Research

- Deng Yizhe who had studied literature and aesthetics, stated that Chinese calligraphy was a pure
art. Deng wrote in his book, Brushstrokes in calligraphy are not traces of individual lines, but the
overflowing beauty out if the brush and ink controlled by the calligraphers finger, wrist, and mind;
this is so-called expression (Zhang, 1931).

- Based on Lin Yutang, a Chinese scholar, stated that Fundamental is the place of calligraphy in
Chinese art as a study of form and rhythm in the abstract that we may say it has provided the
Chinese people with basic aesthetics, and it is through calligraphy that the Chinese have learnt their
basic notions of line and form.

- To explain rhythm and form, Lin Yutang proposed an animistic principle. According to this principle,
Chinese calligraphers, in exploring rhythms and forms, have derived artistic inspiration from nature,
especially from plants and animals.

- Inspired by an American philosopher DeWitt Parkers definition of art. Zhang, a calligraphy critic,
put emphasis on juexiang (perceptual form), within which he identified three features. First, some
perceptual forms can evoke relevant feelings, some cannot. Second, some perceptual forms, such as
gustatory and olfactory forms, are pure and simple and have no variations in structure; some visual
and auditory forms are complex and diversified, and thus they can generate diverse levels of feelings.
Third, perceptual forms engender two kind of feelings, namely positive feeling and negative feeling,
and if a perceptual form can arouse positive feeling and is manmade, it may be described as
beautiful or an artwork. For Zhang, works of Chinese calligraphy, as perceptual forms, evoke
emotions, have complex structural variations, and engender positive feelings, and therefore are
artworks.

- Zhang enumerated five classifications of arts and defined calligraphy through its relation with other
arts. First, because of the sensory organs employed, Chinese calligraphy is a visual art. Second, in
terms of the stated and properties of the objects, Chinese calligraphy is a spatial art. Here, Zhang
classified arts as spatial art and temporal art based on the state of movement or stillness of aesthetic
objects. Some calligraphy theorists today would argue that calligraphy is both a spatial art and
temporal art, since it not only achieves freedom from time to time, but also within time. Third, in
terms of the means or tools used in its practice, Chinese calligraphy is a graphic art. The fourth
classification was based on philosopher Bernard Bosanquets differentiation between a priori (or
directly expressive) form and representative form. By a priori forms, Bosanquet means that their
expressiveness must be in some degree inherit in the forms, and they are directly resemblance
emotions, that is, without making the circuit of the reference to anything which had a name and
existence in the external world. The expressiveness of representative forms, however, relies on
meaning that can only be acquired with the aid of knowledge and past experience. Observing that
the beauty of Chinese calligraphy lies in the forms of the symbols of Chinese characters and is
irrelevant to their meanings, Zhang considered Chinese calligraphy to be a directly expressive art.

- From the end of the 1970s to 1990s, a period of intense activity for modern Chinese aesthetics, a
group of Chinese calligraphy as a linear art, and asserted that its beauty lies in its Significant
identifying Chinese calligraphy as a priori form, to some degree, then was an antecedent of late
twentieth- century calligraphy aesthetics. The last classification divided art into pure art and
utilitarian art, and for Zhang, Chinese calligraphy is, a utilitarian art.

- Citing Zeng Guofan, Zhang claimed that to achieve shi, calligraphers have to maintain a uniform
style of characters within a calligraphy work, and the centers of gravity; of all characters within a
calligraphy work, and the centres of gravity of all the characters within a calligraphy work, and the
centres of gravity of all characters in a column should roughly fall in a straight line.

- shi as the tendency of natural things, as movement of the body and the brush, as the tension within
a stroke or character, and as dynamic configuration of a whole work.

- Zhangs central thesis is that Chinese calligraphy, as a unique art, is an expression of feelings and
emotions.

- Calligraphy as a general term simply means groups of words, in any language, conveying human
thought and written by hand (Yee, 1973).

