The History of Chinese Calligraphy

Chuan Cao - 6/20/2015 Slide Part 1

Introduction

Relationship between Chinese calligraphy and painting.

Poem, calligraphy, painting, seal.

Focus on knowledge and character.

Ancient Chinese culture - little emphasis on science. (i.e.: gun powder) 

Brush control, the use of wrist, etc. 

Different fonts - differences all lie in the starting and ending points. Concealed tip vs explicit tip. Center tip. Etc. Line variation.  Chinese Art is deeply rooted in tradition. 

Oracle Bones

Official named Wang Yirong was sick with dysentery - 1899.

Attendant went to pharmacy to procure medicine.

"dragon bone” ingredient

Used by “wizards” - Predictions of war, testing “auspices”

Bronze Script -金文

The Seal Script (篆書 ) is the most archaic script

Generally referred to as “Seal Script”, it is in fact many numerous sub-scripts that were each used for different historical purposes.

The oldest is “oracle bone script” (甲骨文 )

Jin Wen (金文 ), or Bronze Script, is far more well-known. This is the script that was used for inscribing ceremonial Bronze vessels in the Zhou Dynasty.

Shi Gu Wen (石鼓文 /Shih Ku Wen), the Stone and Drum Script was used for monumental stone inscriptions, and both it and Jin Wen were never standardized; Jin Wen and Shi Gu Wen are often simply called Da Zhuan (大篆 ), or Large Seal Script.

The Seal Script most used for Calligraphy is based on the first standardized Chinese script: Qin Zhuan (秦篆 )Qin Seal Script..

The name of this script is taken from the Qin Dynasty that ushered in the dynastic epoch of a unified Middle Kingdom.

Types of Bronze

簋 vessel for holding cooked food 

盘 plate 

鼎 tripod - cooking vessel 

The shift from Seal Script to Clerical Script

Was it a gradual shift, or did everything happen concurrently?

Practicality

Ease of writing