A Brief History of Ancient Calligraphy in China

Calligraphy has become the most important ancient art form in China alongside painting, which first appeared in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). All educated people and some women in the court are expected to master it, and it is expected that it will still go back to modern times. Good calligraphy is not only writing, but also showing exquisite brushwork and paying attention to composition, but the actual writing method is also very important, and fast and natural strokes are ideal. The brushwork, philosophy and materials of calligraphy will affect China's painting style, especially landscape painting. Many ancient characters are still imitated in modern times. Chinese writing.

material

Highly flexible brushes used in calligraphy are made of animal hair (or rarer feathers), cut into cones and tied to bamboo or wooden handles. The ink used is made by the author himself by rubbing dry cakes of animal or plant substances mixed with minerals and glue on wet stones. Wood, bamboo, silk (about 300 BC) and paper (about 100 BC) are the most common writing surfaces, but calligraphy can also appear on fans, screens, banners and other daily necessities. However, the best material is paper, and the invention of better quality paper (attributed to Cai Lun in A.D. 105) helps to develop more artistic calligraphy, because its absorption ability captures every detail of strokes.

Application method

With the rapid development of appreciation ability, calligraphy has become one of the six classical arts, which are juxtaposed with ceremony, music, shooting, car and number. Successful China calligraphers are expected to use different brushstrokes, subtle angles and smooth connections with each other-all of which are precisely arranged in the fictional space on the page-to create an aesthetically pleasing whole.

Historian R. Dawson described the attraction of calligraphy created with professional brushes as follows:

Printed figures are like those in Victorian photos, standing stiffly to attract attention; But the people in the pen are dancing on the page with the elegance and vitality of ballet. The beautiful form of China's calligraphy is actually compared with the beauty of nature, and each stroke is considered to be inspired by natural objects and has the energy of life. Therefore, China calligraphers seek inspiration by observing natural phenomena. One of the most famous is Wang Xizhi, who likes to watch geese, because the graceful and relaxed neck of geese reminds him of waving a brush. It is said that monks in Huai Su appreciate the infinite changes of cursive script. Calligraphy is called cursive script by observing Xia Yun scattered by the wind. (20 1-202)

Calligraphy works

China ancient calligraphy has five main features:

Seal script (biography)-used in 65438 BC+0200 BC.

Official script-started in 200 BC

Regular script (regular script, Shu Zhen or official script)-from 200 AD to 400 AD.

Running script-4th century A.D.

Draft-(Cao Shu)-7th century A.D.

Seal script, as its name implies, is a formal style used for official documents such as seals, because its strokes are uniform in thickness and less in direction, which is convenient for sculptors to copy. The writing style at the end of thick lines is also formal and reserved for clerks and officials to keep records. Later, it became a common word in inscriptions. Seals and official scripts were revived as artistic figures in 17 and 18 centuries. Regular script is the standard form of printing, and it is still the most commonly used. More gorgeous cursive script is the most popular choice for artistic expression, and it is also used to add notes to paintings. Finally, drafting scripts, sometimes called grass scripts, are so called because they are the fastest and "wildest" to make.

Despite these broad types, each calligrapher's writing style is of course his or her own. Calligraphers may pursue accuracy rather than spontaneity, prefer gorgeousness to elegance, or focus on the gaps left in composition. In addition to aesthetic effects, writing is also used for other purposes, as the historian M. Dillon explained here:

Because a person's writing is regarded as a clue to temperament, morality and knowledge, emperors in the Tang and Song Dynasties often select officials by the quality of calligraphy ... The traditional life of calligraphy is supported by this concept, and calligraphy can convey the spontaneous feelings of truly insightful people through the spirit of a specific moment. (37)

Famous calligrapher

Like other arts, the most talented calligraphers are famous for their works, and their calligraphy is copied and used for innovation, such as printing books. As mentioned above, the most respected calligrapher in China is Wang Xizhi (about 303-365 AD), although he was a student of Mrs. Wei (272-349 AD). No one's work has survived, except that it may exist in the existing copy of Xizhi. Wang Xianzhi (AD 344-388), the son of Wang Xizhi, was another famous yogi. They are often called "two kings". Zhao Mengfu (A.D. 1254- 1322) was another famous calligrapher. He wrote such precise characters on the paper that they were neatly arranged in a square box, so that the printer took his font as his own font block.

Examples of scripts and styles created by these masters are often copied to wood or stone to preserve them.

Examples of words and styles created by these masters are often copied to wood or stone to preserve them, and shells are made from them. So paper can be distributed, and scripts can be imitated by small calligraphers everywhere. These manuscripts were also very useful for emperors who wanted to promote a style during their reign. They became valuable records of the evolution of China's calligraphy, and they are still being used for reference and imitated today.

Examples of famous calligraphy are preserved in the form of letters, book introductions, essays, religious texts, painting notes, stone tablets, tombstones and slates. Masons faithfully copied the works of famous calligraphers. The calligraphy works of famous ancient writers were even collected, especially in the emperor's library, and even buried with them in the grave. These works are so precious that fakes are made and sold to collectors as genuine ones. As another indicator to measure the value of calligraphy works of past masters, the actual meaning of characters is often irrelevant to the price and collection value. Many fragments (ties) may be old and valuable, but they are actually just comments on the weather or notes on orange gifts.

The influence of painting

Writing skills and conventions will affect painting. Critics look for artists' powerful use of brushstrokes, their spontaneity and the changes in their profound hallucinations in painting. Another influence of calligraphy skills on painting is the emphasis on composition and the use of blank space. Finally, calligraphy is still so important that it even appears in paintings to describe and explain what the viewer sees, mark titles (although not all paintings are named by the original painter) or record the creation place and target people. In the end, these notes and even poems become an integral part of the overall composition and an inseparable part of the painting itself.

Another fashion is to add more inscriptions for later owners and collectors, and even add extra silk or paper to the original work to accommodate it. For example, since the 7th century, owners have often stamped their seals with red ink. For example, when a work changes hands, the new owner will stamp it, so that the ownership history of the work can sometimes be traced back to hundreds of years. Chinese painting seems destined to be permanently processed and decorated with exquisite calligraphy.