Within the strokes of the Chinese characters lies a thousand years of cultural rhythms. Every horizontal and vertical stroke is the flow of the wisdom of the ancients and a wonderful collision of art and thought. Chinese characters are not only symbols for recording language, but also vivid embodiments of oriental aesthetics.

In the open toolkit “The Beauty of Chinese Characters” , I will take you step by step through the art of Chinese calligraphy and the subtlety and charm of Chinese characters.

This toolkit aims to enable learners to master the basic skills of Chinese characters and appreciate the unique charm of Chinese characters in a short period of time through the combination of step-by-step calligraphy teaching and AI technology, as well as to further explore the innovative expression of Chinese characters in contemporary art and feel the fun of colliding tradition with modernity.

Note: The process is as important as the goal.

Calligraphy itself is not something that can be achieved in a single step, so there is no need to feel anxious about whether your writing looks good or not!

1.Familiarize yourself with the tools and get ready (2 minutes)

These are the tools you need to experience Chinese calligraphy:

• Hard pen calligraphy: pen, paper (It is best to use grid paper)

• Soft brush calligraphy: brush, ink, ink stone, rice paper

Of course, experiencing Chinese calligraphy is also possible on electronic devices like the ipad!

(For example: Download an app called “练字打卡” for free, you can choose different free brushes to copy or freehand in the rice character grid provided above. If you want to download it, just copy the name I provided and search for it from the app store. The basic few free brushes and colours are enough, if you want to expand with more brushes and colours you need to pay extra, which I don’t recommend you do.)

Choose the tools you want to try and let’s get start!

Note: It is best to choose only one exercise method and its corresponding tool for the first time, otherwise there may not be enough time.

Master pen holding:
There is no absolute right way to hold the pen in Chinese calligraphy, you can choose the more common posture I provide, or you can choose the one you think is most comfortable.

• Hard pen calligraphy: 

Hard pen calligraphy holding posture © 2024 by Qu Chu is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

• Soft brush calligraphy:

Soft brush calligraphy holding posture © 2024 by Qu Chu is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

2. Practice strokes  (2 minutes)

Master basic handling skills:

Practice the basic strokes of dot, horizontal, apostrophe, vertical, and downstroke, and learning to control the strength and speed of the strokes.

The illustration is clear enough, if you still don’t understand, you can practice with the text and video.

Basic strokes of dot, horizontal, apostrophe, vertical, and downstroke © 2024 by Qu Chu is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

• dot: Control the tip of the pen/brush to the lower right by stretching the fingers and swinging the wrist, on the basis of which the index finger gradually exerts force, the speed changes from fast to slow.

• horizontal: Control the tip of the pen/brush to the right by stretching the fingers and swinging the wrist, on the basis of which the thumb gradually exerts force, the speed changes from fast to slow.

• apostrophe: Control the tip of the pen/brush to the lower left by stretching the fingers and swinging the wrist, on the basis of which the index finger gradually exerts force, the speed changes from slow to fast.

• vertical: Control the tip of the pen/brush to stroke downwards by stretching the fingers and swinging the wrist, on the basis of which the index finger gradually exerts force, the speed changes from slow to fast.

• downstroke: Control the tip of the pen/brush to the lower right by stretching the fingers and swinging the wrist, bon the basis of which the index finger gradually exerts force, the speed changes from fast to slow, and then pauses consciously at the turning point, and quickly lifts the brush to the right in the end.

Demo video:

3. Learn a Chinese character (2 minutes)

Understand the cultural connotation of the character “家(home)” and its structural characteristics:
The following picture shows the evolution of the character “家(home)” from the oracle bone script period to its final form and explains its cultural connotation.

Observe it in conjunction with the textual description I have provided, and think about the structure of this character and the logic of its formation and evolution.

 

Illustration of the Chinese character “家(home)” © 2024 by Qu Chu is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

The textual description:

In the upper left of the picture is the original form of the Chinese character for “家(home)”, which is a combination of a sheltered room and a pig (豕) with a big belly , indicating a room with a pigsty on the lower floor. The very creation of this character reveals the deep understanding of the ancient Chinese of the “home”: it was not just a shelter, but also a place of sustenance and reproduction.

In ancient times, when Chinese ancestors built houses, they would first drive stakes into the earth to build a strong foundation, and then thatch and other materials would be used to lay the roof, which kept them warm and protected them from the wind and rain at the same time. Pigs, on the other hand, were not only an important source of food, but also a symbol of a family’s wealth and standard of living because of their docility and ability to reproduce. In agricultural societies, whether or not a family could afford to raise pigs directly reflected the family’s economic status and social standing.

The fact that the ancients chose to juxtapose pig and house in the character for “home” not only reflects their pragmatic wisdom of survival, but also demonstrates their deep and simple understanding of family life. Despite the passage of time and the evolution of the Chinese characters, the shape of the character “家” has remained amazingly stable, serving as a cultural monument that bears witness to the thousands of years of the Chinese people’s continuous pursuit of a fulfilling and affluent family and life.

