蒙學漢文初階 第四十六之課 Beginning Chinese - Entry Level Lesson #46 筆以毛為之 brush by_means_of hair becomes it 其桿以竹為之 its pole by_means_of bamboo becomes it 執桿而寫字 grasp pole and write character 指密掌虛 fingers dense palm weak 字密行疏 characters refine column sparse A brush is made out of hair. Its body is made from bamboo. Grasp its body to write. Fingers should be firm and the palm at ease. The written characters should be refined with plenty of columnar white space. Notes: This lesson illustrates the various meanings of 密. The first one means dense and in this context to hold firmly. The second one means refinement through meticulous work. The last line is a phrase from Chinese calligraphy to denote a visual style.