“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

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

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

LishuFirst Official Script

Qin Dynasty (221-207 B.C.)

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.

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

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):

Shu Fa : ABSTRACTION

Horse

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Anger

Professor Yang XinCalligraphy DemonstrationBeijing University, 6/19/04

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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

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

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