Handbook of Appreciating Chinese Historical Stele and Calligraphy

Author: Qiao Boliang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: Oracle bone script, gold script, bamboo slips, silk manuscripts, and scrolls—all meticulously illustrated; Seal script, clerical script, regular script, running script, cursive script, and Wei Stele—all carefully sought for authenticity. The author devoted three years to painstaking research, aiming to vividly, naturally, and concisely outline the development of Chinese calligraphy. Through classic calligraphic works, he explains the emergence, evolution, and decline of various scripts across different historical periods. In the book, the author selects the most classic calligraphic art works from all eras as examples to illustrate their essential characteristics as classics, as well as the distinctive features in brushwork, structure, and spatial arrangement, along with the lineage of inheritance and development by later generations. Considering the practical nature of calligraphic art, the author places particular emphasis on how to begin, how to practice, and ultimately how to absorb the essence to guide creation. The book also pays ample attention to the immortal contributions of calligraphic masters, providing vivid introductions and explanations.
The book features a wealth of treasured calligraphic steles and scripts passed down to this day, not merely aiming for a simple illustration of images and texts like other books. It is precisely these steles and scripts that have excited calligraphers across the ages, driving them to think day and night, working tirelessly, and striving to capture their essence—only then has the glorious history of Chinese calligraphy been created. The author’s efforts in the book are all geared toward helping readers approach these works, appreciate them, understand them, and ultimately embark on an immortal creative journey like them.
Seal script, clerical script, regular script, running script, and cursive script each have their own specialties, and the core brushwork remains unchanged whether in stele or script, regardless of their purpose. This is what scholars truly need to understand, and it is also what we hope to share with our readers. Only by absorbing the wisdom and dedication of masters can we avoid detours, eventually achieving proficiency, effortless expression, and ultimately reaching the realm of perfect calligraphy.