原文：

Chinese Calligraphy

General Introduction

In China calligraphy occupies a distinguished position in the field of traditional art. It is not only a means of communication, but also a means of expressing a person's inner world in an aesthetic sense.

Ancient people paid great attention to calligraphy. It was the essential whereby a candidate could manifest his literary talent in the Imperial Examination, for it gave a first impression to the examiners. Children of high officials had to learn and try to write a good hand; even emperors themselves were good at calligraphy, for example, the versatile Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911) has left us many examples of his handwriting on steles in temples and palaces.

To practise calligraphy requires the basic tools of 'four treasures of study' (writing brush, ink stick, paper, and ink slab) as well as much concentration on guiding the soft writing brush charged with fluid ink, and writing on the paper where the ink will diffuse quickly. Once the brush movement hesitates, a black mark is created, so speed, strength and agility is the essence of fine artwork. When writing, many calligraphers will forget all worries and even themselves, combining all thoughts in the beauty of their art. Thus it can be compared with Qigong, which also can mould and improve a person's temper and promote well being.

Calligraphy, like a mirror, is a silent reflection of the soul. It is believed to have verve, of optimism, moderateness, or pessimism. Su Dongpo, one of the four litterateurs in the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279), composed many bold and unconstrained ci (a form of poetry that flourished in the Song Dynasty), also could write handsome characters in good taste.

Today, although various modern ways have been substituted for the original calligraphy, especially which created with a writing brush, people still love the ancient form and practise it untiringly. During the traditional festivals, propitious couplets are always indispensable decorations each written in a beautiful style.

History of Calligraphy

Calligraphy has endured for more than 2,000 years, and evolved into five main ways of writing each with different techniques. Even today, these are still followed and practiced often as a hobby.

Just as calligraphy is an art practiced in western cultures so Chinese writing is a leading component in the four traditional arts, namely lute-playing, chess, calligraphy and painting. With the unification of the Chinese people by the Qin Dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC) the Prime Minister Li Si actively promoted a unified form of writing based on inscriptions on bronze wares of previous states. This was the first example of calligraphy – known as 'seal character' (Zhuanshu). Calligraphers of seal character stress a slender font, even speed and strength, and even thick lines and strokes. When seen as a whole, this calligraphy is quite round and contracted.

In the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 - 220), people tended to simplify the seal character which had many strokes and created the official script. The new calligraphy appeared to be much neater and delicate, turning the round style into a flat one. When beginning to write a horizontal line, one must let the brush go against the direction of point like a silkworm, and concentrate on stretching steadily, then end up with warp like a swallow's tail. This is one of the characteristics – 'silkworm's head and swallow's tail'.

Just as the name implies, the regular script features its regularity and varies from the flat font to a square one. In Chinese it provides a model that can be followed by calligraphy lovers. It has developed since the late Han Dynasty and is today's most popular and influential writing style. The Sage of Calligraphy, Wang Xizhi led the art of calligraphy to its summit. It is recorded that when a carpenter was asked to engrave the wooden stele where there were characters written by Wang Xizhi, he found the ink had filtered into the wood piece 'three fen' deep (3.3cm or 1.3 inch)! This demonstrated the magnitude of his force and people admired him all the more because of it. The period when regular script thrived most was during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907), when Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan successively established schools of their own styles noted for their strength and mellowness.

Cursive script has more flexibility, for it only maintains the essence of each character and expresses more personal exertion. Therefore its value lies in appreciation more than practicality. While the running hand makes full use of connecting lines between two strokes it can be regarded as the quickly-written form of regular script. These two seem to be more unrestrained than the previous styles.

Four Treasures of the Study

Writing Brush

The earliest writing brush that has been found is a relic of the Warring States Period (476 BC – 221 BC). From that time onwards, the brush has evolved into many forms. The nib can be made from rabbit's hair, wool, horsehair, weasel's hair, or bristles, and so on; while the shaft may be made from bamboo, ivory, jade, crystal, gold, silver, porcelain, sandal, ox horn, etc. It is important to see that there can be both soft and hard brushes each producing their own particular styles.

