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This is a graphic account, showing various spaces found in a work of Chinese calligraphy, using, for analysis, the work of contemporary calligrapher Noriko Maeda, historical examples by Wang Hui, Wang Xizhi, Wen Cheng Ming, Dong Qichang and Li Chun’s treatise on calligraphy, The 84 Laws. Chinese calligraphy is a spatial practice: a sensibility combining graphic design and kinesis. The Chinese character is a line graph centered within an imaginary square and written in a prescribed way using rules of stroke order, ensuring that the lines of a word are added systematically, and in the same order each time the word is painted. In Chinese calligraphy, the hand moves in the x- and y-axes – horizontally, vertically, laterally, diagonally – and the z-axis – up and down in relation to the paper. Stroke order ensures that no move is repeated successively. When a brush makes contact with a hard surface, the tip flexes, and the brush responds to a downward force; in this way, a brushstroke is a record of a hand gesture. Going beyond a two-dimensioned graphic, the brush makes active the up-and-down axis, the z-axis; writing is a gesture that operates in three dimensions: as one writes, the hand inscribes a physical space, moves circuitously over a spot while pushing and lifting the brush. But the Chinese character is also a descriptor of time. The five styles – Hsiao Chuan, Li, Tsao, Chen, Tsing – represent the evolution of the character form in its relation to the timing of the strokes. The calligrapher’s art is in his control of timing: in essence, knowing when to stop, when to go, and when to turn. Environmental and emotional circumstances affect the calligrapher’s sense of timing, so that every piece of calligraphy is unique, specific to the moment of its creation. A brush character is not a simple graphic, but rather, it is a notation of movement, mapping the passage of the hand over the page. A piece of calligraphy demonstrates a hand and brush in motion, the product of a moment’s creativity at a specific place and time.

This is a graphic account, showing various spaces found in a work of Chinese calligraphy, using, for analysis, the work of contemporary calligrapher Noriko Maeda, historical examples by Wang Hui, Wang Xizhi, Wen Cheng Ming, Dong Qichang and Li Chun’s treatise on calligraphy, The 84 Laws. Chinese calligraphy is a spatial practice: a sensibility combining graphic design and kinesis. The Chinese character is a line graph centered within an imaginary square and written in a prescribed way using rules of stroke order, ensuring that the lines of a word are added systematically, and in the same order each time the word is painted. In Chinese calligraphy, the hand moves in the x- and y-axes – horizontally, vertically, laterally, diagonally – and the z-axis – up and down in relation to the paper. Stroke order ensures that no move is repeated successively. When a brush makes contact with a hard surface, the tip flexes, and the brush responds to a downward force; in this way, a brushstroke is a record of a hand gesture. Going beyond a two-dimensioned graphic, the brush makes active the up-and-down axis, the z-axis; writing is a gesture that operates in three dimensions: as one writes, the hand inscribes a physical space, moves circuitously over a spot while pushing and lifting the brush. But the Chinese character is also a descriptor of time. The five styles – Hsiao Chuan, Li, Tsao, Chen, Tsing – represent the evolution of the character form in its relation to the timing of the strokes. The calligrapher’s art is in his control of timing: in essence, knowing when to stop, when to go, and when to turn. Environmental and emotional circumstances affect the calligrapher’s sense of timing, so that every piece of calligraphy is unique, specific to the moment of its creation. A brush character is not a simple graphic, but rather, it is a notation of movement, mapping the passage of the hand over the page. A piece of calligraphy demonstrates a hand and brush in motion, the product of a moment’s creativity at a specific place and time.

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Chinese calligraphy and Western typography have been evolving for around five thousands years. During this time, they have developed quite different characteristics. Compared with the geometrical form and precision of Western printing types, Chinese calligraphy features abstract shapes and spontaneous strokes. These differences result in a gap that prevents a harmonious and organic relationship between them. This project explores the possibilities of combining these two historical visual systems, demonstrates specific methods and approaches for creating compelling formal relationships, and endeavors to establish a friendly, organic and harmonious dialogue between Chinese calligraphy and Western typography. The outcome of this project is a handmade book and a series of posters. The content of them comes from the writings of Lao-Tzu.

In this thesis, I explored the visual and textual connotations of the handscroll painting Poetic Feeling in a Thatched Pavilion attributed to the Chinese Yuan dynasty artist Wu Zhen, and discussed this piece of work in terms of its relation to the long history of Chinese literati painting.

The cultural accomplishments of the Northern Song dynasty are unrivalled in Chinese history. Song literati were particularly enthusiastic about calligraphy and writing materials, and the scale of their engagement in the art of writing exceeded that of both former and later dynasties, leaving plentiful legacies of calligraphic culture for later generations to study and appreciate. However, most modern studies emphasize the transmission of calligraphic culture from the Tang to Song and neglect the dynamics of disconnection and transformation between these two dynasties. By demonstrating how the technologies of brush, paper, ink cake, ink stone, and chair and desk (the "materiality" of calligraphy) shaped the look of calligraphy, this dissertation proposes an alternative understanding of the nature of Song innovations in the art of writing. Insofar as these innovations reconfigured the subsequent history of Sinitic calligraphy (calligraphic traditions based on Chinese characters), this dissertation argues that we cannot understand the art of writing without exploring the technology of writing. Through this study, I present the processes by which the literati of Northern Song traced, received, and modified the calligraphic culture of the past in creating their own Northern Song culture. Because of cultural discontinuity and transformation, what they ultimately reconstructed served as the foundation for their own culture, and has become the basis for how we think of the pre-Song past.

No description available.

