Author Description

If you look into a Chinese dictionary, you will find fifty to sixty thousand characters each with its own structure, and each presenting a unique challenge to the practitioner of the graceful art of Chinese calligraphy. In this fascinating, informative guidebook by an expert in the field, this ancient art comes alive for beginners and advanced calligraphers alike. The author provides both practical instruction in Chinese calligraphy and an absorbing historical background from the pictographic beginnings of Chinese writing, more than 4,000 years ago, down to Kai, Hsing, and Tsao styles (each over 1,000 years old) that have endured to the present day. The basic construction of individual characters is explained, as are the many ways in which calligraphy is used by Chinese artists. Separate chapters are devoted to Chinese calligraphy as an art form, language as a way of understanding Chinese thought, Chinese porcelain and ceramics, calligraphic seals, and inscriptions on paintings. The book's final chapters comprise a detailed, step-by-step guide to using Chinese painting equipment and to mastering the techniques needed to create stunning examples of brushwork calligraphy. This book will delight artists and calligraphers as well as all readers interested in Chinese art and culture or in the development of writing. Dover (2001) unabridged republication of the work first published by Blandford Press, Poole, England, 1987."