5 Types of Oriental Calligraphy

Calligraphy is considered an art, not simply a means of written communication.

Calligraphy is a revered art form in Japanese and Chinese cultures. Its evolution is due to both changing times and changing cultures. Although all calligraphy may appear the same to an untrained eye, those who are educated in the field recognize a great deal about the artist and the art's purpose simply by the type of calligraphy chosen.

Chinese Official Script

Penning official script requires fast and short movement of the hand. Characters tend to appear square and flat while brush strokes tilt downward and to the right. Official script evolved from seal carving style, which was commonly used in China during the pre-Qin dynasty, and was recognized as a standard calligraphy style during the Han dynasty. Official script transformed the traditional round, slim smooth Chinese characters to their current style, which is more box-shaped, and is widely used in newspapers, magazines and film subtitles.

Chinese Cursive Script

Cursive script is the impressionist art of Chinese calligraphy. Through three major stages of development, cursive script evolved from bearing a close resemblance to official script into a series of interconnected characters that are mutually borrowable, expressed with rapid and rhythmic vigorous brush strokes. At first glance, it appears wild and unrestrained, but cursive artists follow a strict set of rules that determines how and when characters are interchangeable and the appropriate placement of dot and stroke links.

Chinese Standard Script

Standard script is also referred to as "true script" or "regular script." As the name implies, it is the standard style from which all others are derived. This is considered to be the foundation script all artists should master before attempting other calligraphy styles, in the same way that English students are taught to print letters before writing in cursive. Its creation is credited to Wang Cizhong who lived during the Han dynasty and standard script is categorized by small, medium or large square-like characters.

Chinese Running Script

Running script is considered by many to be a hybrid of the official and cursive scripts, and is therefore sometimes called the "semi-cursive" script. The letters are free-flowing and made with rapid brush strokes, unlike the square, slowly-formed official script characters, but characters are not interconnected and the type is considered much easier to read than cursive as a result of this difference. Running script is often chosen as the preferred form of calligraphy for works of poetry.

Japanese Sho Calligraphy

Unlike the structured forms of calligraphy mentioned previously, with specific rules and distinct brush strokes or character shapes, sho is bound by few structural or composition requirements. It is considered to be an expression of emotion and spiritual condition, so calligraphers are forbidden to write a character more than once. After it is penned, it may not be crossed out or altered because it would no longer reflect the nature of the artist's soul at the precise moment it was created.

References

• Cultural China: Four Major Types of Chinese Calligraphy
• Connected Globe: Introduction to Japanese Calligraphy