CALLIGRAPHY
Calligraphy is one of the most important art forms in China (and East Asia more broadly). It
occupies a revered place there far beyond its place in European culture. Yet, its importance is not
restricted to its artistic significance. Having a sense of calligraphic forms is useful in such
mundane activities as business transactions and reading handwritten documents. Here is a basic
chart that covers the history of calligraphy. Examples are all the character 龍 (lóng):
ORACLE-BONE AND TORTOISE
-SHELL INSCRIPTIONS
甲骨文 (jiǎgǔwén)
(C. 1500-1100 B.C.)
BRONZE-VESSEL AND BELL
INSCRIPTIONS
鐘鼎文 (zhōngdǐngwén)
(C. 1100-221 B.C.)
CURSIVE (“GRASS”) SCRIPTS
草書 (cǎoshū)
Old grass script 古草(gǔcǎo)
(206 B.C.-A.D.8)
GREATER SEAL SCRIPT
大篆 (dàzhuàn)
(403-221 B.C.)
DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT 章草
(A.D. 25-220) (zhāngcǎo)
LESSER SEAL SCRIPT
小篆(xiǎozhuàn)
(221-206)
UNCONNECTED
独草体
CONNECTED
連綿体
(dúcǎotǐ)
(liánjǐnshū)
4TH C. A.D.
4TH CENTURY A.D.
OLD SCRIBE
古隷(gǔlì)
(221-206 B.C.)
SEMI-CURSIVE (“RUNNING)” SCRIPT 行書
(206 B.C.-A.D. 220)
HAN SCRIBE
漢隷 (Hànlì)
(206 B.C.-A.D. 220)
BLOCK SCRIPT (STANDARD)
楷書(kǎishū)
C. 4TH AND 5TH CENTURIES A.D.
龍
WILD
狂草体
kuàngcǎotǐ
618-907
Practical Uses:
Block, semi-cursive, and cursive are the standard forms used in Chinese now. The remainder are
reserved for artistic or decorative purposes. It is important to realize, however, that once a style
appeared, it never disappeared. Also, writing “in the style of” famous calligraphers remains a
respected stage on the way to developing one’s own calligraphic style.
Handwriting: In order to figure out what something is, knowing the stroke order is often very
helpful. For example, the cursive form of “wind”風 (see below right) might seem inscrutable at
first, but if you follow the brush strokes with your eyes and do a little reconstructing, it is not
hard to guess what the character is.
Informally, there are many abbreviations of characters. (See examples of Chinese abbreviations).
Although some charts of these exist, there is no one convenient reference source to use: one must
simply learn them through reading and practice.
Today, seal script is often used for personal seals (túzhāng 圖章) and decorative motifs (e.g.
pillow cases, wallpaper et al.). Otherwise is rarely seen. Scribe script is also rarely used.
Punctuation
Punctuation is relatively new in Chinese. In older texts it was often largely omitted because the
grammar itself indicated where commas, periods, etc. would be. Moreover, traditional
punctuation is not always the same as modern. Here are some diacritical and punctuation marks
with which you should be familiar:
々=repetition of the Chinese character directly preceding it. 時々、等々
「」= quotation marks
『』= quotation marks
ゝ= repetition of the preceding kana
ヽ=enumeration comma (or emphasis, if placed next to a character)
。= period
・= stop (or emphasis, if placed beside vertical characters)
《》= brackets (used like {} are used in English)