Guan Zhong Yao shufa shi'er yi 觀鍾繇書法十二意 is, in the second part of the text, an assessment of the works of the late Eastern-Han-period 東漢 (25-220 CE) calligrapher Zhong Yao 鍾繇 (151-230) and other artists written by Xiao Yan 蕭衍, who was Emperor Wu 梁武帝 (r. 502-549) of the Liang dynasty 梁 (502-557).
The title is derived from twelve definitions of stroke shapes and character compositions that make out the first part of the text. The author highlights Zhong Yao's mastery of the following twelve techniques or "senses" (yi 意):
平,謂横也。 | Levelled, or horizontal, strokes. |
直,謂縱也。 | Upright, or vertical, strokes. |
均,謂間也。 | Equal, or spaced, strokes. |
密,謂際也。 | Dense, or interrelated, strokes. |
鋒,謂端也。 | Pointed, or ending, strokes. |
力,謂體也。 | Forceful, or physical, strokes. |
輕,謂屈也。 | Light, or curved, strokes. |
決,謂牽掣也。 | Determinded, or blocked, strokes. |
補,謂不足也。 | Supplementary, or lacking, strokes. |
損,謂有餘也。 | Defective, or surplus, strokes. |
巧,謂布置也。 | Skilled, or well-distributed, strokes. |
稱,謂大小也。 | Outbalanced, or [evenly] large and small strokes. |
The text is quoted in the books Fashu yaolu 法書要錄 and Hanxi shufa tongjie 漢溪書法通解. It is included in the series Lidai shufa lunwen xuan 歷代書法論文選.