What is the meaning of "shoulder horizontal" in calligraphy?

Side by side horizontal refers to the writing method that the right side of the horizontal pen is slightly higher than the left side in regular script font, which is a basic feature of regular script horizontal painting.

We all know that writing should be "horizontal and vertical". However, anyone who has learned a little brush calligraphy will find that there is almost no real horizontal and vertical in ancient Chinese characters. For example, the word "Xuan" in the thirteenth line of Wang Xianzhi's Ode to Luoshen has an inclination angle of almost 30.

The vertical line represents life, dignity, eternity, strength and the ability to resist change. Horizontal lines tend to represent quietness and stability, the calm of the sea, death, the earth and the sky. Slant lines mean action, danger, collapse, uncontrollable feelings and actions.

In photography, horizontal lines imply a feeling of horizon, so they are steady and lack of change. Reflected in calligraphy, just like computer words, strict horizontal will appear rigid.

In order to get rid of this rigidity, calligraphers will tilt the horizontal direction, giving people a lively psychological hint, just like using diagonal lines in photography.

Extended data:

Generally speaking, when people's eyes look at objects, they always instinctively follow the order from left to right and from top to bottom, which will undoubtedly affect the viewer's psychological feeling of the picture.

Tilting to the right will give people a psychological hint of positive rise.

If you write it on the right, it will end negatively and immediately lead the vision to the end.

Therefore, in order to break the sense of mediocrity, calligraphers tilt it to the upper right, which is more vivid.