Chinese Calligraphy

A Highly Sophisticated Fine Art

An Important Carrier of Chinese Culture

Yi-Zhi Huang (黄一知 )Rutgers University

April 2, 2014Zimmerli MuseumRutgers University

Chinese Calligraphy as an Art

• A highly sophisticated fine art (not a folk art)• An abstract art with a long tradition• A large collections of classical art works• Many years of technical training starting from

a young age are necessary• Need delicate tools and materials• The standard for good art works are based on

personal styles and influences on others

Chinese Calligraphy as a Carrier of Culture

• The basic education in China emphasizes music instrument (琴 ), go game (棋 ), calligraphy (书 ) and painting (画 )

• An intellectual needs to be excellent in poetry (诗 ), calligraphy (书 ) and painting (画 )

• The calligraphy work of a person often reflects his or her personality, education level and cultural background

Chinese Calligraphy as a Carrier of Culture

• Calligraphy was used as a criterion in the selection of officials in ancient China

• Chinese calligraphy also had a renaissance movement closely related to the changes in the society and the culture

• The western visual art has had much less influence on Chinese calligraphy than on Chinese painting

History and Different Scripts

• Oracle bone script (甲骨文 ) : 1400 to 1000 BC• Bronze script (钟鼎文 ,大篆 ) : 1300 to 200 BC• Small seal script (小篆 ) : 200 BC to 800 AD• Clerical script (隶书 ) : 400 BC to present• Regular script (楷书 ) : 200 AD to present• Running script (行书 ) : 100 AD to present• Cursive script (草书 ) : 200 AD to present

Oracle Bone Script (甲骨文 )

Oracle turtle shell with oracle bone scripts Artist: Luo, Zheng-Yu (罗振玉 )

Bronze Script (钟鼎文 ,大篆 )

Artist: Wu Chang-Shuo (吴昌硕 )Stone drum with bronze scripts

Small Seal Script (小篆 )

Artist: Li, Si (李斯 ) Artist: Wang, Fu-An (王福庵 )

Clerical Script (隶书 )

Yi Ying Stele (乙瑛碑 ) from Han Dynasty Artist: Huang Bao-Yue (黄葆戉 )

Regular Script (楷书 )

Artist: Yan, Zhen-Qing (颜真卿 )

Artist: Huang, Jian (黄简 )

Running Script (行书 )

Artist: Wang, Xi-Zhi (王羲之 )

Artist: Shen, Yin-Mo (沈尹默 )

Cursive Script (草书 )

Artist: Huai Su (怀素 ) Artist: Zhou, Zhi-Gao (周志高 )

Poetry and Chinese Calligraphy

• Chinese poems written using Chinese calligraphy reveal their full beauty

• Chinese poems provide spiritual meanings to calligraphy works

• Many Chinese calligraphers are also poets• In a calligraphy work with a poem as its

content, the poem and the calligraphy are inseparable parts of the art work

Artist: Huang, Yi-Zhi (黄一知 ) Poet: Liu, Chang-Qinq (刘长卿 )

Artist: Gao, Shi-Xiong (高式熊 ) Poet: Wu, Chang-Shuo (吴昌硕 )

Artist: Huang, Yi-Zhi (黄一知 ) Poet: Wang, Wei (王维 )

Artist: Shen, Pei-Fang (沈培方 ) Poet, Li, Bai (李白 )

Chinese Painting and Calligraphy

• Chinese painting and calligraphy have the same root（书画同源）

• Training in calligraphy is necessary for a Chinese painter

• Chinese paintings usually have calligraphy as a necessary part of the art work

• Techniques and styles in calligraphy revolutionized Chinese painting several times

Artist: Wu, Chang-Shuo (吴昌硕 ) Artist: Huang, Bao-Yue (黄葆戉 )

Chinese Calligraphy, Classical Music and Mathematics

• Abstract but with a long tradition• A lot of training is needed for someone who

would like to be a calligrapher, a classical musician or a mathematician

• Experience and study are needed even for someone who just wants to appreciate them

• People can enjoy them individually but can still reach agreements on their beauty