- The history of Chinese calligraphy is believed to be as long as that of China herself. But its nature
has always been a source of mystery and perplexity to westerners, many of whom have understood
well enough to painting and other forms of Chinese art. Yet calligraphy, it can be affirmed, besides
being itself one of the highest forms of Chinese art, is in a sense the chief and most fundamental
element in every branch up in the artistic traditions of the country, its aesthetic significance seems to
be very difficult to grasp.

- Chinese characters not only serve the purpose of conveying thought but also express in a peculiar
visual way the beauty of the thought.

-Chinese calligraphy is a visual art based on the structure of the characters using text to convey the
content and meaning through self-expression.

- Calligraphy is the ancient Chinese art of writing, plays a significant role in the field of graphic design
and the art form that connects the art of the writing characters.

- The brush is serves as the tool of calligraphy is convenient to use and has its special expressive
force.

- Chinese characters display a good-looking variety in the shapes of the strokes, and each stroke may
contain an individual variation of form, passing from the slender to the bold. English word, are
limited mechanically as to length by the number of letters. And all must be written regularly from lef
to right; whereas every Chinese character is constructed in an imaginary square, which it can fill in a
variety of beautiful ways.

- Chinese characters are monosyllabic and pictographic. They are not made up from an alphabet, but
stand alone, each ideogram throwing on the mind of an isolated picture. This is a different system
from that of any Western language. European words are sound symbols intended for pronunciation
and containing no visual idea. Some of our characters are only sound symbols, having no written
meaning, but these derive chiefly from our comparatively recent attempts to translate by their
sounds the words of foreign languages into our own.
- Chinese characters comprise three elements, thought, sound, and form, and this are able to fulfill
both the uses of daily life and exacting requirements of an artistic medium.

- The first person to revolutionized Chinese calligraphy was Lu Weizhao (1899-1980) who was deeply
influenced by Picasso, and vice versa. He has introduced new approach to writing lines and general
proportion ratio and strong emotions. By intentional exaggeration of strokes, stretching character
form, or redesigning white space around characters new intriguing aesthetics have been achieved.

- Other known technique is using different shades of ink. This was initiated in Japan but widely
pursued by many neo-classicists in China. Calligraphy brush conceals infinite recipe on line drawing.
For instance repeatedly loaded with water and ink it will deliver wicked effects of multi-shaded line
creating various depth and moods within one stroke.

- Some bold calligraphers merge two or more characters in one cluster. It may be interpreted as
assimilating treats of various cultures of other countries and unleashing within one work.

- The essence of calligraphy, both classical and modern, is raw magic of simplicity and deeply spiritual
nature.

- Today, majority does not understand calligraphy art. This also goes to Asian nationals. One reason is
a commercial lifestyle, and two is lack of reliable information of the subject. It is important to know
that calligraphers main concerns are patterns which characters form on the paper and the white
space secluding the black lines.

- Some of them are content with uniform and rather organized compositions, which approach is
greatly appreciated by the majority of Westerners due to its readability.

- Since the mid- 1980s, Chinese calligraphy art has undergone a radical change and has opened itself
to experimentation. Calligraphy has gradually lost its connection with Chinese language and has
gradually strayed from the concept of traditional aesthetics which consists of strict rules and stylistic
standards that have never change over centuries.

-Many societies are For the Chinese, calligraphy has additional cultural weight. Throughout history,
written language has played important role in China as a symbol of unification and division and
handwriting is ofen used to evaluate character (Lee, 2001).

- However with the impact of technologies, subjective evidence suggests that the use of computers
for word processing has affected their ability to write characters by hand
-Complicated and rarely used characters are usually the first to be forgotten from the memory, but
even common characters are being lost. Eventually the characters are not forgotten completely, but
the writer ofen simply needs prompting from the dictionary or a friend to write out the characters.
(BBC News, 2011).

