Compared with western writing and painting, China's calligraphy and painting are inextricably linked with China's. What are the similarities and differences?
As we know, Chinese characters are hieroglyphics at first, and writing is equivalent to drawing; With the development of word-making methods to six types: pictographic, signifier, knowing, pictophonetic, borrowing and annotation, most glyphs and objects are irrelevant, especially in the era of calligraphy, writing and painting have been completely separated. The former is written, while the text represents the language meaning as an abstract symbol. The latter draws shapes, which is the representation of physical shapes in the real world.
Legend has it that Meng Tian, the general of Qin State, was the inventor of the writing brush. However, from a large number of painted pottery unearthed in Majiayao, it can be seen that the brush has become a painting tool at least 5,700 years ago, with lines as the modeling means and black as the main tone, which laid the historical foundation for the development of China painting and calligraphy, and clearly showed the basic form characterized by line drawing.
It is the only tool-writing brush, which determines that its ancient basic form "line drawing" and its later use technique "brushwork" are in the same strain and the only context.
Since the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the "brushwork" of calligraphy has gradually replaced the simple line drawing of Gao Gu, entered the literati painting and rapidly developed into the mainstream, which not only enriched the expression of brushwork, but also made it irreplaceable.
Since the "brushwork" of calligraphy entered Chinese painting, calligraphy and painting are also the "two ends" of China culture, just like the two ends of the left hand and the right hand.
There are similarities and differences between books and paintings, especially in the aesthetic relationship between art and reality. Painting vividly depicts people and things in nature, and calligraphy, with its expressive force and formal beauty of brushwork, structure and composition, makes words "if you sit, if you walk, if you fly, if you lie, if you eat leaves of wood, if your sword is long, if your bow is strong and your arrow is hard"
Calligraphy emphasizes movement and spirit, and endows the image of calligraphy with vitality. Although this image is abstract text, it has strong artistic appeal like painting. Therefore, from an artistic point of view, books and paintings are different and have the same "merits".
China people have different artistic tastes from westerners. Since ancient times, "likeness" is more important than "likeness" in calligraphy and painting, and all of them attach great importance to "momentum", which is known as "Tianmen in Yue Long, Tiger Lying in Phoenix"
It can be seen that whether painting or calligraphy is beautiful, magnificent, majestic and charming, we are trying to pursue spiritual touch through our visual response and stimulate artistic association beyond the object. Such beauty is their infinite charm.
There are books in paintings, and there are pictures in books, which have different forms but work together. Calligraphy and painting are two ends of China culture.