ChineseCalligraphyKeywords:ChinesecalligraphytraditionalarthistorydescriptionAbstract:China,withahistoryofthousandsofyears,hasevolveduniquelywithsplendidartisticformswhichstillmaintainsomekindoftraditionalrichness,especially,theartofcalligraphy,painting,operas,musical,instruments,folkartsandgarden.And,ChinesecalligraphyisatraditionalartofChinesecharacterswritingwithalonghistoryandparticularnationalfeatures,originatingfromlifeyettranscendingit,addscolorsandwonderstohumanlife.(宋莉.风采中国—中国文化概论.[M].哈尔滨:哈尔滨工业大学出版社,2005.),reflectsChinesepeople’swisdomandtalents.Introduction:ChinesecalligraphyisatraditionalartofChinesecharacterswritingwithalonghistoryandparticularnationalfeatures.ItisauniqueformofartthatcameintoexistencewiththebirthofChinesecharacters,andhasbeenwidelypracticedthroughoutChinatothisday.IthasbeendevelopingfromprimitivetomaturestagesandisenjoyedbymanyChinese,and,togetherwithChinesecharacters,ithasspreadtoJapan,KoreaandmanycountriesinSoutheastAsia.ChineseCalligraphyisnotonlyanartofuniquenationalfeaturesandlovedbyChineseofmanygenerations,butalsoagemofhumanexpressionvaluedbypeoplethroughouttheworld.Ⅰ.LongHistoryofChineseCalligraphyChineseCalligraphyhasdevelopedover5,000yearsinChinaasaproductofChineseculture.ItisbothawonderfulartandanimportantpartofthetraditionalChineseculture.Thedevelopmentalhistoryofitcanbedividedintothreeperiods.Thepre-QinPeriod(before221BC)istheperiodoftheearlybeginning.ThesecondperiodisfromtheWesternHanDynasty(206BC—24)totheTangperiod(618—907).Itistheperiodofthematurity.FromthefiveDynasty(907—960)totheendofQingDynasty(1644—1911),whichisthemodernperiodofcalligraphydevelopment,inwhichtherehadbeenindividualisticdevelopment.Ⅱ.GeneralDescriptionofChineseCalligraphyCalligraphy,alongwiththeancientmusicalinstrument(Zheng),chessandChinesepaintingtogetherformedthefourskillsforascholartopursueinancientChina.(刘志红,毛晓霞.中国文化概览.[M].北京.中国旅游出版社.2007.)Itcanexpressthewriters’variousfeelings,aestheticideas,thoughts,educationaswellashispersonalitythroughtheuseofabrush.ThestructureofChinesecharactersandtheirrichconnotationsmakethemanidealcalligraphymedium.Softandelasticinkbrushesareidealtoolstoexpressthevariouscalligraphystyles.Therearemanykindsofbrushesofdifferentsizes,andwhichweremadefromavarietyofmaterials(sheepwoolorwolfwool)usedforwritingdifferenttypesandsizesofcharacters.⒈StylesofChineseCalligraphyTherearefivemainstylesofcalligraphypopularamongcalligraphers:Sealform,Officialform,Cursiveform,Regularform,andRunningform.Theyarecloselyinterrelatedandeachhasitsownshapeandfeature.(杨敏,王克奇,王恒展,中国文化通览,中国海洋出版社,2003.3)2.ThestructureofChineseCalligraphyAnotherelementincalligraphyisthestructure,whichinvolvesthesuitableandartisticarrangementofthestrokesbasedontheformandthewriter’saestheticinterest.Inordertoendoweachcharacterwithafullnessoflifeandanimation,thelayoutofthepointsandtheexecutionofthebrushmovementstressthebalance,escapeandsupplement,facingupandthereverse,cappingandpiercing,fillingablank,siding,covering,increaseanddecrease.Principlesandtheskillscontributetothebeautyofthescripttobeappreciatedbyviews.Theyaredense,sparse,slant,forthright,void,full,concentrate,scattered,proportional,harmoniousandcoordinated.3.ThestyleofChinesecalligraphyThethirdelementisstyle.Writersofdifferentkindsofmoodcreatedifferentstyles.Themoodofwritingreferstothespiritsandsentimentsofthewriterexpressedinhewrittenscripts.Acombinationofbeautyinformandinqualityoftheworkcangiveavividpresentationofaproducer’saccomplishmentsandtaste.Thedepthandbreathoftheknowledgeofaproduceristhebaseofhiswork’sformandquality.Inotherwords,thesimplelinesandsportsofcalligraphyincludethepracticalfunctionofcommunicatingfeelingsandaestheticfunction.Aproducercanexpresshisentiremood,feelings,will,ideasandpursuitofbeautybyusingcalligraphyasamedium.Calligraphyisanexpressionoftheoutlookonculture,historyandlifethroughouttheages,atangiblecultureparalleltoideologyandamediumforconveyingcultureinformationofallkinds.4.OverallHarmoniousnessandChangesofChinesecalligraphyChinesecalligraphystressestheoveralllayoutamongwordsandlines.Agoodcalligraphymusthaveanoverallharmoniousnessandchanges.Forexample,calligraphyofhecursivescriptandherunningscriptoftenincreasetheinterconnectionbetweenthewordsandthecontinuityofthemomentumsoastoachievearhythm.Intherespectofthearrangementofthewords,thefollowingaspectsneedtobeconsidered:theappropriateproportionsofthedenseandspares,thedarkblank,thelong,short,thick,slenderstrokes,thestaggeringofthebigandsmallsizes…Infact,onehastopracticestrokebystrokeandwordbyworduntilhegraspsthespiritsofthepracticeafteralongtimeofpracticesbeforehecanbecomeanexcellentcalligrapher.Itisheldasagoodexercisetotemperone’scharacterandcultivateone’spersonality.It’sanactivewayofkeepingwritersfitandhealthy.Thepracticeisrelaxingandself-entertainingprocess.Manycalligraphersinhistorywerewellknownfortheirlongevity.ChinesecalligraphyhasspreadtoneighboringAsiancountries,foritisconsideredanelegantartform.IthasbecomeauniquefeatureoforientalartasChineseculturespreadtoJapan,Korea,Vietnaman