Had I been born Chinese, I would have been a calligrapher, not a painter.
--Pablo Picasso
![[wangshi]](WANGSHI2.jpg) |
| The British Museum |
| Wang Shixiang (1914-) began his study of callligraphy at the age of three. |
Although many societies have a tradition of creating beautiful calligraphy, few can rival what the Chinese have achieved with their splendid brushes, inks and papers. For millennia, calligraphy has been a defining feature of Chinese culture and one of its most revered forms of art. Sadly, most Westerners find Chinese calligraphy difficult to understand. However, recently a new window has been opened on the subject. The calligraphy of the modern period is more approachable for Westerners as a result of changes in both Western and Chinese aesthetics. In particular, developments in Western abstract art and the increasing influence that Western art has had on many Chinese calligraphers have helped narrow the gap in artistic taste. The content, too, is easier to understand. Calligraphy has become a livelier vehicle for personal expression, with feelings being conveyed far more directly than in recent centuries. Many of the people discussed in this seminar have been involved in the convulsions of Chinese history to a far greater extent than most famous calligraphers of the past. We know much about their lives and often exactly why they wrote what they did.
Over the past 50 years there have been greater changes in the art of calligraphy than in the previous thousand years. Its consequent transformation represents one of the most dynamic developments in the whole history of Chinese art. Because calligraphy is so ancient and revered, much debate has been aroused: the arguments over its definition and purpose will probably rage for decades to come.
Within this debate there are four fairly distinct points of view, broadly representing the main styles of calligraphy practised in China today--the Classical, Modernist, Neo-Classical and Avant-Garde. Although these precise terms are not widely used in China, they are helpful tools in trying to understand the issues and appreciate the different voices involved in the debate. Classical calligraphers, as the term suggests, wish to preserve as many of the old values as possible, while the Neo-Classicists seek to revive and refresh the ancient tradition. At the other end of the spectrum, the Modernists explore radical approaches to the structure and content of the art, and the Avant-Garde, as in other countries, seek to open up new forms of expression and overthrow conventional thinking.
Although these styles are distinct, they are not mutually exclusive. Not only do they all coexist in China today, but many artists delight in crossing boundaries and working in two or more styles. The appellations Classicist and Neo-Classicist therefore need to be used with particular care, since at times it is debatable whether a particular piece should be classed as highly innovative Classical calligraphy or as a Neo-Classical creation.
