Describe Chinese Calliography Essay (Essay Sample)

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Chinese calligraphy
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Introduction
My interest as an arts student as always revolved around getting a deeper understanding of the origin of the art of writing in different cultures. One art of writing which caught my attention throughout the research was the Chinese art of writing usually called the Chinese calligraphy. This research aims at identifying the origin of Chinese calligraphy, the initiators and its development till it became part and purse of the Chinese culture. By completing this research, I will have better understanding of Chinese calligraphy and also get to learn the techniques involved in this form of writing.
Background
Calligraphy is a form of writing which involves the use of symbols to relay information. People consider the art of calligraphy as a useless tradition in the modern society, but the uniqueness and clearness of the Chinese calligraphy disapproves all the misunderstanding about calligraphy (Skopec 2003).
China is known for the beautiful architecture and its diverse intellectual background, but Chinese calligraphy always stands out in this pool of beauty and intellectual prestige (Skopec 2003). When I was first introduced to calligraphy, I considered this art as old-fashioned culture being practiced in the modern world, but these misleading thoughts faded once I came to understand the classical Chinese calligraphy (Maggie 2002).
Chinese calligraphy is one of the tradition modes of writing practiced in the eighteenth century that can be translated and is being embraced in the modern world specifically in china. This form of writing was brought about by the ancient Chinese scholars who used it as a form of written communication. This mode of communication was passed to generation and was further developed to form the modern Chinese calligraphy used in China (Brock 2002).
History
The history of the development of Chinese calligraphy involves several stages, but initially the style of writing was determined by the functional requirement though artistic concerns were a great determinant when coming up with Chinese calligraphy. This form of writing has come to be a means through which people express themselves artistically worldwide and is celebrated due to its unique artistic creativity. Chinese calligraphy went through the following stages during its development to the modern Chinese written mode of communication.
Greater seal script
This type of calligraphy was the first type of Chinese Calligraphy to be discovered during the Shang and Zhou Dynasty (1600-256 BC). The characters of the great script were invented by Cang Jie after he was directed by Huangdi who was the Chinese emperor then. Since its discovery, the great seal script was used in china until the third century BC. Evidence of the high seal script is encrypted on bronze wares used during the Shang and Zhou dynasties, and they are used as political events symbols in china (Brock 2002).
The Lesser Script
This is the form of calligraphy which was developed after the great seal script and was developed between 259BC and 210BC during the reign of Shi Huangdi established the authority to rule china and its provinces. The lesser script was developed as an improved version of the great seal, and it was used by Shi Huangdi to standardize the medium of communication across china which would not be possible with the high sea script which was only being used by the Qin emperor.
The lesser script is also called Xiao Zhuan and is made up of simplified and standardized forms of calligraphy since it was developed to be used by the six states of Chinese emperor. Evidence of the lesser script is found on stone inscriptions on mount Tai, Strips of Bamboo at Yunmeng, inscriptions of stone drums and on the stealer of the Qin dynasty.
Clerical script/Lishu
This form of calligraphy was developed during the Qin dynasty as a result of the cumbersomeness involved when using the lesser script for government orders. This implies that the clerical scripts were developed mainly to simply the workload and reduce the time taken to complete government orders. The clerical script was made the official form of was made the official form of writing in china during Han dynasty. The clerical script was generally used for monumental stelae engagement hence served as a great replacement to the seal script. Transformation of Chinese writing styles or calligraphy was brought about by the use of the Chinese brush developed during the Han dynasty (Brock 2002).
This led to the development of a more advanced form of clerical script. Clerical script is mainly found on bamboo, wooden strips and on fragments of silk which are believed to have been used during the Han dynasty. This form of calligraphy is also found on steles ritual vessels.
Running and Cursive script
These scripts were developed as a modification of the clerical script which entailed the development of the stelae style used by the northern dynasty of china and the manuscript used by the southern dynasty. The development of the running script occurred during Wei and Jin who were the governors of the Northern and southern dynasties respectively. The running and cursive scripts contributed greatly in the development of the modern script used in the modern Chinese writing; this involves the use a balanced structure in the form of a square to acquire a perfect calligraphic shape. The regular script was used by the people of the northern dynasty to engrave stelae though some clerical script is may also be identified on the stelae. The high calligrapher who brought about the cursive script was called Wang Xizhi and he mainly used calligraphy as a means of expression rather than writing. The use cursive and running scripts are evident on the wood and stones believed to be used by the northern and southern dynasties (Neuenschwander 1993).
The Cradle of Regular and Cursive script
The introduction of the Chinese brush in earlier dynasties made it easier for calligraphers to create more artistic and developed forms of scripts during the Tang dynasty. This was made possible by the urge of calligraphers to develop more creative styles. The following calligraphers existed during the Tang dynasty: Ouyang Xun (557 – 641), Yu Shinan (558 – 638), Chu Suiliang (596 – 658), Yan Zhenqing (709 – 785) and Liu Gongquan (778 – 865). The calligraphers developed the fine regular script whose principles have been used to develop other scripts (Neuenschwander 1993).
Personal creative scripts
During the Song dynasty, most calligraphers took a personalized initiative in developed more personal styles which were used to expressed the behavior and nature of their surrounding. These calligraphers brought about the romantic and more liberated style and mostly called the song calligraphers. The following calligraphers established themselves during themselves in the calligraphic world by deviating from the restricted rules of the tang calligraphic styles which brought about creativity in the Chinese calligraphy. The calligraphers are Su Shi (1036 – 1101), Huang Xingjian (1045 – 1105) and Mi Fu (1051 – 1107) (Neuenschwander 1993).
Revival of ancient styles
Mengfu of Yuan dynasty and Dong of the Ming dynasty reversed the creativity of the calligraphers of Song dynasty and engaged into a deeper understanding of the ancient Jin and Tang calligraphic rules. This enabled calligraphers to have a greater understanding of the art of calligraphy by incorporating their creative personal calligraphy into the traditional tang rules which brought about the golden age of tie-school.
Stelae School of Calligraphy
Calligraphers of the Qing dynasty developed more interest in learning from stelae wares, which rejuvenated the art of the ancient seal scripts and other traditional calligraphic arts. This interest by calligraphers to study the ancient clerical and seal scripts paved way to the development of the “stelae school of calligraphy” which is being taught in modern China (DiNucci 1996).
New Approaches to Chinese calligraphy
Chinese calligraphy, just like other ancient discoveries in other cultures has come under great threat by development of modern instruments, which are meant to meet the demands of the modern society. Modern calligraphers use the following instruments in their calligraphic designs which tend to simplify the art of traditional designs:
I. Computer aided designs
II. Ball-pen
III. Fountain-pen
The above named instruments are easily portable and less time consuming as compared to the following traditional tools of calligraphy;
I. The traditional brush
II. Ink-stick
III. Ink-stone.
The modern education system is diverse such that the students do not specialize on calligraphy only but are trained on other aspects of life, which contradicts the traditional Chinese methods of teaching where the students would be trained purely on calligraphy. The modern system of education tends to diminish the creativity and passion through which the ancient calligraphers used to come up with excellent pieces of work hence the survival of original calli...