Shufa ligou 書法離鉤

Shufa ligou 書法離鉤 "Reasons for success in calligraphy" was written during the late Ming period 明 (1368-1644) by Pan Zhicong 潘之淙, courtesy name Wusheng 無聲, style Dazhai 達齋, from Qiantang 錢塘 (Hangzhou 杭州, Zhejiang).

The book's title is derived from a Buddhist saying that even if a fishing line hangs a thousand feet deep, the intent lies in the deep pool, only three inches "away from the hook" (li gou 離鉤). It features three prefaces: one written by the author, and the others by Ye Bingjing 葉秉敬 (1562-1627) and Wang Daokun 王道焜 (d. 1645), respectively.

The intent of the book, which is 10 juan long, is to demonstrate how the masters of old achieved superiority in the art of calligraphy. The 82 chapters quote from older texts on calligraphy.

The first juan expounds on the origins and evolution of Chinese characters and calligraphy, including the six types of characters (liuyi 六義) and the "four studies" (sixue 四學) of composition, meaning, sound, and graphic change. The second fascicle describes the basics of calligraphy, such as holding the brush, brush techniques, mental focus, and aesthetic realisation. The chapter is enriched with stories on the topic. Pan Zhicong elaborates on the writing styles, brush momentum (bishi 筆勢), ink preparation, the structure and strength of individual brush strokes described as "bones, muscles, and veins", as well as aesthetic balance, composition, brushwork variations, common mistakes, and golden rules in verses for the standard script (kaishu jinke 楷書金科; quoted in Liuyi zhiyi lu 六藝之一錄 as Ligou shujue 離鈎書訣). Fascicle 5 presents Zhong Yao's 鍾繇 (151-230) twelve principles of calligraphy, Zhang Huaiguan's 張懷瓘 (early 8th cent.) "Ten methods of the brush", the eight standard brush strokes in the character yong 永, and rules for individual types of brush strokes. Pan urges students of calligraphy to be diligent and to imitate the ancient masters. In juan 6, he offers advice on writing materials and how to correct miswritten characters. The 7th fascicle is a review of historical calligraphers.

The last chapter on phonetics (Qieyun 切韻, juan 10), has nothing to do with calligraphy.

Yu Shaosong 余紹宋 (1883-1949), author of the critique Shuhua shulu jieti 書畫書錄解題, describes Pan's book as chaotic and lacking a systematic approach. Furthermore, Pan failed to distinguish between masterworks and inadequate sources. Nevertheless, the Shufa ligou also contains material not available in other books on calligraphy.

The text is included in the series Xiyinxuan congshu 惜陰軒叢書 and Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編.