Introduction: What is Chinese Calligraphy?
Chinese Calligraphy (書法) literally means "method/law (法) of writing (書)". In Japanese, it is known as shodo (書道), which means "the path/way (道) of writing (書)". Both Japanese and Korean Calligraphy originated from Chinese Calligraphy (1)(2).
Although a significant part of Chinese Calligraphy focuses on scribing methods (法), the art places great emphasis on a calligrapher’s character and temperament (人品), as outlined by renowned Tang Dynasty calligrapher Sun Guoting (孫過庭 AD 646–691)(3)(4). Indeed, legendary calligrapher Wang Xizhi (王羲之 AD303–361) not only received praises for his aesthetics but also for his noble character.
One’s calligraphy reflects one’s temperament (人如其字), and thus one must cultivate one’s character and temperament (人品) to write good calligraphy. Accordingly, the Japanese term, shodo (書道), is more appropriate in defining the art than today’s Chinese term, "method/law of writing (書法)”, for shodo implies a path to enlightenment through calligraphy. Historically, the term shodo (書道) was used extensively in ancient China to describe the essence of Chinese calligraphy. For further details on the relationship between these two terms, please visit here.
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How it is written
Traditional Chinese Calligraphy is written on rice/mulberry/xuan paper (宣紙) with a specialized brush made up of animal hair dipped in a carbon-based ink. For further details on each of these components, please click on the links on the left-hand menu on top of this page.
Traditional Chinese is written from right to left, top to bottom. A video demo of me writing a piece of calligraphy is shown here for your reference.
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The Five Main Script Styles
There are five commonly used script styles in Chinese calligraphy:
Each style has its own distinct characteristics and origins. For details, click on the blue links under the respective styles above. For sample calligraphic works of each of style, please see:
Traditional Chinese is not alphabet-based; it is character-based. Each individual character carries a distinct meaning, and each character is derived from different symbols (Pictograms), Phono-semantic compounds and other principles of formation. (5)
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The most admired work in Chinese Calligraphy :
Wang Xizhi's Lantingji Xu (王羲之 - 蘭亭序)
An introduction to traditional Chinese Calligraphy is not complete without mentioning Wang Xizhi's Lantingji Xu. The legendary masterpiece was written in AD 353 by Wang Xizhi (王羲之) and is recognized throughout East Asia to be the best Chinese calligraphic work ever made in history. Wang's original was lost, however, but modelling copies were made by other calligraphers throughout different eras. One of the best models of it was done by Feng Chengsu (馮承素), commonly known as the Shennong edition "神龍本", in around AD 627-650 during the Tang Dynasty era. Feng's modelling is now stored in the Palace Museum, Beijing. Shown below is a photo of it:
You can also see my modelling here, where I will be providing more elaborations on the work, including its original Chinese text, cultural significance, and English interpretation.