Introduction to Chinese Calligraphy
Posted: Tuesday, June 28, 2005
by Busoni28
art-virtue.com
Chinese calligraphy is understood in China as the art of writing with the brush. Chinese calligraphy is an art unique to Asian cultures. In the history of Chinese art, calligraphy has always been held in equal importance to painting and martial arts by the emperors, scholars, and artists. Chinese painting and seal making both have a strong root from Chinese calligraphy while most scholars and martial artists also enjoy practicing Chinese calligraphy throughout the history.
Chinese calligraphy is an art of strokes, and over the centuries, different styles and scripts have been developed. From the elaborate, pictographic character and the seal script to the spontaneous exuberance of the cursive script , strokes, dots and marks are laid down to form complex pictures of abstract beauty. Ink flows out of the brush pen like notes of music, floating with cadence in a stream of intertwined rhythm and melody. The composition takes on a life of its own and attracts the viewers.
The evolution of Chinese calligraphy has often been influenced by political and social conditions. In the Wei and Chin Dynasties, as well as the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the chaos of the times contributed to the rise of metaphysics. As the literati labored to cast of the yoke of the Confucian ethical code of the Han Dynasty, there was more space for bold imagination in the arts, and great masters of calligraphy, such as Wang Hsi-Chih , gained prominence. Later, amidst the literary and military accomplishments of the Tang Dynasty, calligraphy became part of the imperial examinations, and famous court ministers such as Yu Shih-Nan and Zu Suei-Liang were also renowned as calligraphers. Even today, over a thousand years later, the art and literary works of the Tang Dynasty still evoke the literary magnificence the ancient capital city Changan.
Through calligraphy, Chinese intellectuals gave form to individual thoughts, personal morals and innermost sentiments. In the works of ancient masters, we can see personalities at work: the unrestrained freedom of Wang Hsi-Chih , the graceful, upright style of General Yen Jen-Ching , the unruly indulgence of the monk Huai Su , the easy flow of emotion and talent of Su Shu , and the elegance and delicate beauty of Emperor Huei-Zong of the Sung Dynasty.
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