The Case of Chinese Calligraphy - Term Paper Example

Chinese Calligraphy The Life of Wang Xizhi Many societies have developed independently over the years. Each society has its own way of life marked with distinct social, economic and political practices that sum up to form the people’s culture. Given that culture is a way of life, such practices have developed and evolved over time within specific geographical boundaries such that remain as solid practices of the people. That is the case with Chinese calligraphy, which developed independently and spread across the wider China to become what it is today. This paper shall present an analysis of the life of Wang Xizhi also known as the Safe of Caoshu. It will highlight his influence and achievements. It will also comment on how and why his works became the foundation of the Copy Book School in Chinese Calligraphy history. The thesis statement shall be: Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy and works served to unite Chinese dynasties into one empire long after his death and finally into one nation. The development of Chinese calligraphy is mostly attributed to Wang Xizhi. His works are seen as the foundation of what the present world recognize as Chinese calligraphy. It is important to note that although calligraphy developed independently at different places, the areas that first developed the system of writing somehow also influenced their immediate neighbourhoods, as was the case with Chinese calligraphy (Kexi and Lee, 2010). Wang Xizhi was born in the 3rd century AD in what is today known as Linyi, a region in the province of Shandong. He lived between 303 and 361 AD. Although he is mostly recognized for his contributions in Chinese calligraphy, Wang Xizhi was an artist who transcended beyond just calligraphy to other forms of Chinese art. He was a complete package as far as art is concerned. Wang Xizhi was a political administrator during the Jin Dynasty. Not much about his life in the army has been documented since most of his works of art have overshadowed his administrative responsibilities. His works and responsibility can be traced across six dynasties, amongst them Jin, Tang, Song, Northern Wei and Southern Qi and Eastern Jin dynasties. It is not clear how he survived as a general given that Chinese dynasties were at war with one another most of the time. Having lived across the six political eras safely as a high-ranking officer seems a mystery not expounded on by many writers (Zhaojun, 2014). Anyway, one may assume shrewdness on the person of Wang Xizhi since he seems to have commendable diplomacy skills. When the Orchid Pavilion was being written, it had taken his organization skills public relations competence to convince the 41 guests to buy a poetry idea conceived and implemented by Wang Xizhi. To that extent, one may observe that the artist lived a life that was not restricted to his state duties and position in the society. Apart from artistic skills, Wang Xizhi was also a leader in his own right as demonstrated in such instances. Wang Xizhi was married and had 7 children, most of whom had impressive calligraphy skills just like their father (Zhaojun, 2014). Wang Xizhi’s Calligraphy Achievement It is believed that although his calligraphy skills have remained unparalleled in China, he learned the art from one of his relatives who did not enjoy as much popularity as he did. His learning and improving himself so higher levels of artistry confirms the saying that sometimes a student ends up better than the master. In this case, he learned the art from his elder paternal uncle and another female calligrapher called Wei Shuo. Wang Xizhi was a keen student who was always eager to improve himself. His journey to becoming a master calligrapher started with lessons on Zheng. Zheng was the traditional calligraphy style whose practice has a lot to do with a symmetrical approach to writing. Being the only existing style of calligraphy during Wang Xizhi’s time, the calligrapher first dedicated himself to mastering this art first. After polishing his skills in this traditional form of calligraphy, Wang Xizhi had a different dream of doing the same thing. Like any other innovative mind, Wang Xizhi moved away from the traditional approach that restricted writing to symmetrical blocks to delve into what was very new to the population then. His great skills allowed him to modify the same style of writing such that he moved the art from its static approach to a dynamic approach where motion became very fundamental in the emergent calligraphy. The new style became known as the walking style. That is because the emergent calligraphy flows from every character letter to the next one so that calligraphy seemed to have been animated in motion pictures (Hough, 2009). That happened when Wang Xizhi was now a bit old and ripe with great wealth of knowledge and experience. It was the type of calligraphy where audience could easily identify with the artist’s feelings through the art as demonstrated in the Orchid Pavilion. Prelude to the Orchid Pavilion Although the Orchid Pavilion was composed in a free-style approach to art and calligraphy, it has been celebrated as one of the astounding achievements in Wang Xizhi’s life. Apart from the other poems that were composed by the visiting 41 guests during the poem-wine contest, the master calligrapher himself composed Lan Ting Xu, a preface to the Orchid Pavilion. While doing so, Wang Xizhi ended up with an original calligraphy, which was a product of his drunken free-style approach to calligraphy. The competition helped him achieve two things. First, he came up with a spontaneous stroke of the brush that allowed him write unique calligraphy letters while composing the prelude to the 26 poems. It is said that upon sobering up days later, the master calligrapher had tried in vain to copy the exact style of calligraphy he used while drunk but to no avail. Successive trials yielded no fruits. Therefore, the prelude remains a big achievement that even its creator could not copy it as exactly as it was. Secondly, the composition during the composition earned him much respect among the calligraphers and inspired a course on improvement of the art of calligraphy. It is said that one of the emperors, Tai Zong, even ordered that he be laid to rest together with a copy of Lan Ting Xu. Chinese legend has it that Wang Xizhi’s unique approach to calligraphy was learned through observing how geese move their necks with a lot of ease. Therefore, it is argued that the artist practiced wrist movements just like the geese to perfect his strokes. The same legend has it that Wang Xizhi had approached a monk who reared high quality geese. On seeing the birds, he expressed his desire to purchase them from the monk who would not sell any of his geese. Even so, their mutual interest led them to an agreement where Wang Xizhi offered to calligraphy for him philosophical works of a Daoist