Calligraphy predates European abstract art by thousands of years. Although no supernatural effort is necessary to appreciate it is always worth knowing some basics.
Calligraphy (®Ñªk
shu1 fa3 in Chinese) is one of the most
sublime forms of Chinese art. Calligraphy, painting, playing the Chinese
harp qin and Chinese chess qi were the four essential skills
of any Chinese intellectual. In Imperial China, government officials in
order to be promoted to a higher post had to pass a one of the main part
of which was calligraphy. Excellence in handwriting was thus the prerequisite
of a successful career.
The main difference of calligraphy from other visual arts is that there are no sketches, erasing or re-doing. In a way, it reminds a kind of sport where years of arduous training culminate in one record-breaking effort that lasts but only seconds. It requires both persistency and decisiveness for producing a masterpiece. Presence of the author's personality is generally obvious even to a someone who is not well versed in the intricacies of Chinese art.
There are several styles
of writing: Bone script, bronze engraving, seal, official, or
semi-cursive, cursive, regular, and running. The regular and running
styles are the most popular, while the bone script and bronze engraving
styles very close to pure pictograms were used in the earliest days of
Chinese script.
Depending on how you count there are are 7
or 8 standard strokes, though some claim there are as many as 35 variations.
to right. The stroke order
is very important. If the order is wrong, the character will come out looking
wrong. Two basic rules are followed:
Tools
Tools for writing characters are also called the
Four Treasures: they are paper, brush, ink-stick, and inkstone.
BrushNormally brushes are made of animal fur: white goat's, black rabbit's or yellow squirrel's -- depending on the type of writing. The most delicate ones are produced of rabbit fur, and for old writing sheep's fur is used. Brushes are also classified into three groups depending on the properties of the tip: hard, medium and soft. Handles are made of bamboo, porcelain, wood and sometimes even of mother-of-pearl, ivory or jade.
It is solid, and usually comes in the shape
of sticks. Often, these sticks are decorated becoming objets d'art
themselves. Black ink is made from the soot of pinewood or oil smoke, and
a gum substance.
Inkstones are made of stone, porcelain, or
bronze. They are flat and hard, and are sometimes shaped into beautiful
objects The calligrapher puts water on the inkstone, then grinds the stick
of ink against it. This makes ink that can be brushed on paper. This seemingly
simple operation requires experience and sense of measure, since it is
bad style to grind more or less ink than necessary to finish what you want
to write.
Paraphernalia complementing the 4 main tools include
brush rest, brush pot, ink box, paperweight, seal, and seal box.
Calligraphy originates in Ancient China, but
through Chinese cultural influence it has gained firm ground in Korea and
Japan. In the West, the 19th century witnessed a serious impact of what
was called chinoiserie on European art. Most famously, Picasso and
Matisse openly declared the influence by Chinese calligraphy on their works.
Picasso said that if he were to start art with the knowledge of Chinese
calligraphy, he would have been a calligraphy artist rather than a painter.
Traces of calligraphy strokes are well recognized in the paintings of Henri
Matisse.
Nowadays, the art of calligraphy is more alive than ever. It has overflowed its natural geographic boundaries and while still being widely practised and respected in its homeland, it is learnt by many foreigners interested in Chinese. It also has inspired some modern designers for creating fonts and logos.