Chinese Calligraphy中国书法
书法是中国的国粹。从古到今，世界上的文字种类不下千种，它们的功用首先在于记事传言。人们写字时也讲求写得美观，甚至带有艺术意味，出于特定的需要，还写花体字和美术字，但许多文字都未能演化出一种独立的艺术门类。惟有汉字的书写，在用于日常书写之外，更上升为一门特别的高等艺术。它风行于中华大地数千年而不衰。它与绘画、雕塑、诗歌、音乐、舞蹈、戏剧一样，是艺术大家庭的一员。
Calligraphy is the quintessence of Chinese culture. There have emerged some 1,000 kinds of written languages in the world. First, they were used to record events and what people wanted to say. In writing, people strive to make the scripts look beautiful and elegant. To meet special needs, they are written in artistic styles. The writing of Chinese characters has been developed into a special high-level art. Chinese calligraphy has flourished for several thousand years. Like painting, sculpture, poetry, music, dance and opera, it is a full member of the family of arts.
书法在中国几乎无处不在。它与日常生活紧密相连，并且是全国爱好者和习艺人数最多的一种艺术。
Calligraphy can be found everywhere in China, and is closely linked to daily life. In addition, it leads other arts in the number of people who practice it.
在货品琳琅满目、现代商业气息特浓的现在，点缀着一些具有古色古香文化色彩的书法作品，便使景色增添几分高雅，喧嚣气氛得到了净化。
Signboard s with inscriptions by famous figures are otten found in shops and shopping centers, adding an antique elegance to busy and noisy trading areas.
书法作品是客厅、书房、卧室里的装饰物。它是写在吸水性很强的宣纸上，然后再装裱在周边饰有丝绢的厚纸上，做成挂轴，或放进镜框里，挂上墙壁。书写的内容多半是室主人
所喜爱的一首诗词、一副对联或一句格言；如果这是他自己所作的，那就更能显示他的志趣和才华了。一幅书法能使白壁生辉、宾朋开颜。
Calligraphic works also decorate sitting rooms, studies and bedrooms. The Chinese characters are written on Xuan paper which is good at absorbing ink. The work will be pasted on a piece of thick paper with a silk edge, and then mounted on a scroll or put into a picture frame for hanging on a wall. Usually, the calligraphic work contains a poem, a pair of couplets or a motto the host likes very much. If the calligraphi c work is written by the host himself, it will demonstrates his aspiration and interest as well as his literary or artistic talent. A calligraphic work can bring vitality to a white wall, pleasing to guests and friends.[来源学科网]
欧阳询（公元557－641）初唐书法家。字信本，潭州临湘（今湖南长沙）人，由陈、隋入唐，深得李世民的赏识和器重。历任弘文馆学士、封渤海县男，官至太子率更令，世称―欧阳率更‖。
Ouyang Xun (557–641 AD), with style name Xinben, was a calligrapher of the early Tang Dynasty. He was born in Linxiang, Tanzhou (now Changsha of Hunan Province). He lived through the collapse of the Chen and Sui Dynasties and the establishment of the Tang Dynasty. He was in good graces of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin, and had received the titles of academician at the Hongwen Academy and Baron of Bohai and served as Director of the Court of the Watches in the Household of the Crown Prince ( taizi lvgengling ), and as such, was called ― Ouyang Lvgeng‖.
