home->Calligraphy Style->Cao Style
Zhuan Style |
Li Style |
Kai Style |
Cao Style |
Xing Style
Cao Style, the Cursive Script (One of the Most Artistic Chinese Calligraphy Styles)
On the basis of lishu also evolved caoshu (grass writing or cursive hand), which is rapid and used for making quick but rough copies. This style is subdivided into two schools: zhangcao and jincao. The first of these emerged at the time the Qin was replaced by the Han Dynasty between the 3rd and 2nd centuries B. C. The characters, though written rapidly, still stand separate one from another and the dots are not linked up with other strokes.
Jincao or the modern cursive hand is said to have been developed by Zhang Zhi (?-c. 192 A. D.) of the Eastern Han Dynasty, flourished in the Jin and Tang dynasties and is still widely popular today.
It is the essence of the caoshu, especially jincao, that the characters are executed swiftly with the strokes running together. The characters are often joined up, with the last stroke of the first merging into the initial stroke of the next. They also vary in size in the same piece of writing, all seemingly dictated by the whims of the writer.
The Cursive Script (sometimes called Grass Script, or the Cao Style) is a fully cursive script, and a person who can read the Semi-cursive Script cannot be expected to read the Grass Script without training. Entire characters may be written without lifting the brush from the paper at all, and characters frequently flow into one another. Strokes are modified or eliminated completely to facilitate smooth writing and to create a beautiful, abstract appearance. Characters are highly rounded and soft in appearance, with a noticeable lack of angular lines.
A great master at caoshu was Zhang Xu (early 8th century) of the Tang Dynasty, noted for the complete abandon with which he applied the brush. It is said that he would not set about writing until he had got drunk. This he did, allowing the brush to "gallop" across the paper, curling, twisting or meandering in one unbroken stroke, thus creating an original style. Today one may still see fragments of a stele carved with characters in his handwriting, kept in the Provincial Museum of Shaanxi.
china tour packages-Professional China Tour Operator with tailor made service. Come with us to see China with your own eyes and touch this ground with your hands. All services are private and in small group with English speaking tour guide and license driver.
