Calligraphy

I

Introduction

Calligraphy, the art of fine writing or script. The term calligraphy is derived from the Greek kalligraphia, meaning “beautiful writing,” and is applied to individual letters as well as to entire documents; it also refers to an aesthetic branch of paleography. In Islamic countries and in India, China, and Japan, calligraphy is done with a brush and has been a highly respected art form for many centuries. In the West, calligraphy eventually evolved from the earliest cave paintings, such as those (35,000-20,000 bc) at Lascaux, France, into the abstractions that became the familiar letterforms of the alphabet.

II

East Asian Calligraphy

In China and Japan fine calligraphy is admired in the same way as a painting. It is traditionally done in brush and ink on paper or silk. The same soft brush and ink, and the same light and swift technique that painters use are also applied to calligraphy. East Asian calligraphy emphasizes not only beauty and skill but also the careful choice of handwriting models from earlier artists to imitate. To be considered great, calligraphers also must express their own personality in their writing.

Calligraphy in East Asia appears in paintings, signatures, inscriptions, and poems in varied formats, including scrolls, fans, and screens, which are enjoyed in private homes and in art galleries. The appreciation for calligraphy is such that even everyday items, from shop signs to food packaging, display excellent examples of it.

A

Emergence of Calligraphy in China

Calligraphy emerged as a writing system in China around 1750 bc, during the Shang dynasty. By late in the Han dynasty (206 bc to ad 220), a pointed brush had evolved as the principal tool for executing Chinese characters. Chinese writing was first brought into Korea in the 3rd century bc, probably by Chinese refugees fleeing the conflicts of the Warring States period. Japan adopted this writing system during the Asuka period (552-646), when the Japanese also adopted Buddhism and other aspects of Chinese and Korean culture. See also Chinese Art and Architecture; Japanese Art and Architecture; Korean Art and Architecture.

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Chinese characters, which originally took the form of pictograms and ideograms, are written in vertical columns that are read from top to bottom. Columns are read from right to left. Ideally, a character should fit into an imaginary square, but many calligraphers make their characters larger or smaller or stretch out certain strokes for dramatic effect. Some Chinese characters are composed of a single stroke, while others have as many as 64 strokes. They are all written with a set order of strokes, from left to right and top to bottom.

B

Looking at East Asian Calligraphy

Experts appreciate a work of East Asian calligraphy as a process and as a finished product. Because characters are written with a set order of strokes, calligraphy enables the viewer to trace the path of the artist’s brush and recreate the experience the artist had in writing. In judging the finished product, experts look at the overall composition and the makeup of individual characters. They are especially sensitive to brushstrokes, looking for qualities such as firmness and straightness (what the Chinese call “bone”), or tension and curving movement (“sinew”), or plumpness and delicacy (“flesh”). Also important are effects of ink, ranging from very dry to puddling wet. In the “flying white” technique, a dry brush passed quickly over the paper permits the brush hairs to split apart, allowing streaks of white paper to remain bare. Those who know the history of calligraphy can also appreciate the artist’s choice of script type, earlier models, and personal expression.

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