他博通经史，编撰《艺文类聚》100卷。书法初学―二王‖（王羲之与王献之），后遍学秦汉篆隶、魏碑，各体俱精，楷法独尊。楷书劲险刻厉、法度森严，于平正中见险绝，世称―欧体‖、―率更体‖。清代翁方纲《复初斋文集》评：―千门万户，规矩方圆之至者矣，斯所以范围诸家，程序百代也。‖流传下来的书法作品，楷书碑有《九成宫醴泉铭》、《化度寺邕禅师塔铭》、《虞恭公温彦博碑》、《皇甫诞碑》、《姚辩墓志铭》、《温彦博碑》等，隶
书碑有《房彦谦碑》、《唐宗圣观记》等，行书帖有《张翰思鲈帖》、《梦奠帖》、《卜商帖》、《千字文》等，草书有《千字文》残本。书法理论有《用笔论》、《三十六法》、《八诀》等。
Ouyang Xun was proficient in Chinese classics and ancient history and had compiled a 100-volume book-Yiwen Leiju (literally "Collection of Literature Arranged by Categories"). From the beginning, he studied the calligraphic styles of Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi; he later studied a variety of styles of calligraphy, such as Qin seal characters, Han official script and Wei stone tablets. He became adept in many styles and particularly in the regular script. His regular script was known for its rigorous and grand strokes as well as its unique order and structure, and was called "Ou Style" or ―Lvgeng Style‖ by later generations. Weng Fanggang set a high value on Ouyang’s works in the book Fuchuzhai Wenji (Collection of Fuchu House). Ouyang’s calligraphic works handed down to the present day include: regular script-Stele in the Jiucheng Palace, Stone Tablet for the Hua-Du Monastery, Stone Tablet for Duke Gong of Yu Wen Yanbo, Huangfu Danbei, Epitaph for Yao Bian, Stone Tablet for Wen Yanbo and so on; official script-Stone Tablet for Fang Yanqian, Taizong Shengguan Ji, etc,; running script—Zhang Han Si Lu Tie, Meng Dian Tie, Bu Shang Tie and Qian Zi We n; cursive hand-aberrant copy of Qian Zi Wen. He also wrote some books on calligraphic theory such as Yong Bi Lun, 36 Methods, Ba Jue.
楷书四大家的书法，有一个共同的特点，就是楷书的风格都是“清秀瘦劲”，其中欧阳询楷书更为突出，贡献也最大，他的《九成宫》，历来被奉为学习楷书的楷模。
The calligraphic works of the Four Great Regular Script Masters shared one thing in common: delicate and vigorous style of writing, among which, Ouyang’s regular-script works were a prominent example with the greatest contribution. Ouyang’s Stele in the Jiucheng Palace is regarded as a model for practicing regular script.[来源:https://www.doczj.com/doc/4714454860.html,]
Vocabulary
赏识shǎng shí
Appreciate the worth of
认识到人的才能或作品的价值而予以重视或赞扬。
To recognize the worth of someone.
器重qì zhòng
Think highly of
看重；重视。
Make great comments on someone.
颜真卿，（709--785），字清臣，京兆万年人，祖籍唐琅琊临沂（今山东临沂）。开元间中进士。安史之乱，抗贼有功，入京历任吏部尚书，太子太师，封鲁郡开国公，故又世称颜鲁公。德宗时，李希烈叛乱，他以社稷为重，亲赴敌营，晓以大义，终为李希烈缢杀，终年77岁。[来源:https://www.doczj.com/doc/4714454860.html,]
Yan Zhenqing (709-785 AD), with style name Qingchen (means honest official), was born in Wannian, near the Tang capital Chang'an, and was a native of Linyi, Langya (now Linyi of Shandong Province). He became a Jinshi ("No. 3" in the Imperial examinations) during the Kuanyuan Period. Due to his brilliant achievements in the suppression of the An-Shi Turmoil, Yan was promoted to the Minister of Official Personnel Affai rs and grand preceptor of the crown Prince, and received the title of Lujun Kaiguogong (means founder of Lu Prefecture), thus known as Yan Lugong. During the Emperor Dezong’s reign, Li Xilie raised a reb ellion. Yan was sent to negotiate with Li Xilie and was secretly strangled by the rebel at age 77.
