Chinese Calligraphy Chinese calligraphy is an art. It dates back to the 13 th & 14 th centuries BCE.

What does calligraphy mean? Beautiful Writing & precise, elegant handwriting or lettering done by hand…

In what direction is it written?

The first written records were on turtle shells and blades of oxen. First written with a brush, then inscribed with an animal bone tool. Engraved ox scapula

The first books… Before the invention of paper, documents were written in vertical columns on strips of bamboo. The strips were then bound together with string.

Original copies of text were traced… Sometimes they were engraved in stone and rubbed…

What tools? The Chinese writing brush has a unique structure that allows it to hold ink in a reservoir (the solid black area inside the brush in the diagram at left) The natural hairs are highly flexible and responsive to slight changes in pressure and movement of the hand.

The experts say that to learn calligraphy, students must begin by copying the handwriting of famous masters, using copybooks of rubbings or, if possible, original examples.

Chinese calligraphy uses ideograms: Ideogram: A simple picture-like sign or graphic symbol used in a writing system to represent a thing or idea instead of a letter or specific word. Many of the characters in Chinese writing are ideograms…

Calligraphy today is practiced by millions of Chinese. The great majority are amateurs who find pleasure or artistic fulfillment in perfecting their script. But the number of professional calligraphers or calligrapher-artists is also substantial.