Calligraphy, the Soul of Chinese Fine Arts

  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 xuan paper (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, have 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.

   We will introduce the Chinese art forms one by one in later chapters.

   First, let us look at calligraphy, the heart and soul of Chinese fine arts.                                    

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