The delicacy gives literators and painters inspiration for creation, and has led to brush shafts being decorated with artistic patterns. One prized example was an ivory-weasel's hair writing brush. On the ivory shaft with the diameter of 0.8 cm, there carved eight figures of the immortals and pavilions concealed seemingly in the clouds. With this in one's hand, the threads of writing would hardly halt.

Ink Stick

A good ink stick should be ground so as to be refined black with luster. With the invention of paper, they were improved accordingly. Since the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220), ink sticks have been made from pine soot, using other procedures that include mixing with glue, steaming and molding. In ancient times, emperors such Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) had paid great attention to the production of ink sticks and were expert in their appreciation of quality inks.

Paper

Paper making is among the 'four great inventions' and one of the great contributions that ancient Chinese people made to the world.

Before the existence of paper, our ancestors utilized knots in cords to record events. They then carved on bone, ivory, tortoise shell and bronzes. For very many years they wrote on pieces of bamboo. There is a story that tells how Confucius was such an avid and diligent reader that he would wear away the strips of ox-leather used to bind the pages of bamboo books together. During the early Han Dynasty wealthy people would write upon white silk but this was beyond the reach of the majority as the cloth was so precious.

It was Cai Lun who made the valuable contribution and his research gave rise to paper. Afterwards, many varieties of paper were produced of different quality and usage. Today the Xuan paper originally made in Anhui Province still shines with its charm.

Ink Slab

The ink slab is the reputed head of the 'four treasures', for its sobriety and elegance has endured the passage of time. Through ink slabs, people can sample the artistic charm of sculpting and the ink stone's natural tints. Nearly all Chinese calligraphy enthusiasts hold that the star of ink slab is the Duanyan, ink slab produced in Duanzhou of Guangdong Province. It has its base a purple hue and enjoys the poetic name 'purple clouds'. It was always a tribute to the royal families during the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907).

译文：

中国书法

概览

书法在中国的传统艺术领域里占据着比较重要的位置。书法不仅是人们用来交流的工具，而且是人们用来将自己的内心世界以一种艺术手法再现的途径。

中国古时的人们对书法比较重视。一首好字对于旧时参加科举考试的考生展现其文学天赋是必不可少的，因为那能给考官留下较好的第一印象。达官贵人的下一代都必须得学会写手好字，甚至有些帝王本人也擅长书法，如清朝（1644---1911）多才多艺的乾隆皇帝就在许多寺庙和宫殿里留下了真迹。

练习书法首先得具备基本的工具，即“文房四宝”（笔、墨、纸、砚）；其次还得对蘸满墨水的软毛笔的用笔技巧有所留心，因为写在纸上的墨汁会很快的扩散开来。一旦毛笔的运动有所踟蹰，那么就会产生一个墨迹，因此对一幅优秀的书法艺术作品而言，运笔的速度、力量和灵巧性是至关重要的。当书法家进行创作的时候，他们往往全神贯注，甚至忘了自我的存在。启功就是例子，同时书法创造还可以塑造人的品性，有益健康。

书法就像一面镜子，它可以反映你内心的灵魂。书法是可以表达神韵的，字里行间可以透露乐观或悲观或其他的情感。苏东坡，宋朝（960---1279）四大文人之一，创作了很多豪放不羁的词（在宋朝期间兴起的一种诗歌形式），其字也写得英俊潇洒。

尽管如今用毛笔进行书法创作的形式已经被很多现代形式所取代了，但人们还是钟情于这原始而古老的方法，并乐此不疲地练习着。在中国传统节日里，那些用雅致的形式创作的对联是必不可少的。

书法的历史

书法有2000多年的历史，到目前为止共有5种主要的用笔技巧。如今，书法仍是人们的业余爱好之一。就像国外的书法是其一种艺术一样，中国的书法也是中国传统的四项艺术形式---琴、棋、书、画---的主要部分。秦始皇一统中国建立秦朝（公元前221到206年）极大促进了书写的统一规范，其以之前各国刻在青铜器上的铭文为基础。书法的一种形式就是“印章体”，即所谓的篆书。篆书强调苗条的字体，用笔的力度和速度以及厚的笔画。这种字体从整体上看显得比较圆并向中心内敛。

