“Chinese Calligraphy” History and Technique

Compiled by Robert Ponzio Oak Hall School

Featuring:

“The Art

of the Heart”

A Lecture / Demonstration by

Prof. Yang Xin University of Beijing

6/20/04

Dr. Sacho Sato

Chinese Pictographs

The development of the character wan (falling tone) (scorpion): from left to right, archaic Shang, oracle Shang, and modern.

The development of the character yang (rising tone) (sheep): from left to right, archaic, small seal, and modern.

Scorpion

Sheep

Cna yuo raed tihs?

Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.  i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Oracle Bone Script (Zhuan script or seal characters)

Oracle Bones

The earliest Oracle Bone dates back 8,000 years ago

The 1st was discovered in N. Hunan Province in 1899.

Since then, 150,000 more oracle bones have been found bearing more than

4,500 characters

A new discovery in Xanxi provincereveals another 600 characters.

A new discovery in Xanxi provincereveals another 600 characters.

A lecture by Professor Yang Liluen examined the history and development of Chinese writing and discussed pottery that was unearthed in Texas and Arizona which bears Chinese Script. He also sited DNA studies by Emery University Scientists which points to a relationship between Native Americans and the Chinese.

Lishu or Clerical Script

Confucianism

Ask me about: Mencius vs. Xunxi!

Confucianism provided a faith for people to live by, a convincing account of the natural and human world, and a theoretical framework for state and society.

It emphasized self-cultivation as a path not only to self-fulfillment but to the formation of a virtuous and harmonious society and state.

Some might emphasize one aspect more than the other, but ideally, learning to be a better and wiser person went hand in hand with service to the larger social body.

LishuFirst Official Script

Qin Dynasty

(221-207 B.C.) Emperor Qin Shi Huang

Great Wall

TOMB OF THE EMPORER QIN SHIHUANG (D. 210 BC)

XIAN \

Kaishu or Regular Script

“Standing”

Kaishu or Regular Script

The oldest existing example dates from the Wei (220-265), which simplified the

Lishu.

Kaishu script was further developed

under the Jin (265-420)

and continued to develop into the

standard writing of today

Xingshu

(semi cursive) lies somewhere between the kaishu (regular) and caoshu (grass) scripts in that at times the strokes are controlled and regular and at other times free and flowing.

“Walking”

Xingshu(semi cursive)

“Walking”

Caoshu - Grass or Cursive Script

“Running”

This cursive style of calligraphy by Wen Zhengming (1470-1559) has been called "The Dance of the Brush." It is used as a means of artistic expression: the character itself is less important than its expressive quality.

The Four Treasures

The INK

The STONE

The Brush

Paper was invented in China. It is said that paper was invented in the year 105 by a man called Cai Lun. He lived in Shaanxi province during the Han dynasty almost 1900 years ago.

The Paper

Prof.Yang Xin

BeijingUniv.

6/19/04

Prof.Yang Xin

BeijingUniv.

6/19/04

Prof.Yang Xin

BeijingUniv.

6/19/04

Penghua Zhu

University of Florida Graduate Studenthttp://plaza.ufl.edu/pzhu/project/project.htm

Brush Holding Position

SPRING

Three + Human + Sun = Spring

2 year Old Calligrapher

8 Basic Strokes of Chinese

Calligraphy

Dot Stroke

1. Dot Dian

2. Horizontal Heng

3. Vertical

4. Hook

Shu

Gou

5. Raise Ti

6. Aside Pie

7. Left Falling Duan Pie

8. Right Falling

Na

Shu Fa : ABSTRACTION

Horse

Anger

Professor Yang XinCalligraphy DemonstrationBeijing University, 6/19/04

Professor Yang XinCalligraphy DemonstrationBeijing University, 6/19/04

Dragon

Dreaming

Jade

“Coming of Spring”

By Xin Yang

“I heard the girl was setting flowers downstairs”.

Famous Tang Dynasty Poem

Happiness

Karma

Smiling

SPRING

Three + Human + Sun = Spring

Spring

Simplified CharactersIn an effort to increase literacy, about 2,000 of the characters used in China have been simplified. These simplified characters are also used in Singapore, but in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and Malaysia the traditional characters are still used. Here are some examples (simplified characters in red):

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Zhang Zuyi (1849-1917)

Calligraphy in Clerical Script, ink on paper

52 3/8 x 26 inches

Zhang Zuyi was born in Tongcheng, Anhui Province.  His was also known by his literary name Lei.  Zhang Zuyi learned the seal style calligraphy from ancient styles of Shigu and Zhongding.  His official style was the style of

the Han Dynasty ( 202 B.C. -220 A.D.). and

stone tablets.

Three Kinds of Archaic Graphs and their Transitions to Modern Characters

Top Row: Complex single-element graphs whose modern parallels are direct descendants of archaic forms.

Middle Row: Simple multiple-element graphs lacking modern equivalents.

Bottom Row: Complex multi-element graphs with either modern descendants or equivalents.

Chinese Oracle Bone

and Tortoise Shell Inscriptions