颜真卿少时家贫缺纸笔，用笔醮黄土水在墙上练字。初学褚遂良，后师从张旭，又汲取初唐四家（唐朝初年的四大文人：薛稷、褚遂良、欧阳询、虞世南）特点，兼收篆隶和北魏笔意，自成一格，一反初唐书风，化瘦硬为丰腴雄浑，结体宽博气势恢宏，骨力遒劲而气慨凛然，人称“颜体”。“颜体”奠定了他在楷书千百年来不朽的地位，颜真卿是中国书法历史上极富影响力的大师之一。他的“颜体”，与柳公权并称“颜柳”，有“颜筋柳骨”之誉。
Yan lived in a poor family when he was young and had to practice calligraphy on the wall by using mud. From beginning, he studied calligraphy under the famous calligrapher Chu Suiliang and then Zhang Xu. Yan also learned from the styles of Xue Ji, Chu Suiliang, Ouyang Xun and Yu Shinan who were known as the four most noted calligraphers in early Tang Dynasty; and drew inspiration from Qin seal characters, Han official script and Wei stone tablets. He abandoned the sumptuous trend of early Tang calligraphers and created his own style: it was rather upright, muscular, fitting, rich and controlled rather than sloped, feminine, pretty, slim and capricious. His personal style helped him reach the immortal status in the field of regular script and become one of the most influential calligraphy masters in Chinese calligraphy history. Yan style, together with Liu style, is referred to as “Yan-Liu” and is noted as the "muscle of Yan and bone of Liu".
在书法史上，他是继“二王”（王羲之与王献之）之后成就最高，影响最大的书法家。其书广收博取，一变古法，自成一种方严正大，朴拙雄浑，大气磅礴的“颜体”，是极具个性的书体，对后世影响巨大。他的书迹作品，据说有138种。楷书有《多宝塔碑》、《麻姑仙坛记》等，行草书有《祭侄稿》、《争座位帖》、《裴将军帖》、《自书告身》等。
Yan Zhenqing is popularly held as the top calligrapher subsequent to Wang Xizhi and Wang Xianzhi. He learnt his skill from various calligraphers and developed his own personal style. Yan style displays squared shapes and modest arrangements, with an emphasis on strength, boldness and grandness. He left many calligraphic works, 138 reportedly, including regular script works Duobao Pagoda Stele and Magu Shan Xiantan Ji,running script and cursive hand works Ji Zhi Gao, Zeng Zuowei Tie, Pei Jiangjun Tie and Zishu Gaoshen.
Vocabulary[来源:学#科#网Z#X#X#K]
个性gè xìng
Individuality
指一事物区别于其他事物的个别的、特殊的性质。
The qualities that make a person or thing different from others.
气势qì shì
Momentum
（人或事物）表现出来的力量、威势。
The force that keeps an object moving or keeps an event developing after it has started.
叛乱pàn luàn
Rebellion
背叛作乱。多指武装叛变。
Violent action organized by a group of people who are trying to change the political system in their country.
柳公权(公元778－865)，唐朝最后一位大书法家，京兆华原（今陕西耀县）人，世称―柳少师‖。他二十九岁进士及第，在地方担任一个低级官吏，后来偶然被唐穆宗看见他的笔迹，就被朝廷召到长安，那时，柳公权已四十多岁。穆宗常问柳公权用笔之法，公权答云：―用笔在心，心正则笔正。‖时穆宗荒纵，为之改容，悟其笔谏也。
Liu Gongquan (778-865 AD), born in Huayuan (today’s Yao County in Shannxi Province), was the last calligraphy master of the Tang Dynasty. He once held an
official post as high as Junior Preceptor of the Crown Prince (taizi shaoshi), and was recognized as Liu Shaoshi. Liu became a Jinshi ("No. 3" in the Imperial examinations) when he was 29 years old and then served as a junior official in local government. By chance, Emperor Muzong of Tang saw and admired his handwriting, and he was summoned to Chang’an, the Tang Dyna sty's capital. At that time, Liu was already in his 40s. Once the emperor asked Liu how a person could develop good calligraphy. Liu replied ―Holding the brush is based on the heart. If the heart is proper then the brush will be proper and the calligraphy will be right. The Emperor saw this as criticism of his misconducts.
