Chinese calligraphy art began in the production stage of Chinese characters. "Sound cannot be transmitted to other places, but stays in different times, so words are born. Words are the traces of meaning and sound." (Yu Chu) "Shu Lin Zao Jian", compiled by Ma Zonghuo)
It means that the sound cannot be transmitted to the outside place and stays at other times, so words are produced.
Words are the tracks left behind by people recording their thoughts, ideas and sounds.
The first works of calligraphy were not words, but symbols - hieroglyphs or pictorial characters.
The engraved symbols of Chinese characters first appeared on pottery.
The original characterization symbol only represented a rough concept of chaos and had no exact meaning.
More than 8,000 years ago, the Cishan and Peiligang cultures appeared in the Yellow River Basin. There are many quasi-text symbols on the handmade ceramics unearthed in Peiligan.
This kind of symbol is a chaotic combination of the communicative function, record-keeping function and pattern decoration function of the ancestors. Although these are not Chinese characters that modern people can recognize, they are indeed the prototype of Chinese characters.
Following the Banpo site of the Yangshao Culture about 6,000 years ago, painted pottery with some simple depictions similar to characters was unearthed.
These symbols are different from patterns and patterns, pushing the development of Chinese characters one step further.
This can be said to be the origin of Chinese writing.
Then there are Erlitou culture and Erligang culture. During the archaeological excavation of the Erlitou Culture, pottery pieces with carved marks were found. There are twenty-four kinds of marks, some of which are similar to the oracle bone inscriptions of the Yin Ruins, and they are all single independent characters.
The Erligang Culture has been found to have a writing system.
Three bones with characters have been found here, two with one character each, and one with ten characters, which seemed to be carved for practicing carving.
This brings another big step forward for civilization.
The origin of original writing is an instinct of imitation, used to image a specific thing.
Although it is simple and chaotic, it already has a certain aesthetic taste.
This simple writing can therefore be called prehistoric calligraphy.
Extended information:
Before the Han Dynasty, calligraphy was called "book".
In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, calligraphy came into being, various forms of pointillism appeared, and the art of calligraphy characterized by the changing combination of lines became mature.
In the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the academic atmosphere was unprecedentedly strong. Theoretical monographs on literary theory, poetry theory, and painting theory were published one after another, and the research results of calligraphy were also fruitful.
Famous calligraphers such as Wei Heng, Cheng Gongsui, Wang Xizhi, Yang Xin, Yu He, Wang Sengqian, Tao Hongjing, and Yu Jianwu have all written relevant articles based on their practical experience.
Because the academic circles at that time advocated the Lao-Zhuang theory, the study of calligraphy also had a Taoist atmosphere.
Some people call traditional "calligraphy" and "calligraphy art" "calligraphy".
In the Tang Dynasty, regular script and modern calligraphy matured, pointillism forms became increasingly rich, and problem-solving methods became increasingly complex.
As for "writing methodology", it is becoming more and more popular. Ouyang Xun's "Eight Secrets", "Thirty-Six Methods", "Teaching Secrets", Yu Shinan's "Bi Mui Lun" and other technical monographs have appeared one after another.
Li Shimin, Zhang Huaiguan, Han Fangming, Lin Yun, Lu Xie and others also have such works.
By the end of the Tang Dynasty, theories on various calligraphy techniques such as holding the pen, using the pen, stippling, and structuring had been established.
So "calligraphy" gradually turned into "calligraphy".
In China, anything that can be called art has some connection with calligraphy.
Some are more obvious, and some are more subtle.
If Western art tends toward music, then in China, art is closely related to calligraphy.
Therefore, some people say that calligraphy is "the art of art".
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