-The area for research is Chinese calligraphy today and transition of Chinese calligraphy.
Chinese calligraphy is an ancient Chinese art of writing, like script itself that began with hieroglyphs
and over time, has developed into various styles and schools, making an important part of the
national cultural heritage (Qian, 2007). This ancient Chinese writing plays a significant role in the field
of graphic design and its art form that connects the art of writing Chinese characters (Yin, 2008).
-In this digital era, the situation of calligraphy today is different from before. Handwriting in many
ways is not dying. It is more accurate to say that it is transitioning (Harralson, 2014). Chinese
calligraphers have to divert away from the traditional calligraphy and imputed a new way of creating
Chinese calligraphy. Only this way, can the development of calligraphy can reflect the spirit of the
Chinese people today. One important theory suggests that modern calligraphy theory is incorporated
with Western modern art theory. The brush and ink should follow the times, thus Chinese
calligraphy should not just stay within traditional limits. Only development and innovation can make
calligraphy bloom forever (Qian, 2007). For example, He Jian Ping is a designer that used modern
method to create Chinese calligraphy in his work. Ministry of Education issued a notice in the early
2013 that calligraphy education was to be made a compulsory course at primary and middle schools
to retain its place in the modern society (Li, 2013).

-Chinese characters are not simply symbols in semiotics; rather, they are a kind of comprehensive
cultural type.

- Another change in the evolution of the art of calligraphy in the twentieth century occurred in the
Maoist period (1941-1976), when calligraphy became an art in the service of socialism and the
working class. Due to the massive use of the dazibao ( Big- character posters), in this period,
calligraphy become a means of expression of the masses with the function of conveying a common
political ideology for the first time in Chinas history.

- This revolution in the use of the brush has had a great influence on artist such as Gu Wenda, Xu
Bing, and Wu Shanzhuan, and it has been fundamental for the emergence of the avant-garde
movement in the mid- eighties. From the 80s, the panorama of calligraphy was completely renewed
as interest in calligraphy has divided generally into two directions which is the traditional and the
avant-garde, with the former embraced by the calligraphy departments of higher learning as well as
amateur calligraphy enthusiasts and latter primarily by art institutions and independent artists
(Barrass, 2002).

- Based on Barrass, there are four main trends of calligraphic art in the post- Mao era. Initially, by far
the most influential of these was the continuation of the Grand Tradition of Classical calligraphy.
Then, in the middle 1980s, a Modernist movement emerged that created an entirely new genre of
the art. Later, the decline in the number of truly classical calligraphers was offset by the rise of many
younger Neo- classicists, who keep the Classical ideals alive by setting them within a modern context.
More recently still, an Avant-Garde movement has come to the fore, exploring new artistic
possibilities by combining calligraphic imagery and techniques with modern forms of conceptual and
performance art.

- While Classicism and Neoclassicism still reflect the traditional idea of calligraphy, Modernism and
Avant-Garde have modified the traditional concept of calligraphy completely.

- The first two trends represent the contemporary forms of the so called traditional calligraphy,
while the last two trends represent the new main tendencies of the so-called modern calligraphy.
- Only modernist and avant-garde movements that lead to a real transformation of calligraphic art,
adequately reflect the rapid changing of Chinese contemporary culture.

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Will Chinese calligraphy able to survive in the digital age? / is digital technology the problem for
Chinese calligraphy?

The practical functions of calligraphy are decreasing as printing becomes more prominent while
calligraphy is becoming further removed from the daily life of the ordinary people. As we enter into
digital age, more and more people using computers instead of writing by hand.

Why is there a crisis in writing Chinese characters?

-In many viewpoints, the impact of new technologies, such as computers and smart phones, is largely
responsible for the crisis in writing Chinese characters. An article published on August 11, 2010 in
the Peoples Daily, the most significant newspaper in China, pointed out that it is an undeniable fact
that new technologies do have a great impact on the handwriting of centuries old Chinese
characters.

-Among Chinese speakers, subjective evidence suggests that the use of computers for word
processing is setting a slow but steady assault on their ability to write characters by hand. Many
Chinese say that could weakened the written language.

