Chinese calligraphy : an introduction to its aesthetic and technique : with 6 plates and 155 text illustratons

CHINESE CALLIGRAPHY

our deep-rooted traditional habits. Newspapers, books, every kind of printed matter are poured out on all sides and in increasing quantity, but still the old reverence for the written word prevails.

The majority of our business men believe that a piece of good writing on their shop-sign and banner will bring good fortune, and they do their best to find competent calligraphers to write for them. For this service they are willing to pay almost any sum that the calligrapher may demand! After the characters have been written or painted on the board, incense is burned in front of them, and before the board is hung up a celebration is held. This is surely sufficient evidence of the care and respect in which these written signs are held and of how much they mean to the merchants.

Many of my countrymen, knowing how great a part calligraphy plays in the daily life of the people, devote all their spare time to the cultivation of a good ‘hand’. Do not make the mistake of thinking that calligraphers have to vary their style, like window-dressers who, lest their goods pall on the eyes of onlookers, have to be constantly changing the arrangement of them. Chinese calligraphy never satiates the eye or mind, and does not require to be continually rearranged. A good hand is the result of years of diligent and constant practice. Travelling from town to town, one can easily recognize the work of the most reputed calligraphers of a district, simply from the shop-signs they have written.

In England I have seen many fine statues in cathedrals and churches, and many large monuments standing in some of the most beautiful spots in the country, and I have been struck very forcibly by their contrast with the memorials of my own

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