他的字在唐穆宗、敬宗、文宗三朝一直受重视，他官居侍书，仕途通达。他书法初学王羲之，以后遍阅近代书法，学习颜真卿，融会自己新意，然后自成一家，自创独树一帜的“柳体”，为后世楷模。他的字取匀衡瘦硬，追魏碑斩钉截铁势，点画爽利挺秀，骨力遒劲，结体严紧。他的楷书，较之颜体，则稍均匀瘦硬，故有“颜筋柳骨”之称。
His calligraphic works were highly valued during the reigns of the Emperors Muzong, Jingzong and Wenzong. He served as a royal calligrapher and had a successful official career in the court. He first learned the handwriting of Wang Xizhi. As he read more calligraphic books closer to his time, he switched to the handwriting of Yan Zhengqing and blended into it his own creative style—Liu Style. His characters are of moderate build, not as chubby as those of Yan Zhenqing. The strokes are in tightly knitted character in the middle and stretched on all sides. And the thickness of the strokes is equally emphasized, known as the "muscle of Yan and bone of Liu".
柳公权享年八十岁，一共臣事七位皇帝，历经唐代宗大历十三年（公元778年）—唐懿宗咸通六年（公元865年），最后以太子少师死于任上。
Liu served in many government official posts for seven emperors—from the 13th year of the Dali Period of the Emperor Taizong (778 AD) to the 6th year of the Xiantong Period of the Emperor Yizong (865 AD), and died as Junior Preceptor of the Crown Prince at age 88.
柳公权的传世作品很多。传世碑刻有《金刚经刻石》、《玄秘塔碑》、《冯宿碑》等。其中《金刚经刻石》、《玄秘塔碑》、《神策军碑》最能代表其楷书风格。柳公权的行草书有《伏审》、《十六日》、《辱向帖》等，他们的风格仍继承王家风格，结体严谨，潇洒自然。另有墨迹《蒙诏帖》、《王献之送梨帖跋》。
Liu left a number of calligraphic works, including Jingangjing (Paramita Sutra) Stele, Xuanmita (Mysterious Pagoda) Stele, Feng Su Stele and so on, among which, Jingangjing (Paramita Sutra) Stele, Xuanmita (Mysterious Pagoda) Stele and Shen Cejun Stele best represents his writing style. Liu’s running script and cursive hand works included Fu Shen, Shi Liu Ri and Ru Xiang Tie, which still used the style of Wang Xizhi. There are also two of his handwritten masterpieces: Meng Zhao Tie and Wang Xianzhi Song Li Tie Ba.
Vocabulary
楷模kǎi mó
Idol
值得学习的人或事物；榜样。
A person who someone admires and whose behaviour they try to copy.
严谨yán jǐn
Strict
严肃谨慎，认为自己的看法有所根据，但还有所保留。
Describes someone who follows the rules and principles of a belief or way of living very carefully and exactly, or a belief or principle that is followed very carefully and exactly.
偶然ǒu rán
Fortuitous
突然的，不是经常的；意想不到的。
(of so mething that is to your advantage) Not planned, happening by chance.
赵孟頫(1254—1322)，字子昂，号松雪，松雪道人，又号水精宫道人、鸥波，中年曾作孟俯，汉族，吴兴(今浙江湖州)人，元代著名画家。
Zhao Mengfu (1254–1322), with style name Zi’ang, pseudonyms Songxue (Pine and Snow), Songxue Daoren (Taoist by pine and snow), Oubo (Gull Water), and Shuijinggong Daoren (Tao Master of the Crystal Palace), also called himself Mengfu in his middle age, of the Han nationality, was born in Wuxing (now Huzhou of Zhejiang province), and was a famous painter and calligrapher during the Yuan Dynasty.
