Chinese Calligraphy — Folk arts

On the desk a new inkstick dissolves slowly in the inkstone. The wrist lifts, the brush descends, and at the instant it touches the paper the ink runs from dense to pale; one stroke down and the breath of the whole line connects. Bamboo shadows move outside the window; inside there is only the hush of bristles on xuan paper. The brush is set down, a vermilion seal pressed lightly, and the white sheet has spirit in it.

Between black and white lies a mental world particular to the Chinese — each horizontal and vertical sets the character, each falling stroke writes a life.

01

Why young people fall for it

Traditions, echoed by a new generation

Writing is the Chinese kind of yoga. Dip the brush, lay down one stroke, and the noise of the world stays outside the door.

01

Xuan paper, Hui ink and brush laid out — and once the stroke is down, it cannot be corrected.

02

Good handwriting, or couplets of your own writing, is a quiet and very cultured calling card

03

Every horizontal and vertical must sit steady; finish one sheet and the wrist aches.

02

Origins & Practice

History · Customs · Cultural meaning

Chinese Calligraphy · Historical Origins

1

Historical Origins

One continuous line · back to the source

Chinese calligraphy begins with the oracle bone script of the Shang, and evolves through bronze inscriptions, seal script, clerical script, regular script, running script and cursive. In the Eastern Han it became an independent art; in the Wei and Jin, Wang Xizhi was honoured as the Sage of Calligraphy. The Tang was its high point, with masters such as Ouyang Xun, Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan and Zhang Xu.

Chinese Calligraphy · Customs and Practice

2

Customs and Practice

Seasonal rites · everyday life

Calligraphy rests on three elements: brushwork, structure and composition. The Four Treasures of the Study — brush, ink, paper, inkstone — are its basic tools. Calligraphy and painting have traditionally been spoken of together, and poems and signatures are often inscribed on a painting. Folk custom includes writing spring couplets at New Year, the character for joy at weddings and the character for longevity at birthdays. The belief that 'the writing is the person' runs deep: calligraphy is taken as a central discipline of self-cultivation.

Chinese Calligraphy · Cultural Significance

3

Cultural Significance

What the heart turns toward · handed down through generations

What makes Chinese calligraphy distinctive is that it takes writing itself as its subject: every stroke carries the temper of the person who made it. In 2008 Chinese calligraphy was entered, as 'hanzi calligraphy', on the second national list of representative intangible cultural heritage items (no. Ⅶ-63). On 30 September 2009 it was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

03