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

OTHER FORMS OF CHINESE ART

7A maar

mil wm 會 食 eo th a m 倆

Shih (#), ‘ house’

Sean A

T‘ing (#2), ‘ bower’

FIG. 144

Did the ancient builders invent these (comparatively) elaborate designs for their own purposes and the calligraphers follow them, or were the designs suggested by primitive writing forms? I am considering, remember, two arts: obviously there could be no character for a house before houses existed 5 but when conscious design appeared, was it the work of architects or calligraphers? No positive answer can be given. Probably the two groups of artists influenced one another. But at least it can be said that one of the most typical forms in Chinese architecture, the sagging roof, must surely have come from calligraphy. In ancient script the roof of a house is represented by an inverted ‘V’. And that is the roof-shape of most primitive dwellings ; indeed, it is the roof-shape of the thatched cottages of Chinese peasants to this day. But in later script an added grace was given to the inverted ‘ V’ by making it

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