Traditional Chinese Painting,Calligraphy and Poetry

Chinese is an ideographic language，and in ancient times most of the Chinese characters were written with strokes according to the shapes of the signified meanings.Thus，an artistic form of calligraphy naturally correlates with painting.Besides，the two types of arts share the similar tools.As a result，the ancient people already had the theory that traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy share the same origin.Both painting and calligraphy emphasize the whole rather than the single part.The objects in painting should rest in appropriate place and correlate with each other，while in the calligraphic works，different characters should all match with each other，and as far as the individual character is concerned，different strokes should also be harmoniously placed.What’s more，both art forms stress the spirit conveyed through the form.

In the Yuan Dynasty，the literati artists advocated that the study of painting should start from learning calligraphy，and they would unconsciously add the styles of calligraphy to their drawings.

The relationship between poetry and painting formed with the increasing impact of literature on painting.“Painting in poetry and poetry in painting” has always been used to describe either an excellent painting or a poem.The painting has its own shortcomings.

For example，if the viewers haven’t seen the figure on the painting，they can’t recognize him.It’s also impossible to judge the directions on a landscape painting.The poem on the painting functions as the notes，providing extra information about the painting.Besides providing decorative beauty to the painting，the poem also triggers the imagination of the readers and thus enriches the contents and artistic value of the painting.Some poems are under the enlightenment of the paintings，and some paintings are composed to exhibit certain poems.Painters and calligraphers inspired each other and left us many excellent works with high artistic values.

The relationship between calligraphy and poetry is not as close as that between traditional Chinese painting and poetry.Calligraphy is the carrier of poetry，expressing poets’feelings.For example，the Chinese like to paste on the front door an upside-down fu character that means blessing to show good wishes for the coming year.People write this word not for its calligraphic value but for the good wishes it conveys.However，the style of calligraphy and poetry should match each other to convey the meaning of the poetry well.For instance，a poem on love composed in a bold and wild style of calligraphy won’t fully depict the romance.A poem praising the warriors written in tender and slim style cannot well portray the heroic figures.

hancheng

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