China Popular Itineraries |
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Major School s of Chinese Calligraphy |
Calligraphy, considered characteristic of China, is a traditional art with a long history and particular national features. It is a unique form of art that is co-existent with the birth and development of Chinese characters and the re-sult of generations of artists' efforts. It is of beautiful shape, rich emotion and profound artistic conception. It retaines the beauty of nature and shows man's spiritual beauty. That's why Chinese people usually say "the handwriting re-veals the writer himself. " Chinese calligraphy is not only a splendid flower in the garden of Chinese culture, but a shining pearl among the treasure of humanity' s arts.
Just as its name implies, calligraphy comprises the way in which charac-ters are written and the standards according to which they are written. Differ-ent from common handwriting, calligraphy refers especially to the way of writing with a brush. Calligraphy includes five aspects: first, the way of han-dling the brush; secondly, the way of writing; thirdly, the structure; fourthly, the pattern; fifthly, the way to sign or use a seal. Different ways and methods result in different styles.
The art of calligraphy is affected by Chinese characters themselves. Dif-ferent scripts of Chinese characters in their development have resulted in dif-ferent styles and schools of calligraphers. Different schools of calligraphy pro-duce different artistic effects through various ways of writing. Among the five calligraphic arts, namely, the Seal Characters, the Official Script, the Regular Script, the Running Hand and the Cursive Hand, the Seal Characters is the most ancient, while the Regular Script and the Cursive Hand are those widely used in schools and therefore the most profound in their influences.
The Regular Script is also called " Zhenshu," " Zhengshu or¡°Zhengkai " Originating from the Official Script of the Han Dynasty, the Regular Script has summed up the strokes of other letter forms and extracted a set of simplified and concise strokes, such as. During the Wei trod Jin periods, the Regular Script was popular and highly recommended. Thus the first climax in its history was formed, namely, the tablet inserip-tions of the Northern Dynasties. In the Tang Dynasty, the second climax took shape, in the form of the Regular Script of the Tang Dynasty. The Imperial Civil Examination System borrowed by the Tang Dynasty from the Sui Dy-nasty, of which calligraphy of the Regular Script was part, greatly stimulated people's interest in learning the Regular Script calligraphy. Thus various styles and schools came into being, each bearing a profound influence on later generations even till today.
Among various calligraphic works of the Regular Script, there are differ-ent styles. Among numerous calligraphers, Ouyang Xun, Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan in the Tang Dynasty and Zhao Mengfu in the Yuan Dynasty are respectfully addressed as "the Four Great Masters of the Regular Scripts." Their works have been considered as models by the students of calligraphy.
Ouyang Xun was the key person in initiating the process of the Regular Script's development from free variety to strict norms. On the basis of the artistic experiences of the six dynasties' tablet inscriptions, he created the Ou School. In form and style calligraphy of Ou School is a transition between the Seal Character, the Official Script and calligraphy of the Jin and Wei dynas-ties. Calligraphy of Ou School, famous for its strictness and its high standard, has Jiu Cheng Gong as its masterpiece.
Yan Zhenqing was a great master in calligraphy. He created a school of his own-graceful, elegant, grand, and well-balanced. Calligraphy of Yan School is round and heavy in handling the strokes, while the strength and spirit are retained.
Calligraphy of Yan School has made the greatest achievement with the most profound influence in the history of calligraphy. It has been popular for tens of hundreds of years. Yan Zhenqing also left the later generations with quite a number of tablet inscriptions.
Liu Gongquan, the great calligrapher in the late Tang Dynasty, inherited the calligraphies of the Ou and Yan schools, while at the same time, devel-oped his own style, that is, Calligraphy of Liu School.
Calligraphy of Liu School was typified by its even strokes, both square and round, and its well-balanced structure. It was derived from Ou and Yah schools, yet it was superior to them since it had exploited to the fullest their favorable characteristics and avoided their unfavorable ones. The Regular Script of the Liu School is a milestone in the history of the Regular Script's development.
Among the four schools of the Regular Script, the above three are charac-terized by their civility and solemnness, while the fourth one, the Zhao School has characteristics of liveliness and briskness. With some connotation of the Running Hand, the Regular Script of the Zhao School displays a certain conti-nuity and permeates the static characters with a strong sense of motion and flow. Calligraphy of Zhao School is an inheritance of the calligraphy style of Wang Xizhi, the great calligrapher.
We can not speak about calligraphy without mentioning the Cursive Hand, for the Cursive Hand is a calligraphic school with the purest aesthetic value among all the calligraphy arts. During the course of its development, the Cursive Hand gradually transferred its focus from concentrating on utility to stressing aesthetic appeal, so that it finally lost its practical value and became a pure art form.
Zhang Zhi of the Han Dynasty was not only good at Zhangcao (the An-cient Cursive Hand) but was also the ancestor of Jincao (Today's Cursive Hand). Most calligraphers of the Cursive Hand of the later generations fol-lowed his suit. However, different schools developed. From the viewpoint of form, the Cursive Hand can roughly be divided into three different schools and styles.
First, Wang Xizhi, "the Calligraphy Saint" and Wang Xianzhi, his son, are called "the Two Wangs (Kings)." Their calligraphies of the Cursive Hand are characterized by extreme beauty, elegance and prominence. Their calligra-phies exerted a great impact on those of later generations.
Secondly is the Cursive Hand represented by Zhi Yong and Sun Guo-geng. Although being Jincao (Today's Cursive Hand), the characters of their calligraphy are that they are not connected continuously, but instead, are easy to read and clear in structure. And their calligraphic works are considered as models by those learning calligraphy in later generations.
Thirdly is the calligraphy of Zhang Xu and Huai Su of the Tang Dynasty.
They have an unchained and unrestrained style and are called "the Two U-niques" of Kuangcao (the Unchained Cursive Hand). With its free and flying spirit, active and lively rhythm, their calligraphy had an important influence 0n later generations.
Since late in the Ming Dynasty, the Cursive Hand has taken on a new look. With Huang Daozhou, Zhang Ruitu, Ni Yuanlu, Wang Duo and Fu khan as its representatives, the Cursive Hand absorbed characteristics of tablet inscriptions and began to pursue its own unique aesthetic values.
In the Cursive Hand's development of over one hundred years, it has ex-perienced different periods and developed different schools and styles, while at the same time it has retained its basic spirit.
Chinese calligraphy has had a great influence on Chinese art and commu-nication through its many systems and schools. With a long history and tradi-tion, it has been prosperous, getting more and more popular among today' s numerous art forms. The reason why people enjoy Chinese calligraphy is that they can both develop skills and mold their temperament through learning and appreciating calligraphy. Chinese calligraphy, with its unique beauty and irre-sistible charms, is stepping out of the country and into the world.
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