Calligraphy is a form of art where words, phrases, numbers, etc. are decoratively handwritten. Dating back to thousands of years ago, under the Qin Dynasty, China started to become unified. Prime Minister Li Si promoted a unified form of writing based on inscriptions on bronze wares. This is one of the first examples of a seal character being widely used. To draw these characters, calligraphers used thick lines and strokes with a more slim font.
Later, the Han Dynasty started to simplify these seal characters. The new style appeared to be much neater and light, turning the roundish design into a more flat design. Something really interesting I found, was that when beginning to write a horizontal line, one must let the brush go against the direction of point like a silkworm. Then, they concentrate more on stretching the brush slowly, ending up with quick flick like a swallow’s tail. This is lead to the phrase “silkworm’s head and swallow’s tail,” when writing calligraphy.
To practice calligraphy, one requires the basic tools: a writing brush, ink stick, paper, and ink slab. Much concentration is needed to guide the soft writing brush with fluid ink. While writing on the paper, the ink will diffuse quickly. As a result, one must have a perfect amount of strength and agility to perform this fine artwork.
Sources: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/arts/chinese-calligraphy.htm#
Great job on the article! Super interesting! I learned a lot about Chinese calligraphy.
the “silkworm’s head and swallow’s tail” part was pretty interesting