赵孟頫一生历宋元之变，仕隐两兼，他虽为贵胄，但生不逢时，青少年时期南宋王朝已如大厦将倾，他在坎坷忧患中度过。他的父亲善诗文，富收藏，给赵孟頫以很好的文化熏陶。但赵孟頫十一岁时父亲便去世了，家境每况愈下，度日维艰。宋灭亡后，归故乡闲居。
Zhao Mengfu lived through the collapse of the Song dynasty and the establishment of the Yuan regime and was both an official and a recluse. He was unfortunately born at the wrong time: he was raised in a unique historical period when the South Song Dynasty was on the verge of collapse and he ended up leading a
complicated life that was full of roller-coaster ups and downs. His father was good at writing poems and painting and had a large amount of collectibles, providing Zhao Mengfu with a good cultural atmosphere. Unfortunately, his father died when he was only 11 years old and his family declined after that. After the fall of the Song Dynasty, he returned to his hometown and led an idle and quiet life there.
元二十三年(公元1286年)，赵孟頫被程钜夫推荐给元世祖忽必烈，初至京城，赵孟頫立即受到元世祖的接见，元世祖赞赏其才貌，给予种种礼遇，被任命为从五品官阶的兵部郎中，两年后任从四品的集贤直学士。延祐三年(1316)，元仁宗又将赵孟頫晋升为翰林学士承旨、荣禄大夫，官居一品。至此，赵氏政治地位达到了一生中的顶峰。由于仁宗的青睐和赵氏艺术的出类拔萃，赵孟頫晚年名声显赫，夏文彦《图绘宝鉴》盛赞他―荣际五朝，名满四海‖ 。赵孟頫在元朝文人中最为显赫。
In the 23rd year of the Yuan Dynasty (1286 AD), Zhao was recommended by the Censor-in-chief Cheng Jufu to pay a visit to Yuan Shizu Emperor Kublai Khan. Yuan Shizu met with Zhao on his first arrival at the capital, admired his wit and charm and offered him plenty of financial and material rewards. He was appointed as director of the Bureau of Military of War (subordinate 5th rank official), and then as an auxiliary academician in the Academy of Scholarly Worthies (subordinate 4th rank official) two years later. In the 3rd year of Yanyou Period (1316 AD), Yuan Renzong raised him to Hanlin academician recipient of edicts, grand master for glorious happiness (1st grade official). At this point he reached the apex of his political career. Thanks to the goodwill of Renzon g and his own outstanding talent in arts, Zhao Mengfu enjoyed a great reputation during his later years. In the book ―Tuhui Baojian‖ (A Precious Collection of Paintings), Xia We nyan praised Zhao as ―a person enjoys honor for all dynasties and reputation all over the world.‖. Zhao held the first place among intellectuals in the Yuan Dynasty.
赵孟頫博学多才，能诗善文，懂经济，工书法，精绘艺，擅金石，通律吕，解鉴赏。特别是书法和绘画成就最高，开创元代新画风，被称为―元人冠冕‖。他也善篆、隶、真、行、草书，尤以楷、行书著称于世。传世书迹较多，传世画作有《鹊华秋色图》、《红衣罗汉图》、《幼舆邱壑图》、《秋郊饮马图》、《江村渔乐图》。
Zhao Mengfu was a man with very varied achievements: he was proficient in politics, writing poems and essays, calligraphy, painting, seal cutting and music with his most distinguished achievements in calligraphy and painting. He created a new painting style and was respected as the ―Top Crown of Yuan Dynasty‖. He was also adept in many styles of calligraphy, such as seal characters, official script, running script and the cursive hand, being particularly good at regular script and cursive hand. Quite a number of his authentic work were handed down for generations, such as the paintings Autumn colors on the Que and Hua Mountains, Monk in a Red Robe, Youyu Qiuhe Tu, Horse Herding in Autumn Countryside and Fishing Alongside a River.
[来源学科网]
Vocabulary
礼遇lǐyù
Courteous reception
以礼相待。
To treat someone with high respect.
经济jīng jì
Economy
指社会物质生产、流通、交换等活动。
The system of trade and industry by which the wealth of a country is made and used.
鉴赏jiàn shǎng
Appreciate
对文物、艺术品等的鉴定和欣赏。
To re cognize or understand that something is valuable, important or as described.