AN INSIGHT INTO THE HISTORY OF CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY

RESEARCHED AND COMPILED BY BIJI RAVINDRAN

The origin of Chinese Calligraphy dates back to thousands of years and has been in wide practice till date. Considered as one of the renowned and oldest arts forms, Chinese calligraphy is practiced for turning the square Chinese language characters into beautiful art forms, with the use of tools like rice paper, a well pointed brush, a suiting ink and ink stone. In order to learn calligraphy and to become an expert, it is necessary to learn about the tools used, select them carefully and take care of them, and practice each word and stroke with much care. Chinese language uses different writing styles and scripts. While learning about Chinese Calligraphy, one must know the history of Chinese calligraphy as well. Even though the exact origin of Chinese Calligraphy is not precise, it is believed to have originated during the reign of the Emperor Cang Jie. During those years, calligraphy had been given high regards than painting and sculpture and traces of inscriptions in bones and pottery with the beautifully carved Chinese characters have been found in China, revealing the attention this very beautiful art received even during those years. In the history of Chinese Calligraphy, the Qin Dynasty is said to have accepted it as an art and it blossomed during the Han Dynasty. The famous calligrapher Liang Hu lived during this period. The history of Chinese calligraphy marks its golden years with the rise of the Jin Dynasty. Great calligraphers like Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi were from this period. The calligraphy works in this period were called as Wei Bei. Calligraphy took a more serious turn during the Tang dynasty. One of the ingenious calligraphers of that time is Yan Zhenqing. Another calligrapher Tu Meng, contributed much to the art, by developing 120 expressions to describe different calligraphic styles. The history of Chinese Calligraphy also reveals the decline of Calligraphy with the fall of the Tang Dynasty, and it reached its worst during the Ming Dynasty. The greatest calligraphy paper words were preserved in the Emperor s house, from the Song dynasty to Qing dynasty. The only calligraphy works available to the public were the tablets and a whole lot of them were discovered during the Qing dynasty. The new Calligraphy writing style embraces the use of more flat fonts than the use of wide round ones. There are five common scripts in Chinese writing: Seal, official or clerical, cursive, running or semicursive and regular, with each style having its own writing styles, features and purposes. All these writing styles require the use of rice paper, a beautifully pointed pen, ink and ink stone. An effective and beautiful writing depends on the flexibility of the brush, concentration of the ink, the thickness and absorptive nature of the paper. Each stroke in calligraphy requires special attention and practice. Cursive styles are faster and are written with minimal pressure. These styles' stroke orders vary more, sometimes creating radically different forms. Clerical and regular styles were the standard styles wherein the cursive styles were used only for writing personal notes. The cursive style received high recognition during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. Chinese calligraphy stands out with the use of a unique calligraphic paper known as Xuan paper. The ink is a solid stick and is made by adding a type of glue to pine soot or oil smoke. A pottery-baked hard ink

stone contains the ink and is used to grind the ink stick and to mix water to the ink to attain the required concentration. The bamboo brushes contain a bundle of animal hair. The choice of animal hair is made according to the style of calligraphy intended to use. For delicate strokes and styles, thinner types of hair like that of the rabbits are used. For effective writing, the brush has to be held upright and the palm should never make contact with the brush. Calligraphy is said to be a silent reflection of the soul. It is said to give a first impression about the calligrapher, to those viewing it. Chinese calligraphers have always considered this art as one of the best mental practices coordinated with the body and mind. As calligraphy was believed to have the ability to reveal one s personality, the history of Chinese calligraphy reveals the employment of great Calligraphers as Court officials. The Chinese Calligraphy techniques and trainings have been explained by various calligraphers in books. With the revelations from the history of Chinese Calligraphy, the Chinese must be proud to be experts with rich knowledge and skills in this art and has contributed much to the Calligraphy industry.