Library Exhibit
- Introduction
- Images (part1)
- Images (part2)
- References
through Spring 2012
Chinese characters, 漢字 (hanzi or kanji) have been used continuously in Chinese, Japanese and other Asian writing for more than 3000 years, and they have captured the world’s interest for their distinctive pictographic and expressive qualities as well as unique and formal beauty. This exhibit traces the history of early writing in China and Japan. The characters were systemized in China and then introduced into the Japanese writing system and adapted. They evolved into well-developed styles of calligraphy in both China and Japan.
The earliest examples of ancient Chinese script are bone and bronze inscriptions created during the 14th century BCE. Since then, Chinese characters have been used continuously, although various writing styles have been practiced. The different styles developed in part given the kinds of writing materials available, including tortoise shell, bronze, steel, stone, bamboo, wood, silk and paper. Invented during the 2nd century, the use of paper became widespread during the following centuries.
Chinese characters, with their unique formal beauty, developed into a widely practiced and revered art form. Calligraphy was blended into landscape portraits and scrolls, paintings, poetic and religious texts, where the beauty of different writing styles has always been a virtue much appreciated.
Japan’s contacts and cultural connection to China date back to the Han Dynasty (202 BCE–220 CE). Objects such as bronze mirrors and iron swords, inscribed with Chinese characters, show that Japan had some acquaintance with Chinese writing during that time. However, as the earliest Japanese historical chronicles record, it was not until the 5th century CE that the Chinese writing system, introduced to Japan by a Korean scholar, was formally adopted in Japan.
Initially, Japanese scribes wrote in a purely Chinese style, but in the Heian period (794-1185) Chinese characters were adapted in ways that made it possible to represent Japanese language patterns through the use of two syllabic systems, hiragana and katakana. Some of the earliest masterpieces of Japanese literature were written in hiragana during this period, including The Tale of Genji. As in China, nobles, scholars, priests, poets, and painters elevated Chinese characters to art in magnificent calligraphic works.
The East Asian collection contains a wealth of sources for the study of Chinese and Japanese language, literature, history, religion and culture. This exhibit is but a sample of the kinds of materials and themes covered by the library’s collections. The topic of Chinese characters was selected not only because it illustrates well the depth, breadth, and richness of the library's East Asian collection, but also because of the significant and interesting interactions between the Chinese and Japanese cultures through Chinese characters.
This display, created with funding from the Center for Asian Studies and the University Librarys, is offered in conjunction with the Center for Humanities and the Arts 2011-2011 "China" theme.
The exhibit is located on the first level of Norlin library ajacent to the southeast study area.
through Spring 2012
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Oracle Bone Inscription about Sacrificial Hunting |
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King’s Instructions and Bestowal on Yu 大盂鼎铭 |
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Inscription on King Gou Jian’s Sword 越王勾践剑铭 |
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Pact of Alliance at Houma 侯马盟书 |
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Tax-Exempt Transport Permits for Lord Qi鄂君启节 |
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Script on Bamboo tablets from Guodian郭店竹简 |
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Tiger Tally for Commanders虎符 |
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Classic of Way and Virtue—the second version《老子》乙本 |
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Inscriptions on Lacquered Paintings in Sima Jinlong’s Tomb司马金龙墓漆画题字 |
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Epitaph for Wang Ji 王基残碑 |
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Gold seal and impression of seal Given by Chinese Emperor Guang-wu to the Japanese envoy to China in 57 A.D. |
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Li Longji 李隆基(Tang Emperor Xuanzong), Eulogy for Mount Tai纪泰山铭 |
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Scene from the E inga kyo (Sutra of cause and effect) |
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Yan Zhenqing 颜真卿, Eulogy for a Nephew祭侄文稿 |
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through Spring 2012
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Tang-era ink tracing on Wang Xizhi王羲之, Deploring the Death of My Aunt 姨母帖 |
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Text from the Shinkokin wakashu, calligraphy by Hon’ami Koetsu |
