History of Oriental Writing: Calligraphy
To be honest, until recently I had no idea Oriental writing was formally called calligraphy. When I came to this realization, I felt compelled to share this information with this topic. There is so much to learn about Oriental writing and its history. This article is intended to point the curious, admirers and pursuers in the right direction.
Focusing specifically on Oriental calligraphy, this article takes you into a brief history. This beautiful form of Graphic Art has been admired, practiced and studied for centuries. To perform such a task takes a very steady hand, strong discipline and a thorough knowledge of the Chinese alphabet and symbols. Those who practice this art form have rightfully earned the title of ‘master’ because of the precision and complexity of each symbol they paint.
When most artists think of calligraphy, they seem to think of the fancy writing sets seen in art stores. Often times when you hear of someone taking a calligraphy course or workshop, rarely is it calligraphy in its original form. Most of us, including myself, don’t think of where this art form actually originated. This type of writing has gone through and is continuing to go through a lot of adaptation through the centuries.
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Brief History:
This Oriental art form was actually started by the Chinese during 1700 BC. The Chinese masters referred to it as a form of pure art and translated it as such during their teachings. Ts’ang Chien is the legendary inventor of Chinese writing, but not specifically calligraphy. During later centuries (18th-12th century BC) shell-and-bone script began to develop and become known as the earliest form of calligraphic writing, but the inventor is a mystery according to historians.
China, Japan and Korea all practice this form of writing using the Chinese alphabet. There is no definite record of when Japan began adopting this art form from the Chinese, but Korean people have been traced back to the 2nd or 3rd century.
The Korean alphabet was invented in 1447, but the Chinese alphabet remained their official form of writing until the 19th century. Modern Korean calligraphy has been developing along new guidelines based upon governmental decisions veering away from the Chinese alphabet. Influences from Japanese calligraphy began to strongly be felt in 1920 prompting this decision.
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The copyright of the article History of Oriental Writing: Calligraphy in Graphic Artists is owned by Jenn Greenleaf. Permission to republish History of Oriental Writing: Calligraphy in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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