Ce projet propose la contextualisation, la traduction et l'annotation du « Shugai 書概 [Précis de calligraphie] » de Liu Xizai 劉熙載 (1813-1881), esthète, calligraphe, lettré-fonctionnaire et pédagogue de la fin du XIXe siècle. Nous nous pencherons sur la façon d’aborder l’histoire des genres calligraphiques et l’histoire des écoles liées aux grands maîtres ainsi que sur l’esthétique propre à cette pratique de tradition lettrée, perceptible à la façon de juger d’une œuvre et d’exprimer les relations étroites entre le calligraphe et son écriture. Cette réflexion débouchera sur une analyse détaillée des images et des termes pour dire la conception, la réalisation et la réception d'une œuvre. Parmi ces termes, nous analyserons l'emploi des termes d'origine corporelle utilisés dans un cadre critique. Notre corpus textuel est centré sur le « Précis de calligraphie » dont nous proposons une traduction inédite en français, tout en s'ouvrant sur l'ensemble du Précis des arts dont le « Précis de calligraphie » fait partie et sur les traités antérieurs sur lesquels il prend appui. Notre corpus est également visuel et comprend les stèles bei et les estampages de stèles ainsi que les livres de calligraphies modèles tie. Nous pourrons ainsi faire correspondre les descriptions et évaluations esthétiques à la réalité visuelle des œuvres et mieux comprendre comment la pratique et l’art de la calligraphie étaient conçus et présentés à la fin de la Chine impériale, avant la rencontre avec les pratiques et les concepts de l'art occidental. / This project proposes to contextualize, translate and annotate the "Shugai 書概[Synthesis of calligraphy]" written by Liu Xizai 劉熙載 (1813-1881), a thoughtful scholar and calligrapher of the late Qing Dynasty. This treatise is an overview of calligraphic art and terminology of traditional Chinese aesthetic. The “Synthesis of calligraphy” details practices and concepts. It presents the jointure between the key terms of aesthetics and Chinese calligraphy. We will analyse how the history of writing styles and schools are presented and the way a work of art is judged, in its relations to the writter and to the viewer. We will open a discussion on the choice of images and metaphors to speak about the practice of calligraphy and reception of a work of art and how it originates in the specific artistic and aesthetic experience of the scholars in traditional China. Among these key terms, we will seek to analyze those of bodily origin. The core focus is the “Synthesis calligraphy”, that we will thoroughly translate, while engaging the entire Yigai [Treatise on the Arts] from which the “Synthesis of calligraphy” is a part and previous treatises to which it refers. The project also includes visuals: steles (bei) and rubbings of headstones and model calligraphy books (tie). This will allow us to match the descriptions and appreciations of the art pieces with the reality of visual works and to better understand how calligraphic practice and art were conceived and expressed at the end of imperial China before its encounter with Western art.

Hongyi (1860-1942) est le maître de l’école bouddhiste appelée « Terre Pure » en Chine moderne. Dans l'histoire du bouddhisme chinois, il est le seul maître bouddhiste qui peut se classer parmi les plus grands calligraphes chinois. Dans l'histoire de la calligraphie chinoise, il est le premier moine-calligraphe qui allie sa foi bouddhiste avec son art calligraphique tout en appliquant des principes de la peinture occidentale à son travail de calligraphie. Son art serve bien sa croyance religieuse et n’est pas indépendent de celle-ci, ce qui est extraordinaire dans l’histoire calligraphique. Il utilise le concept bouddhiste de «une forme sans forme» pour interpréter la calligraphie chinoise, et propose une série de théories calligraphiques bouddhistes pour guider sa pratique. D’ailleurs, sa calligraphie ne sert qu'à retranscrire les textes bouddhistes classiques et contemporains. Ses œuvres illustrent donc l'influence du bouddhisme chinois sur la calligraphie chinoise. Traditionnellement, la dernière œuvre d'un calligraphe est souvent considérée comme son chef-d'œuvre en fonction de deux critères: sa technique et son contenu moral. En outre, quelques-unes des dernières œuvres de grands calligraphes ont survécu. La rareté les rend encore plus précieuses. Bei xin ji jiao («悲欣交集») est la dernière œuvre de Hongyi, qui a été achevée trois jours avant son nirvana. Ce mémoire sera d'étudier et d'analyser l'influence de sa pensée bouddhiste sur le contenu littéraire et la forme artistique de cette œuvre, et d’expliciter qu’elle guide pleinement vers l'état ultime de sa pratique bouddhiste au plus haut niveau de sa calligraphie. / Hongyi (1860-1942) is a Master of Pure Land Buddhism in modern China. In the history of Chinese Buddhism, he is the only Buddhist Master who can rank among the greatest Chinese calligraphers. In the history of Chinese calligraphy, he is the first monk calligrapher who combines his Buddhist faith with his calligraphic art, and applies Western painting principles in his work of calligraphy. His calligraphic art well serves his religious belief, not independent from the latter as it is in most cases in the history. He uses the Buddhist concept of “a form without form” to interpret Chinese calligraphy, and puts forward a series of Buddhist calligraphic theories to guide his practice. Moreover, his calligraphy serves only to transcribe classical and contemporary Buddhist texts. In this sense, his calligraphic work exemplifies the influence of Chinese Buddhism on Chinese calligraphy. Traditionally, the last work of a calligrapher is often considered as his masterpiece according to two standards: its technique and its moral content. Furthermore, few of the last works by great calligraphers have survived. Scarcity makes these works even more valuable. Bei xin jiao ji (“悲欣交集”) is Hongyi’s last calligraphic work, which was completed three days before his nirvana. This thesis will study and analyze the influence of Hongyi’s Buddhist thought on the literary content and artistic form of this work and expounds that his last work fully displays the ultimate state of his Buddhist practice and the highest level of his calligraphy.