Chinese calligraphy is known as '
or ' (, or in traditional Chinese, 'the method or law of writing');
Japanese calligraphy is called '''' (, 'the way or principle of writing'); and
Korean calligraphy is referred to as '''' (; 'the art of writing'). The calligraphy of
East Asian characters remains an important and highly regarded aspect of contemporary traditional East Asian culture.
History In
ancient China, the oldest known Chinese characters are
oracle bone script (), carved on ox
scapulae and tortoise
plastrons. The rulers in the
Shang dynasty carved pits on such animals' bones and baked them for insight into military affairs, agricultural harvests, weather, or even procreation, as a form of
scapulimancy. During the
divination ceremony, a heat source was applied to the carved pits, causing the bones to crack; they were then interpreted, with the interpretation being carved directly on the shell or bone, sometimes after the characters were written with a brush. "cursive" signs continued.
Mao Gong ding is one of the most famous examples of bronzeware script in Chinese calligraphic history. It contains 500 inscribed characters, the largest number of bronze inscriptions discovered to date. Moreover, each archaic kingdom of current China had its own set of characters. In
Imperial China, the graphs on old
steles have been preserved and can be viewed in museums. Some date back to 200 BCE and are written in the
small seal script ( ) style. Around 220 BCE, the emperor
Qin Shi Huang, the first to conquer the entire Chinese basin, imposed several reforms, among them
Li Si's character unification, which created a set of 3300 standardized small seal characters. Despite the fact that the main writing implement of the time was already the brush, few papers survive from this period, and the main examples of this style are on steles. The
clerical script (/) (), which was more regularized and in some ways similar to modern text, was also authorised under Qin Shi Huang. Between clerical script and traditional regular script, there is another transitional type of calligraphic work called Wei Bei. It started during the
North and South dynasties (420–589 CE) and ended before the
Tang dynasty (618–907). The traditional
regular script (), largely finalized by
Zhong You (, 151–230) and his followers and still in use today, is even more regularized. Its spread was encouraged by
Emperor Mingzong of Later Tang (926–933), who ordered the
printing of the classics using new wooden blocks in kaishu. Printing technologies encouraged shape stabilization. The shape of characters 1000 years ago was mostly similar to that at the end of Imperial China; however, small changes to the characters have been made. For example, the shape of has changed from the version in the
Kangxi Dictionary of 1716 to the version found in modern books. The
Kangxi and current shapes have tiny differences, while stroke order remains the same, following the old style. Styles which did not survive include , a mix of 80% small seal script and 20% clerical script. Some
variant Chinese characters were unorthodox or locally-used for centuries. They were generally understood but never used in official texts. Some of these unorthodox variants, in addition to some newly created characters, compose the
simplified Chinese character set.
Technique To write
Chinese characters, traditional East Asian writing uses the
Four Treasures of the Study:
ink brushes known as (/),
Chinese ink, paper, and
inkstones. They are also known as the
Four Friends of the Study () in Korean. Besides the traditional four tools,
desk pads and
paperweights are also used. There are many factors that influence the final result of a calligrapher's work. Physical factors include the shape, size, stretch, and
hair type of the ink brush; the colour, pigment density, and water density of the ink; and the paper's surface texture and speed in absorbing water. The calligrapher's technique also influences the result, as the look of finished characters is affected by the amount of ink and water the brush absorbs and by the brush's pressure, angle, and direction. Changing these variables produces thinner or bolder strokes and smooth or toothed borders. Eventually, the speed, acceleration, and deceleration of a skilled calligrapher's movements greatly affect the final shape of characters and give them their "spirit".
Styles Cursive styles such as
Semi-cursive script| (/)(semi-cursive or running script) and
Grass script| (/) (cursive, rough script, or grass script) are less constrained and faster, and movements made by the writing implement are more visible. The stroke orders of these styles vary more, sometimes creating radically different forms. They descend from the clerical script, at around the same time as the regular script (
Han dynasty), but '
and ' were used for personal notes only and not as a standard. The '''' style was highly appreciated during
Emperor Wu of Han's reign (141–87 BC). Examples of modern printed styles are
Song from the
Song dynasty's
printing press and
East Asian sans-serif. These are not considered traditional styles and are normally not written.
Influences Japanese and Korean calligraphy were each influenced by Chinese calligraphy. Calligraphy has influenced most major art styles in East Asia, including
ink and wash painting, a style of
Chinese,
Japanese, and
Korean painting based entirely on calligraphy and which uses similar tools and techniques. The Japanese and Koreans have developed their own sensibilities and styles of calligraphy while incorporating Chinese influences.
Japan Japanese calligraphy extends beyond the set of
CJK strokes to also include local alphabets such as
hiragana and
katakana, with specific characteristics such as new curves and moves, and specific materials (
Japanese paper, , and Japanese ink).
Korea The modern
Korean alphabet and its use of the circle required the creation of a new technique not used in traditional Chinese calligraphy.
Mongolia Mongolian calligraphy is also influenced by Chinese calligraphy, from tools to style.
Tibet Tibetan calligraphy is central to
Tibetan culture. The script is derived from
Indic scripts. The nobles of Tibet, such as the High
Lamas and inhabitants of the
Potala Palace, were often capable calligraphers. For centuries,
Tibet has been a center of
Buddhism, which places high significance on the written word. Although there is not a large body of
secular pieces, they do exist, but usually are related in some way to Tibetan Buddhism. Almost all high religious writing involved calligraphy, including letters sent by the
Dalai Lama and other religious and secular authorities. Calligraphy is particularly evident on
prayer wheels, although this calligraphy was forged rather than penned or brushed, much like Arab and Roman calligraphy on buildings. Although originally done with a reed, Tibetan calligraphers now use chisel-tipped pens and markers as well. ==Southeast Asia==