Calligraphy, which literally translates to “beautiful writing,” is a kind of writing that has been recognised and valued as an art form in a wide variety of civilizations all over the globe. However, there is nothing quite like old Chinese calligraphy.
The art of Chinese calligraphy is one of a kind among the other oriental arts practised in Asian countries. It has an illustrious history that is almost as old as the culture itself. It is analogous to painting, and it employs Chinese characters as a fundamental medium for the purposes of communicating and disseminating the holy universe of the artist.
Calligraphy uses a basic medium, brush handling techniques, scripts, presentation, and style throughout the entire process in order to convey the artist’s feelings, culture, artistic/creative feelings, and moral principles to readers who are overcome by the power of application and the pleasure of beauty. The art of calligraphy is not only a different approach to writing Chinese letters; rather, it is a beautiful, intricate, and sophisticated art of interpretation as well as a field of study.
It is difficult to pinpoint exactly where Chinese calligraphy originated. Cang Jie, a man who ruled during the time of the Yellow Emperor, is said to have been the one who is credited with the invention of Chinese calligraphy, which is said to be roughly four thousand years old.
In earlier periods of Chinese history, it is evident that calligraphy was regarded as an unrivalled and independent visual art form rather than merely an ornamental art. It was held in higher regard than painting and sculpture, and it was paralleled alongside poetry as a means of self-expression and cultivation. Earlier periods of Chinese history reveal this.
The Qin Dynasty is credited with the introduction of calligraphy as an art form, while the Han Dynasty is credited with its development and growth. During the Jin Dynasty, some of history’s most talented calligraphers came into their own, notably the brothers’ Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi. Wei Bei is the name given to the works of calligraphy produced under the North and South Dynasties, which are considered to be some of the finest examples of Chinese calligraphy ever produced.
Calligraphy was accorded a higher level of importance throughout the Tang dynasty; thus, a large number of exceptional calligraphers emerged during this time period, one of them being Yan Zhenqing. With the collapse of the Tang Dynasty, the deterioration of calligraphy started and the worst era was Ming Dynasty.
To begin learning calligraphy, you will need a brush, ink, paper, and an ink stone. These are the fundamental equipment. It is vital to learn about these instruments, pick them carefully and take care of them, and practise word by word and stroke by stroke in order to study calligraphy and become an expert in calligraphy. The writing system used for the Chinese language consists of a variety of distinct scripts and styles.
The fundamental aspects of the writing skills centre on the various ways to hold and use the brush while creating characters. The phrase “begin your stroke” may be translated from the Chinese as “qi bi,” while “finish your stroke” can be translated as “shou bi.” Writing characters requires a combination of qi bi and shou bi at every stroke.
The most efficient and time-honoured approach to improving one’s handwriting is to practise the three fundamental strokes known as mo, Lin, and Xie. Mo is short for “tracing,” and it also refers to practising how to wield the brush. When working on your calligraphy skills, you should concentrate most of your attention on the strokes, structures, and styles of calligraphy.
Simply replicating anything without trying to comprehend it is never going to help, therefore the next step, Lin, is to set the model down on the desk in front of you so that you may practise copying it. After a few months of in-depth research, the following phase, known as lin Xie, is carried out. In this step, you are presented with a specimen that is written on a stone tablet, and you are asked to produce a replica of it using paper.
In addition to this, you will need to analyse the specimen and commit the strokes to memory. The fundamentals of calligraphy are simple enough to understand even for beginners. It takes at least a few years of dedicated practice and in-depth study for someone to develop the skills necessary to become an expert calligrapher.
Chinese calligraphy has a history of between four and five thousand years, and its content is deep, intelligent, and far-reaching. It is a form of art that has been adored by artists all over the globe, and it has garnered the highest attention from those artists. In recent years, components of conventional calligraphy have found their way into works of industrial art.
The Lucent logo, which has a red circle that has been calligraphed with a Chinese brush to represent the 0-bit of machine language, is the greatest illustration of how Chinese calligraphy has been used in contemporary times. It is encouraging to see that free-form calligraphy is still prevalent in this day and age of supercomputers and artificial intelligence.