Chinese writing & Calligraphy
By Rachel Wu and Mina Xu, Waymark Shanghai & Beijing
Published April 5, 2010
Basically, the symbols and characters that make up the Chinese language, called ideograms, had an early-on original intention to represent an object as designated by the word or phrase. This graphic language appeared within the Shang Dynasty (1765-1122 B.C.) on turtle shells or bones burned in the flames for divinations. The cracks resulting from this were thought to be written signs from the gods (jia gu wen). These in turn, became methods to determine the future events for the ancient society.
The ritual origins of such writing tend to explain the importance of the process of writing and the preparation of narrative text. Calligraphy, as it is called, evolved to be more than just writing words. It has become, and remains to this day, a true mental discipline of the whole body and the mind – further revered as an art form – among the most important means of artistic impression and thought by the Chinese people, and Asian cultures today.
The first of the Chinese characters written were used to decorate ceremonial bronzes. They might invoke representation of the piece’s donator, its date of production, quite possibly even a legal memorandum of sorts, and likely part of the bronze casting. By the time of the Zhou Dynasty (1122-770 B.C.), the written language had begun to achieve a level of maturity with a particular style of writing known as da zhuan. One of its most important characteristics was that it had a consistency in preparation, perfectly legible to many people, and thus easy to understand in society.
The next step in Chinese writing came with the wirings placed onto thin pieces of bamboo as a writing medium, and after that the invention of paper in China facilitated even more stylish and highly developed calligraphy in written text. The invention of paper in China was quickly followed by the creation of the first moveable type (not European Gutenberg) in the 7th century A.D. for Buddhist monks’ holy texts printing, distributing and transferring this know-how on to Europe by way of Central Asia.
As Chinese government developed and a form of centralized civil governance came about, the empire’s scribes promoted the emergence of a style of writing that was more easily performed, and in particular better adapted to the use of a brush, which slowly replaced the engraver for wooden block typeset. This quickly developing newer form of writing calligraphy became known as li shu (official style text) and became an eventful turning point to advance from the earlier, more complicated ritual writing style. The end result has become a three-style set of calligraphy: the regular, also called formal (kai shu) form, the semi-cursive or running style referred to as xing shu, and the free-flowing cursive style also called grass calligraphy (cao shu). Xing shu is tied to the need for aesthetics is the written word, while cao shu has a sense of free-hand drawing – requiring years of practice and mastery, great self-control, and an intimate knowledge of the language. The enclosed photo illustrates this specific work in a year 2005 piece which was commissioned by our company founder, Greg Hallberg. It is entitled, “Yuan Fen” or fate, even serendipity in life events. The calligrapher who did this work is one of the most famous in China, located in Shanghai. The use of India ink and a variety of brushes of varying sizes and bristle content reinforces the emblematic character of calligraphy, this art of writing that in fact dates all the way back to the earliest days of China’s human inhabitation.
The development of calligraphy went hand-in-hand with the emergence of the class of scholars and civil servants, who for centuries formed the principal framework of Chinese institutions. They were the folks who had the listening ear of the emperor. The greatest master of calligraphy would be those who, while respecting the conventions of writing, would find success in the ability to formulate their own styles, based on elegance and a sense of balance, along with a desire for almost supernatural perfection. This can also explain the additional prerequisite linkage of calligraphy and poetry. The antique piece of furniture contained in this article’s second photo represents a hand carved inlaid bone calligraphy of a poem about a waterfall of the Yangtze River in China.
The greatest Chinese poets were always incredibly talented calligraphers; the same is true of painters. Calligraphy was thought to be an art unto itself, but which handily completed a painting and recounted a poem. The act of calligraphy in Chan Buddhism is itself an authentic form of meditation. The methods in which the brush is held, the pace of the hand movement, the pressure applied to the paper, the total concentration and intensity of each brush stroke by the artist-calligrapher, make up a complex art form that translate not only meaningful communication, but also the recipient’s perception of life.
