Creating the Product
Lesson 1: Learning Basic Strokes
My first class by teacher 由尚澤 on the 22nd of October was a nouvelle and inspiring experience. It was definitely not the first time I held a calligraphy brush. But to draw a stroke, patience is required. And it can be frustrating. One thing I found exceptionally surprising was that the teacher was amazed by the fact that I, younger than the other learners in the room, was there to learn how to write calligraphy. And this brings up the point that the writing of Chinese calligraphy is fading in the coming generations. We see it but take no notice.
Mainly, I learned how to handle a brush, hold my hands correctly to manage and put power into the brush tips and how to turn correctly to create the fluidity in lines and dots. Because I was started late, I was not up to par. I could not write the big words fellow learners were writing. The atmosphere was quiet save for the rumbling of the air conditioner and an occasional cough. The brush was softer than I imagined. And it was harder than I thought. |
First Practice: |
Creating Script (Video on Aim)
Guidelines:
Communication style:
- 6 minutes in length
- Show how Chinese calligraphy has developed the culture into what it is
- Define what Chinese culture is
- Highlight issues with modern day halts and unpopularity
Outline:
Title: Chinese Calligraphy in Modern Society
Introduction:
Calligraphy as a whole has been used since ancient times as the main form of written language by hand. With beautiful and embellished handwriting, official works depended on hand written words. But tools have changed. We have now hard tools like pens and pencils, when had we lived in earlier years, would be using ink and a brush. Computers and electronic machines can replace what calligraphers did. Chinese calligraphy has always been around and is very present in Hong Kong. But today's youths often do not acknowledge the art around them, the words on a placard for example, and do not particularly have an interest in this traditional art. The Chinese culture is tea and Kungfu and lanterns and world heritage sites and Chinese calligraphy. And Chinese calligraphy has gone through many chances over the years. One quote to launch us into Calligraphy in Modern Society is "Calligraphy is a kind of music not for the ears, but for the eyes" from Lazursky. According to China Highlights, even though written Chinese language is one of the oldest active languages in the world, still twenty million people are using the brush and ink stick to write.
Development:
There are five general styles of calligraphy: zhuan shu, kai shu, xing shu, li shu, and cao shu. Zhuan shu or seal characters get their name from official seals. They are simpler and more standard than big seal. Small seal or Qin seal comes from the Qin Dynasty in 221 to 206 BC while big seal characters are from oracle bone inscriptions from the Zhou Dynasty in 1046 to 256 BC. This style gets its name from the ancient official seals. Formal Script (楷书 kai shu or zheng shu) evolved from these seal characters and is often characterised by their squareness and horizontal and vertical standardised structure. Running Script (行书 xing shu) is the cursive form of kai shu. Characters are quick and practical. This script dates from the Han Dynasty in 206 BC to 220 AD. Cursive Hand (草书 cao shu) comes from Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - 8 AD) and was popularised during the Eastern Han Dynasty from 25 to 220 AD. Official Script (隶书 li shu) is diversity with different variations. Li shu became the writing which eventually transitioned into formal script. During the Cultural Movement, calligraphy played a major role in propaganda.
In imperial China, the power of the brush separated the politicians who used it communicate and those who could not...a representation of intellect and status. It was often used to deliver coded messages. Calligraphy was also utilised in modern politics as a communications force between leaders and supporters. Sun Yat-sen for example used calligraphy to strengthen his ties to his supporters. Sun used calligraphy as a means of public speaking in a nation where mandarin was spoken with regional dialects. Mao Zedong used his calligraphy to underscore his accomplishments and to build up a personal political cult that aided his dependence upon the Party organisation. It was a means of mass communications, education, ideology, and propaganda. Calligraphy's traditional role as an escape from power. Mao broadcasting his subtle calligraphic resistance to the nation. Despite revolutionary destruction of the imperial social order, calligraphy resisted demolition. Calligraphy's fate as an elite art cannot be disentangled from shifting social practices as the Chinese people invent new ways of being Chinese and develop new methods by which art is endowed with political meaning.
Present in Modern Society:
Aspects of Chinese calligraphy are present in many family homes due to its rich history. But more importantly, it has evolved into different trends. The Classical, Neo-classical, Modernist, and Avant Garde according to researcher Kim Munson. The Classical often uses poetry as focus. Neo-classical are more modernist with different expression. Modernist is classically trained but influenced by Western painting. They are very often influenced by the New York School of Abstract Expressionists with artists like Picasso and Kandinsky. And Avant-garde gets influence from contemporary western paintings.
Conclusion:
Chinese calligraphy is still developing today retaining much of its traditional sense of expression with body and soul.
Communication style:
- 6 minutes in length
- Show how Chinese calligraphy has developed the culture into what it is
- Define what Chinese culture is
- Highlight issues with modern day halts and unpopularity
Outline:
Title: Chinese Calligraphy in Modern Society
Introduction:
Calligraphy as a whole has been used since ancient times as the main form of written language by hand. With beautiful and embellished handwriting, official works depended on hand written words. But tools have changed. We have now hard tools like pens and pencils, when had we lived in earlier years, would be using ink and a brush. Computers and electronic machines can replace what calligraphers did. Chinese calligraphy has always been around and is very present in Hong Kong. But today's youths often do not acknowledge the art around them, the words on a placard for example, and do not particularly have an interest in this traditional art. The Chinese culture is tea and Kungfu and lanterns and world heritage sites and Chinese calligraphy. And Chinese calligraphy has gone through many chances over the years. One quote to launch us into Calligraphy in Modern Society is "Calligraphy is a kind of music not for the ears, but for the eyes" from Lazursky. According to China Highlights, even though written Chinese language is one of the oldest active languages in the world, still twenty million people are using the brush and ink stick to write.
