Main content
Asian Art Museum
Course: Asian Art Museum > Unit 5
Lesson 1: China- Introduction to China
- An introduction to ancient China
- Archaeology and the study of ancient China
- Discoveries in Chinese archaeology
- Bottle with mouth in the shape of a mushroom
- Ritual implements (cong and bi)
- Working jade
- Introduction to the Shang dynasty
- Shang dynasty ritual bronze vessels
- Ritual vessel (fangyi)
- Horse decoration in the form of a taotie mask
- Ritual vessel in the shape of a rhinoceros
- Covered ritual wine vessel (gong)
- Ritual wine vessel (hu)
- Seated Buddha dated 338
- Introduction to the Han dynasty
- Vase with cover
- Cicada
- Money tree
- House model
- Storehouse
- Terracotta Warriors from the mausoleum of the first Qin emperor of China
- An Introduction to the Tang dynasty (618–906)
- Dancer
- Camel
- Central Asian wine peddler
- Stele with the Buddha Shakyamuni and Prabhutaratna
- Stele of the Buddha Maitreya
- Chinese Buddhist cave shrines
- Buddhist Temples at Wutaishan
- An Introduction to the Song dynasty (960–1279)
- Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Chinese: Guanyin)
- Taoism in the Tang and Song dynasties
- Arhat (Chinese: luohan)
- Bowl with brown mottling
- Classical gardens of Suzhou
- An introduction to the Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
- Technology during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
- Covered jar with fish in lotus pond
- Song of the morning
- Appreciating Chinese calligraphy
- Decoding Chinese calligraphy
- Whirling Snow on the River Bank
- Climbing Huangshan (Yellow Mountain)
- The Forbidden City
© 2023 Khan AcademyTerms of usePrivacy PolicyCookie Notice
Decoding Chinese calligraphy
Master Chinese calligrapher Cai Xingyi demonstrates five major scripts. Try your hand at brushpainting in this digital interactive. Created by Asian Art Museum.
Want to join the conversation?
First off I'll list each type of calligraphy script before asking my questions.
1.)Seal Script- is related to the the earliest form of writing.
2.)Clerical Script's angled strokes allowed clerks to write official documents more easily and quickly.
3.)Standard Script- is the easiest to read. It is used in printed books and signs today.
4.)Semi-cursive Script- the strokes tend to run together, but the artist usually lifts the brush between each character.
5.)Cursive Script- is the most spontaneous form.
So my questions are
1.)What is the earliest form of writing which the seal script was related to?
2.)How does the clerical script make it easier or quicker? Wouldn't the semi-cursive or cursive scripts be faster?
3.) Does standard script refer to the traditional Chinese characters or the simplified Chinese characters?
4.) Which came first, the semi-cursive script or the cursive script?(6 votes)
1. They're probably referring to JiaGuWen, which was ideographs (pictures representing things) carved into bone fragments
2. Clerical script is not faster, but its shapes are standardised, simple and distinct, which is a huge benefit for anything widely published, considering the size of China, and how many different regional and personal varieties it has to span.
3. Both - I believe standard script refers to the way or style of writing more than the specific characters themselves(6 votes)
- At0:10what is the instrument the calligrapher is using called and what exactly is it for?
If I would take a guess, I'd say it looks like a ink mixer of sorts.(5 votes)
The tools used during this scene consisted of an ink stick and an ink stone. The purpose of the ink stick was to be ground against the ink stone to make ink. The ink stone is supposed to hold a small amount of water while the ink stick is made of soot. When the stick is scraped against the stone the soot mixes with the water to make the liquid ink. Ink was made in this manner traditionally, but in modern times pre-made ink is acceptable.
sources:
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/fall11/cui_h/tools.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inkstone(7 votes)
What is the second character/word being drawn in four scripts starting from1:36? The first character shown in five scripts in the first half of the video is "autumn", which is different from the second character in the second half of the video.(3 votes)
the second character stands for "spring" :)(5 votes)
How long does it take to learn how to write in Chinese calligraphy?(1 vote)
I - a non native speaker - have been learning Chinese for 5 years now (90 minutes classes each week). At that point, I am able to read around 2000 different characters. It took me quiet a while to “feel“ the language in order to make fast progress.
Even though I haven't been properly trained in calligraphy, we sometimes do it in class: In my opinion, calligraphy is very different from every day writing because you develop a different attitude towards the form which results in very particular writing dynamics (though this might be just my very subjective personal opinion).(5 votes)
How many scripts are there or is it just four(1 vote)
There are lots of different scripts, and calligraphers have shelves of books of samples from which to copy and learn. I, for one, am grateful that the video producers restricted themselves to only 4 types. Too much of that stuff and my eyes glaze over.(2 votes)
What was the symbol or what is the meaning of the first thing he painted(1 vote)
The character written at0:46stands for "fire" :)(2 votes)
- Honestly I had a vision when I was 14 years old that lasted for eight hours. In that vision there was a symbol. Not till 25 years later I seen that symbol in the National Geographic magazine on a plate from the Tang shipwreck. Through extensive investigating I found out that Chinese Monk calligraphy master named Huai-Su did the work. it is extremely important to me to find out what the symbol means. I would like to send you a picture so that hopefully somebody there can translate it for me. I looked at all of his work on tapestries and paper and there isn't any other symbol that resembles the one on the plate from the Shipwreck that was in my vision. It's been a question of mine for a very long time please help(1 vote)
My question doesn't have much to do with the video but I'd like to know when Khan Academy will offer classes on Mandarin Chinese. I am very eager to learn Mandarin! Please let us know! Thank you!(1 vote)- You don't have to wait for Khan. Here are a bunch of free courses online from which to choose. https://edu.symbaloo.com/mix/chineselanguagelearning(1 vote)
- The characters he is writing are 秋春, for Autumn. However google translate has autumn as 秋季. What is the difference?(1 vote)
- The first pair of characters say, "Autumn and Spring". The second two say, "Autumn Season" That's the difference. I hope it helps.
If you could copy the first two and put them into Google with "Chinese Traditional" on the left side and English on the right side, you'll do well in the future.(1 vote)
- What'd. The ink Made from(0 votes)
- Already asked below.
From wikipedia:
The traditional Chinese method of making the ink was to grind a mixture of hide glue, carbon black, lampblack, and bone black pigment with a pestle and mortar,(1 vote)
0:10