule and the high-handed dismisses the rule — both alike fail. The work has substantive sections on zhīdào 知道 (knowing the Way) and cóngxìng 從性 (following nature). The Sìkù editors note several uncorrected pseudepigraphic / textually slipshod claims (notably about zhòuwén, bāfēn and the order of script-evolution, and about Yáng Shèn’s dream-discovery of “nándú yǎnhēng” at the Yuèlù Yǔbēi). Despite these failings the work has wide reference value.
Tiyao
We have respectfully examined: Shūfǎ líguō in ten juàn, by Pān Zhīcóng of the Míng. Zhīcóng, zì Wúshēng 無聲, hào Dázhāi 達齋, of Qiántáng. With his elder brother Zhīqí 之淇, zì Ěrzhān 爾瞻, both skilled at calligraphy. This compilation gathers earlier sayings by category. Main thesis: calligraphers must have a method in every stroke; one must go deep in method before one can detach from method; one must rise above method to enter method again. Vulgar learning sticks fast to the rule; the high-handed dismisses the discipline — both wrong. The book’s Zhīdào and Cóngxìng sections all argue the doctrine of “not-method-yet-methodical, methodical-yet-not-methodical.” The title Líguō takes the Buddhist saying “the line drops a thousand feet, the intent is in the deep pool — three inches beyond the hook.” But the book retains many uncorrected errors: e.g. zhòuwén and gǔwén dàzhuàn have small differences; the Shuōwén preface treats Xīn Mǎng’s recognition as qízì; Xú Hào says Shǐ Zhòu made the zhòuwén and Lǐ Sī made the zhuàn; Jiāng Shì and Táng Yuándù say Shǐ Zhòu made the Dàzhuàn in 15 piān. Again, lì precedes bāfēn; xíng follows cǎo; Cài Yǎn says “my father divided the lì characters into eight parts and took two parts”; Xiāo Zǐliáng says “in the Língdì era Wáng Cìzhòng adorned lì into bāfēn”; the Shuōwén says cursive began in the Hàn; Zhāng Huáiguàn says bāfēn is the rapid form of xiǎozhuàn and lì is also the rapid form of bāfēn; Guō Zhōngshù says when xiǎozhuàn disperses, bāfēn is born; when bāfēn breaks, lìshū appears; when lìshū contradicts itself, xíng appears; when xíng runs wild, cǎo becomes the sage. Zhīcóng cannot distinguish among these. As to Yáng Shèn’s emendation of the Yuèlù Yǔbēi’s “nánbào chāngyán” (south-violent loud-words) to “nándú yǎnhēng” (south-flow peaceful-prosper), Shèn falsely claimed he obtained it in a dream — Zhīcóng believes it: especially lacking in knowledge. Still, the wide gathering is itself worth the slight defects; useful as an evidential help. Respectfully collated, Qiánlóng 41 (1776), tenth month.
Abstract
Pān Zhīcóng 潘之淙 (zì Wúshēng 無聲, hào Dázhāi 達齋, of Qiántáng = Hángzhōu, fl. 1627) was a late-Míng calligrapher and theorist active in the late Wànlì through Chóngzhēn. His elder brother Pān Zhīqí 潘之淇 (zì Ěrzhān 爾瞻) was also a calligrapher. The Shūfǎ líguō — its title from the Chán paradox of detaching from method to enter method — is one of the most ambitious late-Míng systematic compendia. The Sìkù editors’ critique focuses on the textual errors Pān had taken from older sources unchecked (especially around the genealogy of script-types); but they recognise the breadth of the gathering as useful in its own right. The work was later drawn upon by the Kāngxī KR3h0061 Pèiwénzhāi shūhuà pǔ.
Translations and research
- Bai, Qianshen. Fu Shan’s World: The Transformation of Chinese Calligraphy in the Seventeenth Century. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2003 (late-Míng calligraphic theory).
- McNair, Amy. The Upright Brush. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1998.
- No standalone Western-language monographic treatment.