Chinese Calligraphy, Traditional and Modern

Featured Artist - Zhihu Zhang

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The first Chinese artist to become a member of Fine Art Registry™ is master calligrapher Zhihu Zhang.
Read his story below.

An Ancient Tradition

Eight thousand years ago, near the Yellow River basin in China, the Ci Shan and Fei Ligang cultures emerged. In these areas, Chinese archeologists have unearthed pottery covered with symbols. These symbols were evidently used for communication, records, and for decorative motifs by the ancients. Although the writings were not true Chinese characters as they are known today, but rather appear to be predecessors of today’s Chinese writing.

Archaeologists later discovered in the middle of the Yellow River near Xi’an remains of another village — the Yangshao culture from 6,000 years ago. At this site they unearthed pottery with simple characters on it, different from the earlier ones. This constituted a step forward in what would ultimately become what we know as Chinese writing.

This can be considered to be the origin of Chinese characters. The first pictographs were an attempt to imitate or copy the item which the symbol represented. The characters had a certain aesthetic value and are considered prehistoric calligraphy.

The development of Chinese calligraphy to its current form spread over a period of 2,000 years through several dynasties: the first Dynasty of Chinese history, Xia Dynasty; Shang Dynasty; Zhou Dynasty; through Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period, to Qing Dynasty and Han Dynasty.

During that time, many different styles and kinds of calligraphy appeared one after the other. This progress included oracle bone inscriptions (these were carvings on “dragon bones” which were fossils of dead animals used in Chinese medicine), inscriptions on bronze, stone carving inscriptions and then, around the 5th century BC, we start to find examples of writing on bamboo strips, wood and cloth. This is the writing which has developed without much change into the traditional Chinese of today.

From all the fonts and styles which were developed, only a few came on down through the ages to be retained all the way to the present. These include the official script, the cursive hand, regular script and the seal character.

Zhihu Zhang, Fine Art Registry Member

It is interesting that the first Chinese artist to become a member of Fine Art Registry™, Zhihu Zhang, is a calligraphy artist, working very hard at his art. When he was five, influenced by his grandfather, he began learning calligraphy. Later, he was taught by the famous calligraphy artist Yan Zhenqing of the Tang Dynasty. When he was ten, he began to study with Ou Yangxun, another famous Tang Dynasty calligraphy artist. In his late teens, under the watchful eye of his grandfather, he began to combine both Yan Zhenqing and Ou Yangxun's calligraphy styles. Through long and careful practice, he developed his own style.

Although he does show and sell his work in Chinese art galleries, Zhihu decided that Fine Art Registry (FAR®) was a better vehicle for displaying and exhibiting his work. The galleries typically have hidden costs, expect 20% commission for any works sold and are generally quite expensive. FAR, on the other hand, has a very low membership cost, the tags are inexpensive, the online gallery is included in the membership and FAR never takes any commission for any work sold through the website. FAR also has a representative in China, Lihua Zhao, who looks after the Chinese members and helps them in any way possible.

All these advantages led Zhihu to choose FAR in order to show his work.

See Zhihu Zhang's beautiful work at his Fine Art Registry website here.

Traditional vs. Modern

What's the difference between modern Chinese calligraphy and traditional calligraphy?

1. Modern calligraphy makes much greater allowance for the contemporary artist's individuality. The traditional calligraphy reflects the ancients' personality.
2. Modern calligraphy is more open and flexible than the traditional which is more conservative and rigid. For example, traditional calligraphy requires that the pen strokes go back to hide the lines, whereas in modern calligraphy the lines are acceptable as-is.
3. Modern calligraphy can break the strict rules of traditional calligraphy. For example, straight lines are allowed, whereas these are not part of traditional styles. The modern calligraphy artist is allowed to express his own taste, feelings and intellect.
4. While traditional calligraphy was inherited from the ancients, modern calligraphy has introduced innovation and change, giving the artist a creative freedom not previously permissible.
5. Traditional calligraphy tends to be all of one style whereas, modern versions show variety and self-expression. There is a great freedom in modern calligraphy to express yourself and experiment.