-For the Chinese, writing has additional cultural weight. Through the country history, written
language has played a critical role in China as a symbol of both unification and division.

-It was used to bridge the hundreds of variations in spoken Chinese, but it has been a symbol of
political division, as evidenced by the different writing systems used by Taiwan and China, one
traditional and one simplified. And handwriting is ofen used to evaluate character.

-The slow erosion of writing skills is the frequent subject of conversations, jokes and self-
consciousness in China and Taiwan.

- The Chinese have a name for the written equivalent of having something on the tip of the tongue
that translates as forgetting characters upon lifing the pen.

-But many in China take a pragmatic approach to the language, not a sentimental one. A consultation
in Beijing, Zhou Liwei stated that the role of language is communication.

-The conflict is a result of forcing the complexities of the Chinese language to conform to a standard
Roman- alphabet keyboard. Becoming literate in Chinese requires mastering characters that range
from the simple to the intricate.

Pinyin
-The pinyin (Chinese phonetic alphabet) input method has tremendous impact on Chinese
handwriting because the Chinese characters are a pictographic writing system and have a very
unique ideographic structure (Guo, 2010).

- With technology, some people are used to typing out the Chinese characters out but when it comes
to writing, they cant remember how to write that Chinese characters.

-Chinese typing requires users only to recognize characters and not construct them from scratch.

-More than 97 percent of computer users in China type by phonetically spelling out the sounds of the
characters in a transliteration system, called pinyin that is based on the Roman alphabet. The
sofware then either offers users a choice of characters that fit the pronunciation, or it automatically
guesses the characters that the users wants, based on context.

-The pinyin system of typing and selection is time-consuming and awkward, but it is popular because
it requires less training. Other systems involve a large amount of memorization but are faster.

-Writing something, whether is English or Chinese character, involves retrieving the basic elements of
the word either letters or brush strokes from the memory. It is the recurrent construction of a word
or character that reinforces the writing process (Lee, 2010).

*Character amnesia

Some people believe the impact of technologies is not the only factor behind the current plight for
the Chinese handwriting. They argue that putting all the blame on new technologies is to excuse our
own responsibility and mission to preserve our cultural heritage. More fundamentally, they pointed
to the failure of valuing Chinese characters as we should and showing due respect to traditional
Chinese culture.

Character Amnesia also unveils the fallacy and failure of school education, especially the teaching
of the Chinese written language, and general publics growing alienation from the traditional art of
Chinese handwriting and Chinese language and culture that Chinese characters are supposed to help
maintain. It also indicates that people, swayed by a pragmatist mindset, no longer take ancient
cultures seriously and therefore show less respect for traditional cultures (Zhang 2010).

Todays Chinese calligraphy

-In many ways, handwriting is not dying. It is more accurate to say that it is transitioning (Harralson,
2014).

- The importance of Chinese calligraphers has to deviate away from thousands of years of tradition.
By doing this way, the development of calligraphy can reflect the spirit of our Chinese people today.

- One theory of modern calligraphy incorporates Western art theory. The brush and ink should
follow the times, thus Chinese calligraphy should not just stay within the traditional limits. Only
development and innovation can make calligraphy bloom forever.

-He Jian Ping, designer that use modern method to create Chinese calligraphy.
Why should we appreciate Chinese calligraphy?

-William Willets argues that Chinese calligraphy is an important art form in the Chinese culture. It
represents one of the earliest human civilizations with Oracle script was widely dominant in the Han
dynasty (206 BC 220 AD) where paper was not yet invented. People at that time were writing books
bound by thin bamboo sticks. With the nature of vertical bamboo fibers on the bamboo sticks, it
would be hard to write or draw straight horizontal lines. Hence, the appreciation of Clerical script
was based on ability and skill to draw a nice horizontal line (Chankalun, 2015).

- Characteristic of Chinese Calligraphy

-The Nationality of Chinese Calligraphy

-Four Treasures of the Study

- The influence of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism

-Chinese Calligraphy, Painting and music