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Semi-cursive
Semi-cursive script, also known as running script, is a style of Chinese calligraphy that emerged during the Han dynasty (202 BC220 AD). The style is used to write Chinese characters and is abbreviated slightly where a character's strokes are permitted to be visibly connected as the writer writes, but not to the extent of the cursive style. This makes the style easily readable by readers who can read regular script and quickly writable by calligraphers who require ideas to be written down quickly. In order to produce legible work using the semi-cursive style, a series of writing conventions is followed, including the linking of the strokes, simplification and merging strokes, adjustments to stroke order and the distribution of text of the work. One of the most notable calligraphers who used this style was Wang Xizhi (303–361). Wang is known for the ''Lantingji Xu'' ('Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Collection'), a work published in 353 which remains highly influential ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Characters
Chinese characters are logographs used Written Chinese, to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represent the only one that has remained in continuous use. Over a documented history spanning more than three millennia, the function, style, and means of writing characters have changed greatly. Unlike letters in alphabets that reflect the sounds of speech, Chinese characters generally represent morphemes, the units of meaning in a language. Writing all of the frequently used vocabulary in a language requires roughly 2000–3000 characters; , nearly have been identified and included in ''The Unicode Standard''. Characters are created according to several principles, where aspects of shape and pronunciation may be used to indicate the character's meaning. The first attested characters are oracle bone inscriptions made during the 13th century&n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Wang Xizhi
Wang Xizhi ( zh, c=王羲之; courtesy name: Yishao ( zh, labels=no, c=逸少); ) was a Chinese politician, general and calligrapher from the Jin dynasty (266–420) known for his mastery of Chinese calligraphy. He is often regarded as the greatest calligrapher in Chinese history. His most famous work, composed in 353, is the (; "Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion"). Born in Langya Commandery (in present-day Linyi, Shandong), Wang fled to southern China in his childhood after the collapse of the Western Jin dynasty. He studied calligraphy under the tutelage of relatives, including Wei Shuo, and became engaged to Xi Xuan around the year 323. They had eight children, including Wang Xianzhi (calligrapher), Wang Xianzhi, who later became a renowned calligrapher in his own right. Between 324 and 354, Wang Xizhi served in various government positions. He received his highest title, "General of the Right Army", in 347, and was appointed administrator of Kuaiji (presen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Regular Script
The regular script is the newest of the major Chinese script styles, emerging during the Three Kingdoms period , and stylistically mature by the 7th century. It is the most common style used in modern text. In its traditional form it is the third-most common in publishing after the Ming typefaces, Ming and East Asian Gothic typeface, Gothic types used exclusively in print. History The ''Xuanhe Calligraphy Manual'' () credits with creating the regular script, based on the clerical script of the early Han dynasty (202 BCE220 CE). It became popular during the Eastern Han and Three Kingdoms periods, with Zhong Yao (230 BC), a calligrapher in the state of Cao Wei (220–266), being credited as its first master, known as the father of regular script. His famous works include the , , and . Palaeographer Qiu Xigui describes the script in ''Xuanshi biao'' as: However, very few wrote in this script at the time other than a few literati; most continued writing in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Chinese Calligraphy
Chinese calligraphy is the writing of Chinese characters as an art form, combining purely Visual arts, visual art and interpretation of the literary meaning. This type of expression has been widely practiced in China and has been generally held in high esteem across East Asia. Calligraphy is considered one of the four most-sought skills and hobbies of ancient Chinese literati, along with playing stringed musical instruments, the Go (game), board game "Go", and painting. There are some general standardizations of the various Chinese script styles, styles of calligraphy in this tradition. Chinese calligraphy and Ink wash painting, ink and wash painting are closely related: they are accomplished using similar tools and techniques, and have a long history of shared artistry. Distinguishing features of Chinese painting and calligraphy include an emphasis on motion charged with dynamic life. According to Stanley-Baker, "Calligraphy is sheer life experienced through energy in motion tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Regular Script
The regular script is the newest of the major Chinese script styles, emerging during the Three Kingdoms period , and stylistically mature by the 7th century. It is the most common style used in modern text. In its traditional form it is the third-most common in publishing after the Ming typefaces, Ming and East Asian Gothic typeface, Gothic types used exclusively in print. History The ''Xuanhe Calligraphy Manual'' () credits with creating the regular script, based on the clerical script of the early Han dynasty (202 BCE220 CE). It became popular during the Eastern Han and Three Kingdoms periods, with Zhong Yao (230 BC), a calligrapher in the state of Cao Wei (220–266), being credited as its first master, known as the father of regular script. His famous works include the , , and . Palaeographer Qiu Xigui describes the script in ''Xuanshi biao'' as: However, very few wrote in this script at the time other than a few literati; most continued writing in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Clerical Script