Development:
There are five general styles of calligraphy: zhuan shu, kai shu, xing shu, li shu, and cao shu. Zhuan shu or seal characters get their name from official seals. They are simpler and more standard than big seal. Small seal or Qin seal comes from the Qin Dynasty in 221 to 206 BC while big seal characters are from oracle bone inscriptions from the Zhou Dynasty in 1046 to 256 BC. This style gets its name from the ancient official seals. Formal Script (楷书 kai shu or zheng shu) evolved from these seal characters and is often characterised by their squareness and horizontal and vertical standardised structure. Running Script (行书 xing shu) is the cursive form of kai shu. Characters are quick and practical. This script dates from the Han Dynasty in 206 BC to 220 AD. Cursive Hand (草书 cao shu) comes from Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - 8 AD) and was popularised during the Eastern Han Dynasty from 25 to 220 AD. Official Script (隶书 li shu) is diversity with different variations. Li shu became the writing which eventually transitioned into formal script. During the Cultural Movement, calligraphy played a major role in propaganda.
In imperial China, the power of the brush separated the politicians who used it communicate and those who could not...a representation of intellect and status. It was often used to deliver coded messages. Calligraphy was also utilised in modern politics as a communications force between leaders and supporters. Sun Yat-sen for example used calligraphy to strengthen his ties to his supporters. Sun used calligraphy as a means of public speaking in a nation where mandarin was spoken with regional dialects. Mao Zedong used his calligraphy to underscore his accomplishments and to build up a personal political cult that aided his dependence upon the Party organisation. It was a means of mass communications, education, ideology, and propaganda. Calligraphy's traditional role as an escape from power. Mao broadcasting his subtle calligraphic resistance to the nation. Despite revolutionary destruction of the imperial social order, calligraphy resisted demolition. Calligraphy's fate as an elite art cannot be disentangled from shifting social practices as the Chinese people invent new ways of being Chinese and develop new methods by which art is endowed with political meaning.
Present in Modern Society:
Aspects of Chinese calligraphy are present in many family homes due to its rich history. But more importantly, it has evolved into different trends. The Classical, Neo-classical, Modernist, and Avant Garde according to researcher Kim Munson. The Classical often uses poetry as focus. Neo-classical are more modernist with different expression. Modernist is classically trained but influenced by Western painting. They are very often influenced by the New York School of Abstract Expressionists with artists like Picasso and Kandinsky. And Avant-garde gets influence from contemporary western paintings.
Conclusion:
Chinese calligraphy is still developing today retaining much of its traditional sense of expression with body and soul.
Show of works: (Idioms practiced in class)
In class, I learned to write various idioms and had much homework to practice at home. But practicing was inconvenient because it required complete concentration and that required a peaceful background. Four pages (four different idioms) can take as long as 2 hours. I was astonished by how little I was writing a class. So I decided to race myself to write more. Fair play but bad decision. My works became worse and worse because I was not as concentrated. Also, I noticed that each class, because emotions and thoughts would be different, the writing would differ. Here are some examples of the idioms I practiced in class, it shows a change in writing. At the beginning, I was writing simple words and as I got exposed to more different types of Chinese calligraphy, I found that I could write more with ease. The following photos are not in order.
Some of the idioms were useful for my knowledge in the Chinese language. But many were confusing and strange until explained why it would mean such a thing. The below is some of the products of my practice. I planned to make this into a book just as to show my audience but the problem with laminating practice paper as thin as such was that it would tear and bend. By some photos are commentaries (a few)
Some of the idioms were useful for my knowledge in the Chinese language. But many were confusing and strange until explained why it would mean such a thing. The below is some of the products of my practice. I planned to make this into a book just as to show my audience but the problem with laminating practice paper as thin as such was that it would tear and bend. By some photos are commentaries (a few)
Aspirations:
For the Chinese New Year, I would like to be able to write in the cursive form of Chinese calligraphy because I think it just allows more freedom to be communicated and be quicker (not to say less effort will be needed). Here are some examples:
I thought they looked absolutely perfect. As Chinese New Year is coming soon, maybe I will have these skills to show after. But right now, the foundation to writing this form is by writing the formal calligraphy form. I tried quite a few times to write like this but I could not because that would be drawing and not writing. I would be copying, and the copied version does not look as good as the original as I was still a novice in this area. |
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Materials needed for and the Creation of Final Product:
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Materials needed:
- two little booklets (mine were blue) - one for people to try writing themselves - another for me to show what I have done - one scroll paper (any colour) - two wooden sticks for the end - calligraphy ink - calligraphy brush - ink stone - red calligraphy paper (because February is relatively close to the Chinese New Year) *The video to the left is a short clip of me writing calligraphy (the idioms) in my booklet. |
Creating my scroll was a great experience and a good way to spend some time. As I was writing, my hand shook. Probably because I was standing and writing. The words did not come out as I was expecting it to look like. They looked rather bloated. Glueing the two wooden sticks was a difficult task. It would not stay completely equal on both ends. I thought that it had a very homemade look. Nonetheless, it was a task requiring much effort and concentration. Also, the words are not always equal in the middle (as I separated the paper into sections for my work to be more facile to write). But the pencil markings do not show up unless held by the light.