Few nations in the world have calligraphy as
a form of art. In China, calligraphy has a long history, is popular among its
people, and has maintained a close relationship with Chinese cultural
development.
Calligraphy looks simple. It seems as if
anyone that can write Chinese characters on Xuanzhi (a high quality rice
paper made for traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy) with a writing
brush can become a calligrapher. But that perception is not true. Calligraphy is
a form of art that involves a great deal of theory and requires many skills; so
there are not many calligraphers that have reached the highest realm of
calligraphy.
Calligraphy is a constructive art. The
calligrapher creates his work with his handling of the ink and the writing
brush. The black strokes and white space on the paper create a sense of beauty.
For calligraphers, the writing brush is the extension of their fingers: the
rhythm and strength of their writings are all controlled by their moods, and
their calligraphy works are expressions of their sensibilities. Calligraphy is
an expressive art. In a work of calligraphy, we can see the character, education
level and experience of the calligrapher. Calligraphy is a practical art form.
It can be used to write inscriptions on paper or inscribe wooden plaques or
stone tablets. Its many attributes show us that calligraphy is a comprehensive
art, expressing the Subjective feeling of the writers.
Calligraphy manifests the basic
characteristics of all Chinese arts. In Western fine arts, architecture and
sculpture are the basis of the other formative, or visual, arts. In China,
however, calligraphy and painting are leaders of the other art forms. When
calligraphy and painting are mentioned together, calligraphy always comes before
painting, although calligraphy is closely associated with traditional Chinese
painting. The theories about handling brush and ink are similar in calligraphy
writing and traditional Chinese picture drawing. Ancient Chinese sculpture was
also influenced by calligraphy in that its defining characteristic lay in the
composition of lines, and its decorative function is derived from the
Zhuan (seal characters) and Li (official characters) scripts in
Chinese calligraphy. Chinese architecture adheres to the calligraphic rules of
symmetry and balance, and the design of Chinese gardens, pavilions and temples
all reflect the structural rules and rhythms of calligraphy. The development of
Chinese handicrafts and folk arts, too, has been influenced by calligraphy to
some extent. Thus we can see that calligraphy is the soul of Chinese fine arts.
Formative arts are composed of visible
factors. The smallest visible units are dots, and moving dots form lines.
Calligraphy is an organic composition of dots and lines. The moving lines form a
surface; the organic composition of dots, lines and surfaces form the painting.
The moving surfaces form the body, the basic composition of sculpture,
architecture and some other art forms.