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Zhao Ji 赵佶 (Song Emperor Huizong), Thousand-Character Essay千字文 standard script North Song dynasty (960-1127) (Image from Ouyang and Wang, Chinese Calligraphy.) |
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Zhao Mengfu赵孟頫, Thousand-Character Essay in Six Types of Script 六体千字文 from right to left: great-seal, small-seal, clerical, draft cursive, standard, and cursive Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) (Image from Ouyang and Wang, Chinese Calligraphy.) |
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Yu He 俞和, Thousand-Character Essay千字文 from right to left: seal, clerical Yuan dynasty (1271-1368) (Image from Gu gong bo wu yuan (China), Yang, Yang and Shan, Gu gong wen wu da dian.) |
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Zhang Bi 张弼，Thousand-Character Essay千字文 cursive script Ming dynasty (1368-1644) (Image from Gu gong bo wu yuan (China), Yang, Yang and Shan, Gu gong wen wu da dian.) |
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Shen Can 沈粲, Thousand-Character Essay千字文 cursive script Ming dynasty (1368-1644) (Image from Zhongguo mei shu quan ji bian ji wei yuan hui, Zhongguo mei shu quan ji.) |
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Visit to the Ise Shrine, Illustrations of the Tales of Ise ink and color on painted poem sheet. |
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Section of the Lotus Sutra |
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Section of a handscroll ink and light colors on paper. |
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Section of the Lotus Sutra |
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Zhao Ji 赵佶 (Song Emperor Huizong), Round Fan with a Couplet in Cursive Script 草书团扇 |
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Wu Cheng’en吴承恩, poem on a folding fun 七言律诗 |
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Ni Zan倪赞, Poem on a Painting of Pine Trees幽涧寒松图 |
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Wang Mian王冕, Poem for Dark Plum Flowers墨梅图题诗 |
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Seven Imperial poems ink on paper, decorated with colored dyes. |
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Daruma hanging scroll, ink on paper. |
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Jin Nong 金农, Colophon for Painting of the Buddha beneath the Tree 龙巢树下佛像题记 clerical script |
through Spring 2012
References to Chinese images
Beijing tu shu guan Jin shi zu 北京图书馆金石组, ed. Beijing tu shu guan cang zhongguo li dai shi ke ta ben hui bian 北京图书馆藏中国历代石刻拓本汇编. Zhengzhou Shi: Zhongzhou gu ji chu ban she: Zhong hua shu ju du zhe fu wu bu fa xing, 1989.
Chen, Songchang 陈松长, ed. Mawangdui bo shu yi shu 马王堆帛书艺术. Shanghai: Shanghai shu dian, 1996.
Gu gong bo wu yuan (China) 故宫博物院, Boda Yang杨伯达, Xin Yang杨新, and Guoqiang Shan单国强, ed. Gu gong wen wu da dian 故宫文物大典. Fuzhou: Fujian ren min chu ban she, 1994.
Jiangsu Sheng mei shu guan 江苏省美术馆, ed. Liu chao yi shu 六朝艺术. Nanjing: Jiangsu mei shu chu ban she, 1996.
Jingmen Shi bo wu guan 荊门市博物馆, ed. Guodian chu mu zhu jian 郭店楚墓竹简. Beijing: Wen wu chu ban she, 1998.
Ouyang, Zhongshi and Youfen Wang. Chinese calligraphy. New Haven; Beijing: Yale University Press; Foreign Languages Press, 2008.
Zhang, Han 张颔, Zhenggang Tao陶正刚, Shouzhong Zhang张守中, and Shanxi Sheng wen wu gong zuo wei yuan hui 山西省文物工作委员会, ed. Houma meng shu 侯马盟书. Taiyuan: Shanxi gu ji chu ban she, 2006.
Zhongguo mei shu quan ji bian ji wei yuan hui 中国美术全集编辑委员会, ed. Zhongguo mei shu quan ji 中国美术全集. Beijing: Ren min mei shu chu ban she, 2006.
Zhongguo qing tong qi juan ji bian ji wei yuan hui 中国青铜器全集编辑委员会, ed. Zhongguo qing tong qi quan ji 中国青铜器全集. Beijing: Wen wu chu ban she, 1900.
Zhongguo she hui ke xue yuan. Kao gu yan jiu suo 中国社会科学院考古研究所, ed. Yin zhou jin wen ji cheng 殷周金文集成. Peking: Zhong hua shu ju ying yin, 1984.
Zhongguo she hui ke xue yuan. Li shi yan jiu suo 中国社会科学院历史研究所 and Moruo Guo郭沫若, ed. Jia gu wen he ji 甲骨文合集. Shanghai 上海: Zhonghua shu ju 中华书局, 1978-1983.
References to Japanese images
Boudonnat, Louise and Kushizaki, Harumi . Traces of the brush: The art of Japanese calligraphy. San Francisco: Chronicle, 2003.
Hirabayashi, Moritoku. Twelve centuries of Japanese art from the Imperial Collections. Washington, DC:
Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997.
Hempel, Rose. The golden age of Japan, 794-1192. New York: Rizzoli, 1983.
Kameda, Tsutomu. E ingakyō. Tōkyō: Kadokawa Shoten, 1969.
Murasaki Shikibu. Le dit du Genji. Contes et dits du Moyen Age. [Paris]: Publications orientalistes de
France, 1978.
Murase, Miyeko. The written image: Japanese calligraphy and painting from the Sylvan Barnet and William Burto Collection. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2002.
Shimizu, Yoshiaki. Masters of Japanese calligraphy: 8th-19th Century. New York: Asia Society Galleries,
1984.
Smith, Bradley. Japan: a history in art. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1964.