The clerical script (), sometimes also chancery script, is a style of Chinese writing that evolved from the late Warring States period to the Qin dynasty. It matured and became dominant in the Han dynasty, and remained in active use through the Six Dynasties period. In its development, it departed significantly from the earlier scripts in terms of graphic structures (a process known as '' libian''), and was characterized by its rectilinearity, a trait shared with the later regular script. Although it was succeeded by the later scripts, including the regular script, the clerical script is preserved as a calligraphic practice. In Chinese calligraphy, the term ''clerical'' often refers to a specific calligraphic style that is typical of a subtype of the clerical script, the Han ''clerical'' () or ''bafen'' () script. This style is characterized by the squat character shapes, and its "wavy" appearance due to the thick, pronounced and slightly downward tails that are up-tilted at t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Chinese Language
Chinese ( or ) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and List of ethnic groups in China, many minority ethnic groups in China, as well as by various communities of the Chinese diaspora. Approximately 1.39 billion people, or 17% of the global population, speak a variety of Chinese as their first language. Chinese languages form the Sinitic languages, Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. The spoken varieties of Chinese are usually considered by native speakers to be dialects of a single language. However, their lack of mutual intelligibility means they are sometimes considered to be separate languages in a Language family, family. Investigation of the historical relationships among the varieties of Chinese is ongoing. Currently, most classifications posit 7 to 13 main regional groups based on phonetic developments from Middle Chinese, of which the most spoken by far is Mandarin Chinese, Mandarin with 66%, or around 800&nb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lantingji Xu
The ''Lantingji Xu'' (), or ''Lanting Xu'' ("Orchid Pavilion Preface"), is a piece of Chinese calligraphy work generally considered to be written by the well-known calligrapher Wang Xizhi (303–361) from the Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420). In the ninth year of the Emperor Mu of Jin, Emperor Yonghe (353 CE), a Spring Purification Ceremony was held at Lanting, Kuaiji Prefecture (today's Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province), where Wang was appointed as the governor at the time. During Orchid Pavilion Gathering, the event, forty-two literati gathered along the banks of a coursing stream and engaged in a winding stream party , "winding stream" drinking contest: cups of wine were floated on the water downstream, and whenever a cup stopped in front of a guest, he had to compose a poem or otherwise drink the wine. At the end of the day, twenty-six literati composed thirty-seven poems in total and the ''Lantingji Xu'', as a preface to the collection was produced by Wang on the spot. The origina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Calligraphy Of Nobuyuki Abe
Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious, and skillful manner". In East Asia and the Islamic world, where written forms allow for greater flexibility, calligraphy is regarded as a significant art form, and the form it takes may be affected by the meaning of the text or the individual words. Modern Western calligraphy ranges from functional inscriptions and designs to fine-art pieces where the legibility of letters varies. Classical calligraphy differs from type design and non-classical hand-lettering, though a calligrapher may practice both. CD-ROM Western calligraphy continues to flourish in the forms of wedding invitations and event invitations, font design and typography, original hand-lettered logo design, religious art, announcements, graphic design an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cursive Script (East Asia)
Cursive script (; , ''sōshotai''; , ''choseo''; ), often referred to as ''grass script'', is a script style used in Chinese and East Asian calligraphy. It is an umbrella term for the cursive variants of the clerical script and the regular script. The cursive script functions primarily as a kind of shorthand script or calligraphic style and is faster to write than other styles, but it can be difficult to read for those unfamiliar with it because of its abstraction and alteration of character structures. People who can read only standard or printed forms of Chinese or related scripts may have difficulty reading the cursive script. Names The character primarily means "grass", and the character means script in this context, which has led to the literal calque for as "grass script". However, can be extended to mean "hurried" or "rough", from which the name came. Thus, the name of this script is literally "draft script", "quick script" or "rough script". The character ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Heian Period
The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kammu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means in Japanese. It is a period in Japanese history when the Chinese influence on Japanese culture, Chinese influences were in decline and the national culture matured. The Heian period is also considered the peak of the Japanese Emperors of Japan, imperial court, noted for its Japanese art, art, especially Japanese poetry, poetry and Japanese literature, literature. Two syllabaries unique to Japan, katakana and hiragana, emerged during this time. This gave rise to Japan's famous vernacular literature, with many of its texts written by court ladies who were not as educated in Chinese as their male counterparts. Although the Imperial House of Japan had power on the surface, the real power was in the hands of the Fujiwara clan, a powerful Kuge, aristocratic family wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Hanja
Hanja (; ), alternatively spelled Hancha, are Chinese characters used to write the Korean language. After characters were introduced to Korea to write Literary Chinese, they were adapted to write Korean as early as the Gojoseon period. () refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, which can be written with Hanja, and () refers to Classical Chinese writing, although ''Hanja'' is also sometimes used to encompass both concepts. Because Hanja characters have never undergone any major reforms, they more closely resemble traditional Chinese and kyūjitai, traditional Japanese characters, although the stroke orders for certain characters are slightly different. Such examples are the characters and , as well as and . Only a small number of Hanja characters were modified or are unique to Korean, with the rest being identical to the traditional Chinese characters. By contrast, many of the Chinese characters currently in use in mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore have been simplified Chin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |