―Orchid Pavilion Steles‖ of Zhejiang, China, where the Wang Xizhi, the Jin calligraphist, created his masterpiece Lan Ting Ji Xu (Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collections), the greatest known example of semi-cursive Chinese calligraphy.
Tang Dynasty copy of Lan Ting Ji Xu.
Diagram of the evolution of Chinese scripts.
Unit 4. The Writing of Chinese Scripts.
Medium.
The ―writing‖ of Chinese characters first requires a medium. As today’s writings are mostly on paper, one may wonder: What came before that?
In the Shang Dynasty (c. 17th –11th c.), letters were carved on oracle bones or bronze wares. The Maogong Ding (tripod) bears the earliest known text of that time.
Spring and Autumn Period (770—256 B.C.) was a time when the amount of writings and characters increased in great number. Hence the emergence of new mediums. Houma Covenant written on jade and stone pieces, Spring and Autumn Period.
Silk was used by aristocrats for writing. Recipes for 52 Kinds of Disorders, silk writing unearthed from a Han tomb.
Scripts on steles: Langya Inscription of the Qin Dynasty.
Slips of bamboo and wood are the most commonly used material for writing. Bamboo slips of Chu, Warring States.
Wooden tablet with maps, from Qin tombs, Gansu Province.
Documents on Xia, Shang and Zhou Bronze Collections, by Luo Zhenyu.
Houma Covenant (replica)
Writing Instruments.
Knives were first used as carving tools in the early phases of Chinese script. With the emergence of other specialized tools like brushes, knives began to serve as ―erasers‖ to scratch off mistakes. Frog-shaped carving knife, Shang Dynasty.
Brushes, invented and used since time immemorial, became the major writing instrument of Chinese characters in the Spring and Autumn (770 – 256 B.C.). As the brush hair is made of soft animal fur, this instrument is very flexible and adaptive. Brushes of the Warring States and modern brushes.
The inkstone and inkstick are two other indispensable tools. When the inkstone is filled with water, it is used as a base to grind solid inksticks into liquid ink. Inkstones are usually made of stone or bricks. Mountain-shaped pottery inkstone of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. –220 A.D.)
Inkstone, the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280)
―Wenfu Inkstick‖, Tang Dynasty.
―Qinquan Inkstick‖ and ―Globe Inkstick‖, 19th century.
Brush, inkstick, instone and paper, called the ―Four Treasures of the Study‖, are the key instruments for writing Chinese characters. ―Four Treasures of the Study‖ used by the Chinese emperor.
One brush can make various kinds of strokes, from thick to slim. Would you like to try it?
The Art of Writing: Chinese Calligraphy
Chinese calligraphy is an art of self-cultivation and self-expression. It reflects the mindset and mood of the writer, and fully embodies the unique beauty of Chinese script. Today, Chinese calligraphy is enjoyed by people throughout the world.
The modernization of writing tools has given rise to many types of calligraphy other than the traditional brush-writings. A piece of pen-and-ink calligraphy. Some contemporary western artists also assimilated Chinese calligraphy into abstract art, yielding many excellent works. Work of Antoni Tapies.
Knife-carved Scripts: Seal Cutting
Seal cutting is, in other words, ―writing‖ with knives on materials like stone, wood and metal. It is traditional graphic/calligraphic/engraving art of China. Shang seals from 3,000 years ago.
Before the invention of paper, official documents were written on bamboo or wooden slips and sealed with clay. A lettered seal was then stamped on the clay envelope. ―Qigongsi Letter‖ seal of the Han Dynasty.
Bronze seal ―Laoyang Cashier‖, Warring States.
Before the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), seals were generally made for practical uses such as identification. The Empress’ Seal of the Han Dynasty.
Since the Ming Dynasty, calligraphers and painters have begun to treat seals as artistic creations. Through deliberate choice of material and application of cutting and arranging, the inch-long seals became genuine art of interest. An artist’s seal.
Writing or Painting?
Scripts on Wadang (tile decorations).
What are these patterns on this bronze pot of Western Han Dynasty? A kind of descriptive writing named ―Niaozhuanwen‖ (bird seal letter).
Embroidered shoes decorated with characters, from tombs of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420).
Arm shield embroidered with the words ―Five stars in the east benefit China‖. Jin Dynasty (265-420).
Papercuts based on Chinese characters.
―美‖ (beauty) best describes this dress.
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