Art of Chinese Calligraphy

As the art of Chinese calligraphy, or shufa, is boasting as long a history as that of China itself. It is one of the highest forms of Chinese art, serving the purpose of conveying thoughts while also showcasing abstract beauty of lines. Calligraphy (shū fǎ 书法) has traditionally been regarded as China's highest form of visual art - to the point that a person's character was judged by the elegance of their handwriting! The basic tools of calligraphy - brush and ink - are also the tools of Chinese painting, with line work and tone the all-important components.

The story of the development of Chinese characters is not a very simple and coherent one. Different types of characters and styles were accepted at different places, under different rules and at different times. The intriguing thing is that some masterpieces that introduced a new revolutionary style were so admired that they were established as the new standard and form to be copied and studied by later generations. In general Chinese calligraphy can be divided into five major styles: Zhuan Shu (篆书) today mostly confined to seal carving, Li Shu (隶书), the traditional official style (mainly dominant during the Han Dynasty 206 B.C.-220 A.D), Kai Shu (楷书), the most common form for printing which is also considered to be the standard form of writing Chinese, Xing Shu (行书), the most commonly used form of hand writing also known as 'running style' and finally Cao Shu (草书), the Chinese cursive style, mostly used by calligraphers for highly abstract works but also seen in everyday use.

Take the word ‘horse’ for example.

在 汉字书写中，书法与中国的历史同兴衰。它是中国最高的艺术形式，它传达思想的同时，也表现了线条的美。书法是中国四大技艺——琴、棋、书、画之一。然而， 比起其他三种，书法更多地体现了韵律、线条和结构的完美。书法是汉字的书写艺术。它不仅是中华民族的文化瑰宝，而且在世界文化艺术宝库中独放异采。汉字在 漫长的演变发展的历史长河中，一方面起着思想交流、文化继承等重要的社会作用， 另一方面它本身又形成了一种独特的造型艺术。近代经过考证，关于中国文字起源，一般认为在距今约5000-6000年左右中国黄河中游的“仰韶文化时 期”，已经创造了文字。仰韶文化因1921年首先在河南渑池仰韶村发现而得名的。近40余年，又陆续有许多发现。 世界上各民族的文字，概括起来有三大类型，即表形文字；表意文字；表音文字。汉字则是典型的在表形文字基础上发展起来的表意文字。象形的造字方法即是把实 物画出来。不过画图更趋于简单化、抽象化，成为突出实物特点的一种符号，代表一定的意义，有一定的读音。我们的汉字，从图画、符号到创造、定型，由古文大 篆到小篆，由篆而隶、楷、行、草，各种形体逐渐形成。在书写应用汉字的过程中，逐渐产生了世界各民族文字中独一的、可以独立门类的书法艺术