Chinese calligraphy

Calligraphy is the traditional art of Chinese characters written with an ink brush; the brush, ink, paper and inkstone are known together as the Four Treasures of the Study. The result depends on the hair of the brush, the density of the ink and how fast the paper absorbs it, and on how much ink the writer loads, the pressure, tilt and direction of the brush, and the speed and stroke order, which together give the characters their “spirit” (yi, intention). The main script styles differ in how much they are written for reading and how much for speed: seal script (the Qin form became the standard) and clerical script, which began in the Han dynasty, came first; regular script (kaishu) matured around the 7th century; and semi-cursive (xingshu) and cursive (caoshu) are faster and show more of the brush’s movement. A work is usually completed with one or more seals pressed in red ink, which can serve as a signature.

Follow one stroke from where the brush lands to where it lifts: is the line thick or thin, and does the ink go dark and wet or dry and streaky?