An Introduction to Chinese Calligraphy Calligraphy In ancient

An Introduction to Chinese Calligraphy

Calligraphy • In ancient China, painting and calligraphy were the most highly appreciated arts • Produced almost exclusively by amateurs, aristocrats and scholar-officials who alone had the leisure to perfect the technique and sensibility necessary for great brushwork • Calligraphy was thought to be the highest and purest form of painting

Tools • • Brush pen, made of animal hair, Black inks, made from pine soot and animal glue Silk Paper, after the invention in the 1 st century Original writings by famous calligraphers have been greatly valued throughout China's history and are mounted on scrolls and hung on walls in the same way that paintings are.

Wang Xizhi • • 4 th century AD Lanting Xu the preface of a collection of poems written by a number of poets

Basic strokes • 8 strokes – Dash or horizontal line – Perpendicular down stroke – Sweeping or falling left stroke – Sweeping or falling right stroke – Hook – Upright stroke to the right – Dot – Bend or twist

Rice Paper • made of : rice plants mulberry paper edible paper straw paper • used to make flat pieces of paper • made for scrolls

Easy to Understand Chinese • words in Chinese can look like its picture meaning

Write In Certain Strokes • Write in certain strokes • left, right, up, down

What to make up a Chinese character: strokes 王 山

一 二 三 A dash(a horizontal stroke)

王 A perpendicular down stroke

才 A hook

木 林 A left-falling stroke and a right-falling stroke

法 习 An upstroke to the right

点 A dot

中国 Bend or twist

Proper Poster for Writing in brush