4. Practice Calligraphy (4 minutes)

• Write and practice the “家(home)” character completely.

Write the character “home” according to the stroke order demonstrated in the video, you can freely play according to your own understanding and aesthetic.

Please pay more attention to your experience in the learning process and feel the charm of the word “家(home)”. Calligraphy itself is not something that can be achieved in a single step, only with long practice can you write good-looking characters, so there is no need to feel anxious about whether your writing looks good or not, this is a very normal thing!

If someone is practicing with you, you can help each other.

Demo video: 

• (Optional)Try to write other simple characters by yourself if you have time.

For example, you can choose these red characters:

Other simple characters © 2024 by Qu Chu is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Please try to get a feel for its structure, form and think about what it represents as you write.

Note: If you are using an electronic device, you can use any of the apps that come with it that can write or the app I  suggested called “练字打卡”.

5: Use AI tools to remix (5 minutes)

Upload two of your characters and strokes to the AI tool: https://www.vidnoz.com/image-combiner.html

and remix them to generate a new character (or image with Chinese character characteristics), like this:

A screenshot of the AI tool “Vidnoz” and the example of AI remix © 2024 by Qu Chu is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. According to the official Vidnoz email response, I can use it directly as long as the generated content is not used for commercial purposes, or the content used for commercial purposes does not contain copyrighted content.

• Does this generated character (or image) look a bit strange(have the feel of Chinese characters but something doesn’t seem right)?

—-That’s right then, in fact, it may not have a specific meaning in the traditional sense, but that’s okay!

You are free to interpret and visualize the resulting character based on the insights you have gained from watching the evolution of the character for “家(home)”.

Any kind of thinking is allowed, as it is your own unique understanding and expression of the Chinese character in the process of practice.

Like the “pseudo-characters” in contemporary artist Xu Bing’s “Book from the Sky”, those seemingly familiar but indecipherable characters can force us to break our habitual thinking and think about the nature of characters and the boundaries of culture.

Part of Xu Bing’s “Book from the Sky”:

“Xu Bing, Book from the Sky (c 1988) from the British Museum collection, National Museum of Singapore”© 2016 by smuconlaw is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

6. Reflection and Summarizing (5 minutes)

Share your finished calligraphy and remix after completing all the previous steps and look closely at your own and others’ work to reflect and summarize.

Then, talk to others and leave a short transcript:

You can choose any one of the perspectives given below for in-depth reflection, and other thoughts and suggestions are welcome!

1. In the process of writing Chinese characters, do you feel the hidden cultural meaning behind the structure of the characters? What makes you feel this way?
2. After you generated a new character through AI, did the non-traditional “Chinese character” make you rethink the nature of characters? Do you think it still has artistic value?
3. In your opinion, how do you feel differently about learning traditional calligraphy and using modern technology to create? What is the position and role of the two in contemporary art? What is their potential for future development?
4. Has your understanding of Chinese characters and calligraphy changed through this practice? Why? What does this change mean to you?

Through my Open Toolkit, you can not only learn about the traditional forms of Chinese calligraphy, but also explore the infinite possibilities of Chinese characters as visual art.

Do you feel the beauty of Chinese Characters? 

Have fun!

The Beauty of Chinese Characters © 2024 by Qu Chu is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 

Soft brush calligraphy holding posture © 2024 by Qu Chu is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 

Hard pen calligraphy holding posture © 2024 by Qu Chu is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 

Illustration of the Chinese character “家(home)” © 2024 by Qu Chu is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 

Other simple characters © 2024 by Qu Chu is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 

Demo video of basic strokes © 2024 by Qu Chu, Dejun Chu is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 

Demo video of how to write “家“ © 2024 by Qu Chu, Dejun Chu is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 

A screenshot of the AI tool “Vidnoz” and the example of AI remix © 2024 by Qu Chu  has written permission from Vidnoz is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

The AI Tool “Vidnoz” © 2024 by Vidnoz is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 

“Xu Bing, Book from the Sky (c 1988) from the British Museum collection, National Museum of Singapore”© 2016 by smuconlaw is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Cover photo © 2021 by Feng Zou is available for free download and use on Pexels. Available at: https://www.pexels.com/zh-cn/photo/6893112 and https://uoe.sharepoint.com/sites/CATDatasets/Lists/Dataset%20of%20Contemporary%20Art/DispForm.aspx?ID=24&pa=1&e=ixoe81

(Cover photo © 2021 by Feng Zou is available for free download and use on Pexels. Available at: https://www.pexels.com/zh-cn/photo/6893112 and https://uoe.sharepoint.com/sites/CATDatasets/Lists/Dataset%20of%20Contemporary%20Art/DispForm.aspx?ID=24&pa=1&e=ixoe81)