called Laozi. According to the monk, there was no one worth doing the writing bit until he met Wang Xizhi. It was probably that deal that saw Wang Xizhi make tremendous improvements in his calligraphy skills after earning the geese whose neck movements were instrumental in his wrist choreography (Zhaojun, 2014). Influence of Wang Xizhi’s Works The influence of Wang Xizhi’s works is very tremendous though not a single copy of the originals exist. Whatever is present today are copies made from the originals. After his death, the Tang Dynasty’s emperor had ordered the re-writing of twenty-one of his works as he loved them. His love of Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy saw the rebirth of the works of art and their preservations for generations to come. The works, especially the poems, were inspirational. They were seen as a preservation of Chinese old culture and style of creative writing that was unparalleled across the nation. The influence is so massive such that they were sought after both in China and beyond boundaries in Japan and in the United States. In China, the Taipei Palace Museum acts a cultural preservation centre where the contemporary generation may go and learn by observing. The works have been preserved as best examples of Chinese calligraphy from which many learners can learn as they practice the art of calligraphy. In terms of form, the works have been preserved in stone carving and stone tablets. Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy had the biggest influence in the Japanese calligraphy. That is particularly so since the two nations had many incidences of interaction through war and trade as neighbouring countries. Although the Japanese had started with the pictographs way back in 28 BC, the borrowing became more predominant in the 600 AD. A Japanese Empress by the name Komyo made copies from Wang Xizhi’s works. Her copies were became known as Gakki-ron, are seen as having been heavily influenced by Wang Xizhi’s style. It also believed that the Wayo style used widely in Japan was influenced by Wang Xizhi calligraphy. Another Japanese leader, Emperor Saga, was also greatly influenced by the works of the artist. As a result, they preserved the style through having them copied, thereby passing the skill and style down to the next generations. Gakki-ron by Japanese Empress Komyo (744 AD) A cry for Saicho by Emperor Saga Scholars have also noted that Wang Xizhi’s style has survived the test of time in Japanese calligraphy as well as in China. Although Japanese calligraphy later made some changes, particularly on the advice of Saicho (Kukai) to Emperor Saga, much of the style adopted is not far from that of Wang Xizhi. The present day Japan has also put into its education system the study of calligraphy alongside other arts subjects at elementary school. Probably the biggest influence of Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy was the appreciation of creativity where he demonstrated that a creative mind had to move beyond the confines of the status quo to uncharted waters that may have hope for amazing discoveries (Yee, 2011). Wang Xizhi’s Works as the Foundation of Copy Book School in Chinese Calligraphy History How and why Wang Xizhi’s works became the foundation of Copy Book in Chinese Calligraphy history can be traced back to various dynasties. It can also be traced back through an analysis of other forms of calligraphy that were in use in China at the time Wang Xizhi invented the flowing calligraphy. To begin with, Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy was seen as an improved form of the old Caoshu or cursive hand (China Online Museum, 2014). Caoshu appeared to be quiet exaggerated in a bid to realize a unique artistic look as seen below. Gushi Tie by Zhang Xu (25-220 AD) The nature of the calligraphy was such that it was not very easy to read. It was easily subject to misinterpretation of to its very nature. Such challenges in the original Caoshu served to promote Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy when it appeared to be overly artistic, legible and appealing. That way, Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy earned its place amongst the existing calligraphy styles of the time. Over time, it became increasingly popular amongst the Chinese population. It has also been argues that Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy became the foundation of Copy Book School in Chinese calligraphy is because many political leaders in the subsequent dynasties liked the style. For instance, the Tang Dynasty, Southern Tang and Northern Song Dynasties preserved the form and style in the periods long after Wang Xizhi was gone. The Shang Yu Tie is one such example. It depicts a transition from the Caoshu cursive script that is easily legible as opposed to the original Caoshu (Ministry of Culture and PR China, 2003). Shang Yu Tie In other words, Wang Xizhi style was a complete overhaul of the traditional system. It not only improved the existing styles but also challenged the latter generation calligraphers to consider creativity in Chinese calligraphy. Its uniqueness made it a reference point of perfection in calligraphy so that it had to be the foundation of Copy Book School in Chinese calligraphy history (Chen, 2011). This is not to imply that preceding styles and forms before Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy achieved very little, but that the work emerged as an ideal style that had to be emulated. That way, the works of Wang Xizhi survived in copies rather than in their original forms since the latter generations found a reason to preserve whatever survived. References Chen, T. (2011). Chinese Calligraphy (Introductions to Chinese Culture). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. China Culture.Org (2014). Calligraphic Works of Wang Xizhi. Retrieved on 17 October 2014 from http://www1.chinaculture.org/classics/2009- 05/27/content_330633_2.htm China Online Museum (2014). Wang Xizhi - Jin Dynasty. Retrieved on 17 October 2014 from http://www.chinaonlinemuseum.com/calligraphy-wang-xizhi.php Hough, J. (2009). Chinese Calligraphy (Over 300 Characters of Art and Beauty). Stafford: Cadence Media. Kexi, Z., and Lee, Y. (2010). Chinese Calligraphy (Discovering China). Shanghai: Shanghai Press. Lin, W. (2008). Wang Xizhi's Complete Collection of Calligraphy Works. Shanghai:  Peoples Fine Arts Publishing House. Ministry of Culture and PR China (2003). Calligraphy: Cursive Hand. Retrieved on 17 October 2014 from http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_artqa/2003- 09/24/content_41954.htm Yee, C. (2011). Chinese Calligraphy - An Introduction to its Aesthetic and Technique. New York: Nash Press. Yue, R. (2005). Chinese Calligraphy Made Easy: A Structured Course in Creating Beautiful Brush Lettering. New York: Watson-Guptill. Zhaojun, W. (2014). Biography of Wang Xizhi. Beijing: Writers Publishing House. Read More