Chapter 3

Chapter three discussed what the Chinese contributed to the writing world. Chinese calligraphy is a writing system that started to develop around 1800 B.C. and is a language that isn't alphabetical, but visual, like hieroglyphics. Each character represents a whole word or idea, instead of a letter. Chiaku-wen is the earliest known form of Chinese writing and was written on the bones of large animals for the purpose of divination. Chin-wen is what they called inscriptions on bronze objects, which was useful for treaties, codes and contracts. Chen-shu, or regular style, is what is in use today. It is a true art in that every aspect of each character is designed by the writer, like the thickness of the lines and the black vs. white space relationship. The Chinese are also responsible for the development of paper. A man named Ts'ai Lun is believed to be the inventor. It was much cheaper than silk and lighter than the slats of bamboo previously used. Printing is another advance come upon by the Chinese. The first form was relief printing where the image is raised. It's then inked and paper is rubbed over it to transfer the ink. Paper money was first made this way making China the first culture that allowed ordinary people have contact with printed images. Pi Sheng, an alchemist, developed movable type using 3-D calligraphy forms in clay, which eventually were made out of bronze instead.
I found it interesting that calligraphy was personified the way it was and how the writer is given the freedom to determine certain things about the characters. Calligraphy is beautiful and there are so many characters, I have respect for anyone who can do it well enough to interpret things like the thickness of the lines and spaces as an artist would.
Why do the Chinese use the calligrapy instead of an alphabet?