Essay On Chinese Calligraphy

As is known to all that Chinese history can be traced back to five thousand years ago. In ancient China, there were evidences to show the early developments of Chinese calligraphy, and painting, from oracle bones to patterns or designs of potteries. Although the development of Chinese poetry seems to be later than the other two, it became indispensable in Chinese culture. In early Chinese history, calligraphy, painting and poetry were usually practiced separately by court people or among the elites. Not until around the 7th century, many scholar officials gained their status through the civil service examination system, an imperial examination holds by the imperial court to select candidates for the state bureaucracy. Many of these scholar

But most importantly, it is used to express one’s internal feelings. When these three creative processes combined together in a piece of art work, it is simply known as “the three perfections”.

Chinese calligraphy is one of the creative processes of “the three perfections.” Since its history can be traced back to approximately five thousand years ago, it is considered the highest form of artistic expression in Chinese culture. As people may know that many Chinese characters today were derived from the characters founded on the oracle bones, pieces of turtle shells or bones that were used as a form of divination around the 14th – 11th century BCE. These writings are called the Oracle Bone Script (甲骨文). Although these Oracle Bone Scripts were only pictographic characters, it is the earliest form of Chinese calligraphy. Chinese calligraphy was regarded as the “art of handwriting”. It is often used as a means of self-expression for the scholars and artists. Chinese calligraphy consists of many different styles of scripts due to Chinese long and

However, Chinese poetry is still an indispensable form of art. It is one of the most important creative processes of “the three perfections.” The earliest Chinese poetry “begins with the Shih Ching (诗经), a collection of 305 poems of varying length, drawn from all ranks of Chinese society” (“Chinese Poetry”). It has been translated in English as The Book of Songs, or The Odes. Shih Ching is the oldest collection of poems in world literature, and it is also one of the Five Confucian Classics. Some of the poems in this collection may date back to 1000 BCE, and the oldest poem was probably from 621 BCE, or even earlier. According to the Chinese history, perhaps there were more texts of examples of ancient Chinese poetry. Unfortunately, they may have lost due to disasters, wars, or the burning of books by Emperor Qin Shihuang. The Book of Songs “marked the beginning of Chinese literature as well as the beginning of realism in literature” (“History of Chinese Poetry”). Many of the poems recorded the common people’s daily lives, their occupations, joys and sorrows, and their duties in wars, etc., and most of the poems were composed thousand years before Confucius. Chinese poetry is another important form of arts in Chinese culture. As mentioned above, Chinese poetry, calligraphy and painting were usually practiced separately in early Chinese history. However, during the Tang dynasty, common