Chinese calligraphy

Synopsis

Chinese calligraphy is a unique art form based on Chinese characters, with a history of over 3,000 years. The five major script styles—Seal Script, Clerical Script, Regular Script, Running Script, and Cursive Script—each possess distinct characteristics. Masters such as Wang Xizhi, Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan, and Su Shi are celebrated figures from various dynasties. The Four Treasures of the Study—brush, ink, paper, and inkstone—serve as the material foundation of calligraphy, and the craftsmanship of Xuan paper is inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. In 2009, Chinese calligraphy was included in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Overview

Chinese calligraphy is a unique art form that uses Chinese characters as its subject and the brush as its writing tool. It is one of the most representative art forms of Chinese culture. Calligraphy has a history of over 3,000 years in China. The writing of Chinese characters has undergone a long evolutionary process, from oracle bone script and bronze inscriptions to small seal script, clerical script, regular script, running script, and cursive script. Calligraphy is not only a practical skill for writing characters but also an important way for Chinese people to express their aesthetic pursuits and spiritual world. In 2009, Chinese calligraphy was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The uniqueness of calligraphy lies in its perfect fusion of the practical function of language and the aesthetic pursuit of art. An excellent calligraphic work must not only accurately write characters to convey information but also express the writer's emotions and personality through the thickness of strokes, the intensity of ink, and the density of structure. Calligraphy is often called silent music and dance on paper—it has no sound yet is rich in rhythm, and involves no bodily movement yet is full of dynamism and cadence.

The Five Major Script Styles

Regular script is the most familiar script style for modern people and is the foundation for learning calligraphy. Each stroke in regular script has strict rules for starting, moving, and ending the brush, requiring level horizontals, straight verticals, and a balanced structure. Yan Zhenqing's regular script is majestic, robust, and solemn in momentum, while Liu Gongquan's regular script is vigorous in bone strength and exquisite in structure. They are jointly known as "Yan-Liu" and are considered the two great masters for learning regular script.

Running script is the most practical script style in daily life. Wang Xizhi's Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion is hailed as the "Number One Running Script Under Heaven." Its 324 characters flow like clouds and water, vivid in spirit and rhythm, and have been treasured by calligraphers throughout history. Cursive script is the most expressive style in calligraphic art. Zhang Xu and Huaisu are the two peaks of cursive script. Their "wild cursive" is like a storm, thunder, and lightning, filled with irrepressible passion and power.

Master Calligraphers Through the Ages

Wang Xizhi is revered as the Sage of Calligraphy. His Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion was written during the Orchid Pavilion Gathering in the 9th year of the Yonghe era (353 AD) of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. That day, Wang Xizhi, along with 41 friends including Xie An and Sun Chuo, engaged in the "floating goblet" drinking game by the winding stream at Lanting in Shanyin, composing poems while drinking. Slightly intoxicated, Wang Xizhi took up his brush and wrote this preface. The entire piece consists of 28 lines and 324 characters, each word a gem. It is said that Wang Xizhi later tried to rewrite it multiple times but could never match the quality of this drunken masterpiece, making the work even more precious.

Yan Zhenqing's Draft of a Eulogy for My Nephew is hailed as the "Number Two Running Script Under Heaven." During the An Lushan Rebellion, Yan Zhenqing's nephew Yan Jiming died a heroic death. In extreme grief, Yan Zhenqing wrote this eulogy. The draft is filled with corrections, deletions, and additions throughout. The handwriting gradually shifts from initial steadiness to intense and unrestrained expression, pouring the calligrapher's grief and indignation vividly onto the page. This natural outpouring of genuine emotion represents the highest realm pursued in Chinese calligraphy.

The Four Treasures of the Study

The Four Treasures of the Study are the material carriers of calligraphic art. Huzhou brushes, made primarily from goat hair and weasel hair, are known for their sharp, even, rounded, and resilient tips, earning the title "the crown of writing brushes." Huizhou ink is made primarily from pine soot or oil soot, blended with precious spices like musk and borneol. The ink is black and lustrous like lacquer and does not fade over time. Xuan paper is made from the bark of the blue sandalwood tree. It has a soft yet tough texture, excellent ink absorption, and is reputed to last a thousand years. Duan inkstones are carved from stone from Duanxi in Zhaoqing. The stone is fine and smooth, grinding ink well without damaging the brush tip, making it the foremost of China's Four Great Inkstones.

The craftsmanship of Xuan paper making was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009. Producing one sheet of Xuan paper requires 108 steps from raw material to finished product, taking about three years, making it a model of traditional Chinese handicraft.

References

1. UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List: https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/chinese-calligraphy-00216
2. Baidu Baike: https://baike.baidu.com/item/Calligraphy
3. Wikipedia: https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-cn/Calligraphy
4. China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network: https://www.ihchina.cn