Why did calligraphy become an art in the late Eastern Han Dynasty?

Because China has always attached great importance to calligraphy in ancient times, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, a large number of calligraphy for the purpose of artistic pursuit appeared and flourished for a period of time.

The ruling class at that time was no exception. Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty loved literature and art, and specially set up Hongdu School to train and select literary talents. Among them, Shi, Liang Hu and Mao Hong are all famous calligraphers. Liang Hu used to be an official in Liangzhou, a history book. Calligraphy can be a way to be an official and promote the prosperity and development of calligraphy art.

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Related background

Just as painting is to notes and sculpture is to architecture, art mostly comes from practicality and is detached from practicality, and words can only rise to become an art if they are detached from their original recording and communication functions.

When calligraphy can freely express its lines and even its inner spirit, the practicality of its written expression is no longer important. When we appreciate calligraphy works, we mainly appreciate its brushwork, brushwork and the writer's mental state, instead of delving into the meaning of the words themselves, which is one of the reasons why there are many kinds of words in the world, and only Chinese writing can form an art.