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Long before characters were created, the ancient Chinese made different knots on ropes in order to record information. But ropes might easily be burnt and information lost, and as life gradually became more complicated this type of information recording was no longer sufficient.
According to ancient Chinese records, now so old they are classified only as mythology, there was a man named Cangjie who, with four eyes and four pupils, was hailed as “the creator of Chinese characters”. He was also the official historian of the Yellow Emperor (another semi-mythological being, though the Chinese often say that they are all the offspring of the Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor) and he studied the features of every conceivable living thing and object, behaviours and features, and piece by piece he compiled a list of characters to describe the things he was seeing. These Hieroglyphics were the first type of Chinese characters in history, in the form of symbols and pictures; and here started the story of calligraphy.
Calligraphy and characters
Calligraphy, or Shūfǎ (蝎랬), literally refers to the way of writing and has an inseparable relationship with Chinese characters. Twin-like, it could be said that at the moment of character creation, calligraphy was also born into the world. From symbols and pictures to the modern form of writing, from words written on animal bones to paper, Chinese characters do not only communicate messages, but are also visually structured to illustrate concepts or special features of objects and nature.
With its pictorial feature, calligraphy in its very nature is a form of art. From Hieroglyphics to Chinese bronze inscriptions, from Seal Script to Clerical Script, from Cursive to Regular, each calligraphy type has a very unique style. “What you see is what you get” best describes the early Hieroglyphics, literally illustrates mountains, while shows a flowing river. Gradually, these towering mountains or calming river climbed onto animal bones or turtle shells, becoming the very first types of recorded characters: Oracle Bone Script (Jiǎgǔwén) and later on bronzeware, becoming the famed Chinese bronze inscriptions (Jīnwén).
For a long time characters across regions were incompatible and people from different locations were unable to communicate with each other. It was not until the first emperor Qin Shi Huang, who established nearly two millennia of imperial rule, and his Chancellor Li Si, burnt thousands upon thousands of books, tragic but at the same time unifying China’s myriad languages and scripts into the standardised small seal Script (Xiǎozhuàn), guiding calligraphy to its future direction.
Round and tall strokes which had to be of the same thickness and seemingly symmetrical made the small seal script very time-consuming for use in daily life. The clerical script (Lìshū), namely, a script that is user-friendly for clerks, was therefore created – now being short and wide, simplified and with a combination of curve and straight lines that were not necessarily of the same thickness – which made it almost a pleasure to write it all day. Calligraphy remained much the same and relatively utilitarian in its execution until the succession of the Han Dynasty – a 400-year dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) during which the first calligraphy theory was proposed and a blooming period for Chinese calligraphy began. Clerical script had reached its peak development and, most importantly, the cursive Script (Cǎoshū) was created.
For the first time in history, Chinese calligraphy broke the normal character structure and was being used to express one’s emotion. With much simpler guidelines and writing rules, one no longer needed to adhere to the formality of many other Scripts, but could enjoy the convenience of writing it. Just as one would be able to write a rough note in English without having to worry about the technicalities of the handwriting, this new, free-flowing style echoed more closely the emotional flow in one’s heart and the unrestricted nature of thoughts and feelings.
This new found freedom of form gave rise to the Regular Script (Kǎishū), which matured during the Tang dynasty (618 – 907 AD), interestingly the peak of poetic development in Chinese history, which is still used today. Regular Script has the clean, straight style which one can easily frame into a square. Crucially, these styles were not set by the whims of the ruling emperors but by the massive social changes that were at work and each new style since reflects a significant push forward in Chinese culture.
Calligraphy and Chinese philosophy
Carrying thousands of years of history and ideologies of the country, calligraphy as a way to present Chinese characters is also called “the art of line”. Through the variations of the line as an art form, the calligrapher expresses his appreciation towards nature and humanity, as well as his emotions and ideas. Completely devoid of colour or shade, Chinese calligraphy pays attention only to the use of lines. Lines can either be solid or void, in action or peaceful, rigid or flexible. Such variations reflect one of the essences in Chinese philosophy: the harmony between man and nature.
As said in I Ching (also called the Book of Changes, I Ching is the oldest classical text in China and was originally used as the book of divination. It was later reinterpreted and gradually derived into the core concepts of Chinese philosophy and culture), “Yin and Yang together is Dao (the way of life).” Everything is about balance and harmony and such a concept comes from an ancient Chinese respect for nature. This idea is further reinforced by the emphasis on agricultural development throughout Chinese history – the inseparable relationship between nature and people’s lives and living standards.
When a person tries to transform his respect for life and nature into words through calligraphy – from mind to arm to ink brush to paper and finally all merged as one – pleasure and joy are brought to the calligrapher. The external balance that is normally found in nature is now being internalised. Balance requires extreme focus: the rhythm, the control of strokes, the transformation between straight lines and curves, etc. – the calligrapher will have to master the very soft ink brush which could be very powerful with the right techniques.
Connection between man and nature is also illustrated when calligraphy meets with Chinese painting. People sometimes write poems about Chinese painting, further expressing their minds through the moving words. Beautifully said, a poem in calligraphy is a silent painting while Chinese painting is the silent poem.
Especially in olden times, calligraphy and Chinese painting was part of people’s lives, poetic and aesthetic, as essential as a prayer is to religion. Through words or paintings, calligraphy is a shadow of people’s daily life, connecting one’s mental world with the external world.
Regardless of the defined typography, different character shapes and forms will appear for the same word when it is written by different people. In fact, the same character can be completely different when one writes it in a different time, environment or mood. When appreciating a calligraphy piece, it is the intangibles that matter rather than the tangible shape of the characters. Imagine the dance of the ink brush on the paper and feel the flow of life in the words; calligraphy is a colourless yet shining piece of painting and a silent yet beautifully written piece of music.
Calligraphy in modern society
“The calligraphy world nowadays is still very active, yet for people outside this circle and community, only very few of them truly understand this traditional piece of Chinese art and culture,” Qiu Zhenzhong, Dean of the Lanting School of Calligraphy in Shaoxing University and a professor at China Central Academy of Fine Arts explains. “Modern calligraphy work is increasingly characterised by uniformity in writing style despite the fact that great progress has been made in professional skills.”
“Currently, we are in the era of continuation and creation. Since one of the most renowned calligraphers in history, Wang Xizhi (who lived from 303 – 361 during the Jin Dynasty), you can find around two to three great calligraphers every decade and there will be more for the era we are in now. Calligraphy is an integral part of modern art, bringing vitality and creativity to it.”
Xu Bing, a Chinese-born artist who is best known for his printmaking skills and his innovation with language and words, has created a new calligraphy form called Square Calligraphy. English characters are now written in the format of a square, making this new font style seem to be understandable by Chinese but in fact it is a new way of rendering English. Square Calligraphy was developed in 1994 and is practised by many people nowadays.
“For sure, such diversity in the world of modern culture will divert people’s attention – especially for youngsters – away from traditional art like calligraphy,” Qiu explains. “However, their attitudes towards art and aesthetics do not change, as one can never find any replacement for the intuition and imagination required for art.
“Whether or not calligraphy can remain as attractive to people as before entirely depends on whether we can express the essence and philosophical significance behind it in future calligraphy pieces.”
by Megan Lee
From the Glass Archive