Chinese calligraphy : an introduction to its aesthetic and technique : with 6 plates and 155 text illustratons

CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY

in the West to-day prompts the suggestion that European sculptors too might do well to give some attention to ancient Chinese script.

In calligraphy the essential nature only of the object is depicted ; and to this the sculptor adds perhaps a few judicious touches to make his work more lively. All the finest examples of Chinese sculpture possess in a high degree this almost uncanny alliance of liveliness and abstract beauty.

ARCHITECTURE AND CALLIGRAPHY

The suggestion that there is anything fundamentally in common between calligraphy and architecture probably sounds far-fetched. Yet I can affirm that there is no type of Chinese building—pavilion, terrace, temple, bower, or house—whose harmony and form are not derived from calligraphy.

Architecture makes no attempt, either in the West or in the East, to imitate nature. It has been called the most abstract of the arts. Its basis is utilitarian and its laws are its own. The first buildings were, it is evident, not intended to be aesthetic objects, but just piles of stone or timber to provide shelter from rain and wind. ‘The builder’s task was to find the way to erect his edifice in the most stable and convenient manner. Many plans were no doubt tried before a satisfactory shape was found and the builder could turn his attention to artistic considerations. Now consider the developing forms of the character Shzh, ‘house’, in the ancient script. Sixteen forms are shown in Fig. 144. The first three depict crude shelters ; but it is clear from the last five that in time houses came to have their walls decorated in recognized ways.

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