东汉（公元25年到220年）时期，人们认为篆书笔画太多，并想简化之，因而创造了一种新的正式的字体。这种新的字体显得比较简洁和精美，并以一种新的平的形式代替了过去的圆的形式。当水平书写时，需让毛笔和运笔的方向相反，就像蚕一样，并得集中精神保持运笔的稳定和连续，接着收笔时得形成一个像燕子尾巴一样的弯角。“蚕头燕尾”就是这种字体的特征之一。

就像名字所表明的那样，楷书的特征在于其字体的规则性，其将平的形式演变了方的形式。在中国，其提供了一种书法爱好者可以遵循的字体模型。这种形式是在后汉时期发展而来的，在如今是应用最为广泛、影响最为深远的书写形式。书圣王羲之将书法的艺术推到了顶峰。据说有木匠在雕刻上面刻有王羲之字的木板的时候，他发现墨汁竟然渗透到木板里面有“三分”，即3.3cm或1.3英寸。其用笔力度可见一斑，人们因此也非常敬佩他。楷书最为兴盛的时期是在唐代（公元618年到907年），以颜真卿和柳公权为代表，他们成功形成了自己的风格流派，以其字的力度和飘逸而闻名。

草书有很强的灵活性，因为它仅仅保留每个字必要的部分，其他部分则由书写者自由发挥了，故草书重欣赏轻实用。草书充分利用了字间笔画的连接笔画，因此可以将其看作是楷体的一种速写形式。这两种形式和先前的形式比起来，其受到的约束明显减弱了。

文房四宝

笔

最早发现的毛笔来自于战国（公元前476年到221年）时期的遗物。从那时候起，毛笔的发展演变经历了很多种形式。笔尖的材料可能是兔毛，羊毛，马毛，鼬毛或鸡毛等；而笔杆则有可能由竹子，象牙，翡翠，水晶，黄金，白银，陶瓷，橡胶或牛角等组成。我们应该看到，无论是硬毛笔还是软毛笔，其各自都能形成自己独特的书写风格，这是很重要的。

这种精巧给文学家和画家带来了创作的灵感，并使得笔杆的装饰也极富艺术形式。绝佳的毛笔搭配之一是使用象牙杆和鼬毛。象牙杆直径8毫米，上面还雕刻着若隐若现在云层中的8位神仙和亭子。有此笔在手，行笔自然是行云流水了。

墨

好的固体墨应该是磨碎了的，这样它就可以被提纯得黑而光亮。（注：ink stick应翻译为墨棒，因为古代并没有像现在的墨水，而是使用固体墨棒进行研磨之后加水得到的，但是为了便于统一，直接翻译为墨了）。随着纸的发明，墨的形式也随之不断发展变化。从汉代（公元前206年到公元220年）以来，墨棒一般由松碳所做，当然也有使用其他方法所形成的，如混合了胶水，水蒸气等。在古代，一些皇帝，如清朝（1644年到1911年）的乾隆帝很注意墨棒的生产，在墨棒的质量考查方面，他们也是专家。

纸

造纸术是古代四大发明之一，也是古老的中国人民对世界的巨大贡献之一。

在纸出现之前，我们的祖先使用绳结来记录发生的事情，后来他们使用骨头，象牙，龟壳和青铜来记录。也有较长一段时间他们将文字记录在竹子上。有故事说孔子是个好学而勤奋的人，他使用牛皮条将刻有字的竹子绑在一起做成竹简。在汉代早期，富人们使用白色丝绸来记录文字，但这不是大众的做法，因为这种布料非常珍贵而稀少，平民百姓玩不起。

蔡伦发明纸为人们做出了杰出的贡献。随后便涌现了各种质量和各种用途的纸。如今安徽产的宣纸在国内颇负盛名。

砚

砚是文房四宝之首，其稳重和精美的特性可以经受得住时间的考验。通过砚台，人们可以体验雕刻艺术的魅力以及砚石美轮美奂的天然色彩。几乎所有的书法爱好者都认为产于广东省端州市的端研是砚台中的上品。该砚台基色为紫色，因此人们贯之以“紫云”这个诗一般的美名。在唐朝（公元618年到907年）的时候，该砚台通常是进贡给皇室的贡品。

<注：本篇文章很可能是一位国内的书法爱好者写给国外友人看的，因为其用词和句式都比较中国化，带些生硬>