I came across this video, which talked about the four levels of learning calligraphy as:
取法于上 (上 = above, higher, up)
取法于众 (众 = the masses)
取法于今 (今 = now)
取法于道 (道 = way)
First, the video talks about what art needs. Art needs two elements: individual uniqueness and universal commonality.
Individual uniqueness sets your work apart from others, but no one will
be able to appreciate your work if there is no universal commonality in
it. How to acquire both of these is what the video is about, as it goes on to talk about the four levels of learning calligraphy, or the four levels of learning individual uniqueness and universal commonality.
取法于上 Learning from the masters (of old)
The obvious reason for learning from the masters is that we improve by learning from those better than us. But that is only one part of the story. There is a reason why the masters of old continue to be revered today: they have some kind of universal commonality in their works that continues to be relevant today. The masters of old have both individual uniqueness and universal commonality, and that is why their works survived the test of time.
取法于众 Learning from the masses
On first look, learning from the masses may seem like trying to find universal commonality, but that is actually the opposite. By looking at the works of many many people, you get to appreciate the individual uniqueness of each person. In turn, this may help you to find your own individual uniqueness that will set you apart from them.
取法于今 Learning from contemporaries
Your works can be unique and have commonality, but it will not be recognised unless it is relevant to your times. This is why learning from contemporaries comes in. Looking at the works of your peers allow you to discern the trend of the times. In a way, I think this means it will help you to determine the field that you will be playing on, the field upon which you will exercise your individual uniqueness while striving to maintain an element of universal commonality.
取法于道 Learning from the Way
What is the Way? This is found from the masses and contemporaries; it is the commonality that is found in the different works by different people stemming from their different backgrounds and different understanding. It manifests in the form of rhythm and layout/composition. This is what brings your work together.
While the video breaks it down to four levels of learning, in a way, they kind of blend into each other with no distinct boundary. I think what is more important is to recognise that there are these aspects to learning, rather than to specifically set out to fulfill each level separately.
When we first start learning calligraphy, we usually end up with learning from the masters of old, copying their works to learn how to write in their styles. This was the same for me. I practised by trying to imitate characters as closely as I can to those written by my teacher as well as those of past masters.
Recently, however, I have been expanding my practice to cover works written by other people. They include other members of the calligraphy society that I belong to, as well as contemporary calligraphy masters who have published books with their works as examples. I visit calligraphy exhibitions to see what others are writing and how they are writing them. For a while, I have also been watching YouTube videos by other calligraphy teachers to see what I can learn from them in terms of style and technique. In this way, I am learning from the masses and my contemporaries, and hopefully, through them, find the Way.
Hopefully, this learning approach bears fruit and I become better. I guess only time will tell.
