“chinese calligraphy” history and technique compiled by robert ponzio oak hall school
TRANSCRIPT
“Chinese Calligraphy” History and Technique
Compiled by Robert Ponzio Oak Hall School
Featuring:
“The Art
of the Heart”
A Lecture / Demonstration by
Prof. Yang Xin University of Beijing
6/20/04
Chinese Pictographs
The development of the character wan (falling tone) (scorpion): from left to right, archaic Shang, oracle Shang, and modern.
The development of the character yang (rising tone) (sheep): from left to right, archaic, small seal, and modern.
Scorpion
Sheep
Oracle Bone Script (Zhuan script or seal characters)
Oracle Bones
The earliest Oracle Bone dates back 8,000 years ago
The 1st was discovered in N. Hunan Province in 1899.
Since then, 150,000 more oracle bones have been found bearing more than
4,500 characters
A new discovery in Xanxi provincereveals another 600 characters.
A new discovery in Xanxi provincereveals another 600 characters.
A lecture by Professor Yang Liluen examined the history and development of Chinese writing and discussed pottery that was unearthed in Texas and Arizona which bears Chinese Script. He also sited DNA studies by Emery University Scientists which points to a relationship between Native Americans and the Chinese.
Lishu or Clerical Script
LishuFirst Official Script
Qin Dynasty (221-207 B.C.)
Zhang Zuyi (1849-1917)
Calligraphy in Clerical Script, ink on paper
52 3/8 x 26 inches
Zhang Zuyi was born in Tongcheng, Anhui Province. His was also known by his literary name Lei. Zhang Zuyi learned the seal style calligraphy from ancient styles of Shigu and Zhongding. His official style was the style of
the Han Dynasty ( 202 B.C. -220 A.D.). and
stone tablets.
Kaishu or Regular Script
“Standing”
Kaishu or Regular Script
The oldest existing example dates from the Wei (220-265), which simplified the
Lishu.
Kaishu script was further developed
under the Jin (265-420)
and continued to develop into the
standard writing of today
Xingshu
(semi cursive) lies somewhere between the kaishu (regular) and caoshu (grass) scripts in that at times the strokes are controlled and regular and at other times free and flowing.
“Walking”
Xingshu(semi cursive)
“Walking”
Caoshu - Grass or Cursive Script
“Running”
This cursive style of calligraphy by Wen Zhengming (1470-1559) has been called "The Dance of the Brush." It is used as a means of artistic expression: the character itself is less important than its expressive quality.
The Four Treasures
The INK
The STONE
The Brush
Paper was invented in China. It is said that paper was invented in the year 105 by a man called Cai Lun. He lived in Shaanxi province during the Han dynasty almost 1900 years ago.
The Paper
Prof.Yang Xin
BeijingUniv.
6/19/04
Prof.Yang Xin
BeijingUniv.
6/19/04
Prof.Yang Xin
BeijingUniv.
6/19/04
Penghua Zhu
University of Florida Graduate Studenthttp://plaza.ufl.edu/pzhu/project/project.htm
Brush Holding Position
SPRING
Three + Human + Sun = Spring
2 year Old Calligrapher
8 Basic Strokes of Chinese
Calligraphy
Dot Stroke
Simplified CharactersIn an effort to increase literacy, about 2,000 of the characters used in China have been simplified. These simplified characters are also used in Singapore, but in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and Malaysia the traditional characters are still used. Here are some examples (simplified characters in red):
Shu Fa : ABSTRACTION
Horse
QuickTime™ and aMotion JPEG OpenDML decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Anger
Professor Yang XinCalligraphy DemonstrationBeijing University, 6/19/04
QuickTime™ and aMotion JPEG OpenDML decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Professor Yang XinCalligraphy DemonstrationBeijing University, 6/19/04
Dragon
Dreaming
Jade
“Coming of Spring”
By Xin Yang
“I heard the girl was setting flowers downstairs”.
Famous Tang Dynasty Poem
Happiness
Karma
Smiling
SPRING
Three + Human + Sun = Spring
Spring
Spring
Summer
Fall
Winter
Three Kinds of Archaic Graphs and their Transitions to Modern Characters
Top Row: Complex single-element graphs whose modern parallels are direct descendants of archaic forms.
Middle Row: Simple multiple-element graphs lacking modern equivalents.
Bottom Row: Complex multi-element graphs with either modern descendants or equivalents.
Chinese Oracle Bone
and Tortoise Shell Inscriptions