Chinese calligraphy

Chinese calligraphy is the art of writing Chinese characters with controlled brushwork. It combines legibility with expressive form and the movement of the hand.

Chinese characters: The logographic writing system used to write Chinese and several other languages. Calligraphers give these characters visual form while preserving their written identity.
Regular script: A Chinese script style with separately structured strokes and relatively consistent, legible forms. Its clear structure makes it a common basis for learning controlled brushwork.
Oracle bone script: The earliest known Chinese writing, carved mainly on animal bones and turtle shells for divination. Its inscriptions preserve early character forms that later calligraphic traditions transformed.
Chinese painting: Painting traditions developed in China using media such as ink, brush, and paper or silk. Paintings often pair images with calligraphy, sharing its brush techniques and visual rhythms.
Japanese calligraphy: The Japanese art of writing characters and syllabic scripts with expressive brushwork. It shares Chinese script and brush traditions while developing distinct Japanese styles.
Brush: A tool made of flexible bristles attached to a handle, used to apply ink or paint. Its changing pressure and angle produce the calligraphic stroke’s varied width and texture.
Running script: A semi-cursive Chinese script that links or simplifies strokes while retaining substantial legibility. Its connected movements show how calligraphers balance speed with readable forms.
Bronze script: Chinese characters cast or inscribed on ritual bronze vessels, especially during the Zhou dynasty. Its inscriptions show writing moving from divination records into durable ceremonial objects.
Chinese seals: Carved stamps used in China to authenticate documents and mark artworks, often bearing seal-script characters. A calligrapher’s writing can be complemented by the stamped name or mark on a work.
Korean calligraphy: The art of writing Chinese characters and Korean writing systems with brushwork in Korea. Its history shows how brush calligraphy adapted across a neighboring writing culture.

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