Modern calligraphy generally began as painting which has made it more valuable and appreciated, but the base has always been the characters and modern calligraphy, no matter how much it departs into artistic interpretation, is still very closely associated with the words. No matter what or how you write, what fonts you create, in the end you are portraying words, not images. Modern calligraphy has taken the characters and words almost to the point of abstract lines and shapes, but the words still show through.

Problems in the Development of Modern Chinese Calligraphy

As the practical value of calligraphy decreased, and the artists who produced the calligraphy started to lose their solid calligraphy base, the art form also suffered from the impact of Western culture. The spirit of the traditional art form was increasingly ignored, driven by the quest for fame and fortune. The work deviated from the Chinese characters and the basic requirement of calligraphy. Impulsive creativity ran wild. This left us with the current problem of how to uphold the best of traditional Chinese calligraphy while also reflecting modern culture and life.

In order for the traditional arts to prosper, and to promote the spirit of the times, protect the Chinese national culture and enhance the competitiveness of Chinese art, Chinese artists have been working to enter both modern and traditional calligraphy into the international market.

In order to secure the future of Chinese culture and traditions, modern calligraphy artists and the art world in China needs to reflect seriously on the contemporary trend of calligraphy and keep its future healthy and stable.

Collecting Calligraphy

Paper exists in many different forms: books, pictures, contracts, paper currency, etc., etc. Of recent years, collecting calligraphy has become much more popular, not only because of the appreciation of the art form, but also as an investment.

Here are five important points about collecting calligraphy:

1. Be very careful to keep the pieces clean, free of oil stains, sweat, dust etc. Dust, acidic substances, fungi and other contaminants can eat away the paper, leave mildew and so on.
2. It is extremely difficult to remove mould stains.
3. Make sure that the paper is not prone to attack by insects which can destroy the work.
4. Keep the pieces away from direct sunshine. The ultraviolet rays yellows the paper and makes it brittle and more likely to absorb moisture which brings with it mildew and rot.
5. Apart from decay and insect damage, much of the damage to calligraphy pieces is manmade: fire, war, neglect, etc. Many precious ancient books, calligraphy, literature and painting have been lost through these causes.

Calligraphy in the Auctions

In the many art auctions, calligraphy has almost always been a mere window dressing.

However, in the autumn of 2006, the Chinese Jiade auction house unveiled what it called a "Collection of Chinese Calligraphy," which consisted of the personal and individual ancient calligraphy pieces of a number of artists. More than 50 works of this event were all sold at very good prices. This had the effect of making the buying public sit up and take notice of calligraphy as a valuable and collectible art form.

Dong Guoqiang, General Manager of Beijing's Kuangshi International Ltd. auction company said, "I am confident in the potential of the Chinese calligraphy auction market. Chinese calligraphy is a unique traditional art form, and the market prices are still quite low. Since the rise of the Chinese art auction market in the mid 1990s, the price of the calligraphy has remained low. I believe there are two reasons for this: 1) Calligraphy is more difficult to appreciate than paintings; 2) Because of cultural differences, foreign collectors find it harder to understand Chinese calligraphy. The calligraphy market price is undervalued. There has been a significant increase in calligraphy collection, which has reflected in the price, but there is still a lot of room for growth in this area. For those collectors who like calligraphy, this is still an excellent time to invest."

The Future of Chinese Calligraphy

Modern calligraphy is just now entering into the international art market. It is in its early stages. Over a period of time, calligraphy artists will create new styles, the modern calligraphy will become a stable part of the market and will probably occupy equal space with the traditional style in the calligraphy field.

Modern Chinese calligraphy has infused society with a new spirit, a modern spirit, and has supplied modern society with an aesthetic and spiritual product which matches its needs. It is exuberant and creative and brings joy to the people who see it and value it. It has social value and reflects the achievements of modern China.

For these reasons, and as long as it doesn't depart too drastically from traditional calligraphy and lose its roots, there is an open road ahead for modern Chinese calligraphy. The prospects are very bright for artists like Zhihu Zhang, the first Chinese artist to become a member of Fine Art Registry, who creates the pieces.

— by Lihua Zhao | July 31, 2007

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