The Characters of Calligraphy
2 min readBrief Introduction of Caligraphy
Calligraphy is an art dating back to the earliest day of history，and widely practiced throughout China to this day.Although it uses Chinese characters as its vehicle of expression，one does not have to know Chinese language to appreciate its beauty.Because in essence，Calligraphy is an abstract art.Brush pens have been used to practise and improve people’s handwriting for thousands of years.It has become a tradition arts and crafts production in China.
The History of Chinese Calligraphy
Chinese calligraphy，like Chinese characters，first appeared during the Shang or Yin Dynasty.The initial stage lasted until the end of the Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Three Kingdoms Period.Characters gradually developed，beginning with the oracle bone script during the Shang or Yin Dynasty and ending with the running script and the standard script during the Han Dynasty.During this long period，some other scripts came into being，including the bronze script，the large seal script，the small seal script，the clerical script and the grass script.
The Characters of Calligraphy
Chinese calligraphy stresses the overall layout among words and lines.Beside the dense and sparse，proportional arrangement of the strokes of the words，a piece of calligraphy must have an overall harmoniousness that is not lack of changes.Especidlly the calligraphy of the cursive script and the running script often increases the interconnection between the words and the continuity of the momentum in order to achieve a music like rhythm.Beside the brush，ink and paper are also instruments of calligraphy.Together they produce varied effects.Caligraphists often pay much attention to the methods for the use of ink，which include the use of thick ink，light ink，dry ink，missing ink，wet ink，withered ink，swelling ink，ec.
