Beginner's Guide to Chinese Calligraphy: An Introduction to Kaishu

by Yuan Yi

As one of the most fascinating artistic form in the world, Chinese calligraphy has long been an area of interest to both novices and researchers. This easy-to-use guide introduces all the basic elements of the standard Chinese calligraphy script, Kaishu , with step-by-step instructions and diagrams for each of the 8 basic strokes.
The purpose of this book is two-fold. On one had, it contains a short history of Chinese calligaphy and an introduction to Kaishu style, which embodies the very essense of the "Eastern arts" for those who find themselves interested in the arts of the Asian countries. On the other hand, for those who know about Chinese calligraphy and want to try their hand at it, the book, with Kaishu as a starting point, introduces the basic skills of the ancient and exquisite art of Chinese calligraphy. The rules and methods contained in the book will make the learning process easier with clear diagrams and images.

Genres: Nonfiction, China

80 pages, Paperback

First published July 3, 2008

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started learning Chinese calligraphy and borrowed this. It's a pretty good concise introduction. It introduces the history of the art form, goes over some of the most famous calligraphers in history. Then it explains the names of the particular brush movements that comprise the strokes. I would have preferred it if it'd given the Chinese characters for these. Then they go through the strokes, and some common components. I liked the gradual progression and the careful explanation of the strokes.

My only reason for docking the 1* was (1) the Chinese characters issue above, and (2) I struggled to actually apply the information. Perhaps if I pair it with videos I might be able to figure out what they mean by a "tick" etc, but on its own it lacked something.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Setting this to 'read' because I have read it, though I haven't yet had the chance to work on the exercises, so perhaps that isn't fully accurate.

[Helen (they or he) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Succint, clear and well-written piece along with proper instructions and exercises. The examples provided were also good. I've tried some of these out but without an actual xuan paper and an actual brush, I'm afraid I can't really follow the instructions to a T. But even with my mid-sized brush, I can follow along the strokes with no problem. I didn't realize Kaishu script would be so intricately written like this. I also just realized that there are other introductory books on other scripts as well so I will be checking them out.