Download Chinese Calligraphy

By: Tori Gorom
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Chinese calligraphy dates back to 4000 years ago.
Characters were written on turtle shells and animal bones during
this time.
Calligraphy first appeared as an art during the Han dynasty.
There were many famous works of calligraphy done during this
period.
However the authors are unknown because it was uncommon for
authors to sign their works.
In the Jin dynasty many great calligraphers appeared, including
Wang Xizhi.
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During the North and South
dynasty, calligraphy was written on
tablets called Wei Bei.
Calligraphy was taken the most
seriously during the Tang dynasty.
In the Song and the Qing dynasties
calligraphy was kept in the house of
the emperor's family, so the commo
people did not see it.
Fortunately in the Qing dynasty,
many calligraphy tablets were
discovered, leading calligraphy to
become popular again.
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1. The Writing Brush- The “penpoint”
of this brush is large and soft. It is
usually made out of animal hair
which is critical to the quality of the
brush. Calligraphers usually have
their favorite types of brushes.
2. The ink stick- This is basically ink in
a solid state. To get ink from the stick
a calligrapher must rub it against a
slab to produce powder, then add
water.
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3. Paper- Cai Lin invented
paper in the Han dynasty.
The most famous paper
used for calligraphy is rice
paper, which is also called
Xuan paper after the city
it originated from.
4. Ink Slab- The ink
powder from the ink stick
is mixed with powder in
the ink slab. Most slabs
are made out of stone,
pottery, brick, and tile.
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The Zuan style is also known
as the seal style. Great Seal
style is very close to ancient
Chinese writing. Small seal
style resembles ligaments
because of its twisting
stroke. Small seal style is
more suitable for beginners.
Li style is also called clerical
style. It originated in the
Chin dynasty were it was
used by low ranked
government officials. It
simplifies the strokes of the
Zuan style.
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The Hsin style looks
smooth and connected.
It was established during
the Han dynasty and is
faster to write than the
Li and Kai styles.
The Kai style is the most
standard of all the
calligraphy styles. In this
style, each stroke is clear
and separate.
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Tsao style is called running style and is the
most abstract and difficult type of Chinese
calligraphy. It requires learning difficult
techniques while expressing freedom and
beauty. Tsao style was developed around the
same time as Li style.
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Tien-Lcheu invented ink in
2067 BC. He took soot from
pine wood and mixed it with
oil from lamps. He then made
gelatin out of donkey skin and
musk which he mixed with the
soot and the oil.
Ts'ai Lun invented paper. He
took the bark of a mulberry
tree and bamboo fibers and
mixed them with water. This
mixture was pounded with a
wooden hammer and poured
onto a flat piece of cloth. The
water drained through the
cloth leaving only the fibers.
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In 1954 the earliest ink brush was
found. Early ink brushes were
very simple. They included a
wooden stalk and a bamboo tube
which secures the hair to the top
of the brush.
The earliest ink slab was made
out of stone but who invented it
is a very controversial question.
The Ancient Chinese believed
that the Yellow Emperor created
the ink slab, however
archaeologists have found that
ink stones were in use thousands
of years before the Yellow
Emperor was born.
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