中国书法英文简介

Introduction to Chinese Calligraphy

I. Brief introduction

As the art of writing Chinese characters, Chinese calligraphy, or shufa, is one of the

highest forms of Chinese art, serving the purpose of conveying thoughts while also

showcasing abstract beauty of lines. Calligraphy is one of the four basic skills and

disciplines of the Chinese literati, together with painting (hua), stringed musical

instruments (qin) and board games (qi).

Chinese calligraphy is an Oriental art. Like the use of chopsticks, calligraphy was

once entirely Chinese, but as Chinese culture spread to Korea, Japan, and Singapore,

calligraphy became a unique feature of Oriental art. Nowadays, as China is more open

to the world and has more communication, more and more foreign friends are

becoming interested in Chinese calligraphy.

However, on the other hand, Chinese calligraphy is now becoming a losing art

because more and more young people are losing their interest in this art. We use

computer more and gradually forget how to write. I think it

’

s a bad thing.

II. Tools for Writing

As for the writing tools, we mainly have 4 pieces of basic instruments; they are

Writing Brush, Chinese ink, Paper, and Ink Slab

(

笔墨纸砚

) , which are called

文

房四宝（

the four treasures in study

）

(

show them

）

And for the beginners, we also should have a copybook to follow. This is very

important because we should firstly learn from the other people before we can form

our own styles.

III. Different Styles of Chinese Calligraphy

Chinese calligraphy in history had its particular forms and styles, among which

there are

Zhuanshu (seal script

篆书

. It

’

s one of the oldest styles )

Lishu (official script

隶书

in Han dynasty)

Kaishu

（

regular hand

楷书

this style is easiest to read,

the words are clear just

like today

’

s typed words

）

Xingshu

（

running h and

行书

it

’

s a comparatively free style.

）

and Caoshu (cursive hand/grass hand

草书

this style is the most difficult to

recognize)

As different calligraphers have their own styles, at present, the beginners usually

follow the styles of YanZhenqing, LiuGongquan (2 famous calligraphers in Tang

Dynasty). And Kaishu

（

regular hand

）

is the first step for beginners.

1