Chinese Writing and Calligraphy

Notes

247 notes CHaPter 1 1. See Kraus, Brushes with Power, for an in-depth discussion of the role calligraphy plays in politics in China. CHaPter 2 1. For further discussion, see Chen, Chinese Calligraphy, and Tseng, A History of Chinese Calligraphy. 2. Chen, Chinese Calligraphy; Tseng, A History of Chinese Calligraphy. 3. See Tseng, A History of Chinese Calligraphy. CHaPter 4 1. For further discussions of Chinese names, see Lip, Choosing Auspicious Chinese Names, and Louie, Chinese American Names. 2. Because there are different romanization systems in use, these surnames could notes to pages xxx–xxx 248 notes to pages 60–102 be spelled differently. For example, Zhang 張 could also be spelled Chang, Wang 王 is sometimes Wong, Zhao 趙 may be Chao, and Chen 陳 could also be Chan. 3. The consonant at the beginning of a syllable is optional; a nasal (such as “n”) is also possible at the end of a syllable. Thus syllables such as “en” and “ing” (also written “ying”) are acceptable. CHaPter 5 1. The effort to simplify traditional characters has both positive and negative implications. For further discussion, see DeFrancis, The Chinese Language. CHaPter 6 1. See chapter 2 of Kraus, Brushes with Power, for a discussion of this and other misconceptions regarding Chinese characters and calligraphy. 2. See DeFrancis, The Chinese Language. 3. 囗 by itself is not a character and, thus, no pronunciation is assigned to it. Consequently, there is no romanization for the symbol. CHaPter 7 1. Square is the general shape of Chinese characters, although different script styles (e.g., Seal, Clerical, and Regular Script) vary to some extent in character shapes. This issue will be discussed in Chapters 8 through 10. 2. Zhou, Hanzi jiaoxue lilon yu fangfa, chap. 2. 3. See Chiang, Chinese Calligraphy, and Kwo, Chinese Brushwork, for excellent and comprehensive discussions of this topic. CHaPter 8 1. See Jin and Wang, Zhongguo shufa wenhua daguan, 9–12 for further discussion. 2. Refer to Tseng, A History of Chinese Calligraphy, for further discussion and an English translation of an elaborate classification of about ninety script styles by Yu Yuanwei of the Liang dynasty (sixth century). 3. Script names and the exact time periods they were used are an area of academic debate. Tseng, for example, presents a different view of the Great Seal Script. The English translations of the script names also vary from author to author . Jin and Wang also offer a discussion of this topic (Zhongguo shufa wenhua daguan , 9). 4. This is, again, an area of debate. Research has identified markings on black pottery and bronze vessels that predate the Shell and Bone Script, but scholars’ notes to pages xxx–xxx 249 notes to pages 105–176 views differ on whether they can be considered symbols of a true written language (see Boltz, The Origin and Early Development of the Chinese Writing System; He et al., Hanzi wenhua daguan; Keightley, “The Origin of Writing in China”; Tseng, A History of Chinese Calligraphy). 5. See Liu, Bainian hua jiagu. 6. See also Liu, Bainian hua jiagu. 7. See Tseng, A History of Chinese Calligraphy. CHaPter 9 1. This is another example of a long and gradual development credited to one person. Although the official date for the invention of paper is 105 CE, archaeological evidence shows that paper was used for writing at least one hundred years before Cai Lun ( Jin and Wang, Zhongguo shufa wenhua daguan, 452). 2. It could also be “silkworm’s head and wild goose’s tail” (蠶頭雁尾). 雁 and 燕 have the same sound, yàn, in Chinese but differ in meaning. 3. The twentieth year of the Kangxi era generally corresponds to the year 1681. But the twelfth month of the year in the Chinese calendar would be in 1682, owing to calendar differences. CHaPter 10 1. See Jin and Wang, Zhongguo shufa wenhua daguan, 20, for further discussion. 2. See Chiang, Chinese Calligraphy. CHaPter 11 1. See Tseng, A History of Chinese Calligraphy. 2. See Kraus, Brushes with Power, for further discussion. CHaPter 12 1. See Jin and Wang, Zhongguo shufa wenhua daguan, 687, and Tseng, A History of Chinese Calligraphy. 2. See Jin and Wang, Zhongguo shufa wenhua daguan, 43. CHaPter 13 1. See Watts, Tao, and Welch, Taoism. 2. See Lévi-Strauss, Totemism, and Pearson, Shamanism and the Ancient Mind, for more discussion. notes to pages xxx–xxx 250 notes to pages 177–192 3. For further discussion of...