East Asian calligraphy

East Asian calligraphy
The traditional Chinese character for "writing" or "book".
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	書法
Simplified Chinese	书法
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Shūfǎ
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese	Thư Pháp
Hán-Nôm	書法
Korean name
Hangul	서예
Hanja	書藝
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Seoye McCune–Reischauer Sŏye
Japanese name
Kanji	書道
Hiragana	しょどう (modern) しよだう (historical)
Transcriptions Revised Hepburn Shodō

The East Asian tradition of calligraphy originated and developed in China. The countries that use East Asian calligraphy are China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam.

In calligraphy, paper, ink, brush, ink stone, paperweight, and a desk pad are used.

The special paper used for calligraphy, is made of rice, paper mulberries, bamboo, hemp, etc.

The ink is made from soot and binders. It comes in sticks, and must be rubbed with water on an ink stone. Pre-mixed bottle inks are now available. Pre-mixed bottle inks are for practicing.

The body of the brush can be made of bamboo, or rare materials like red sandalwood, glass, ivory, silver and gold. The head of the brush is made of the hair of animals, like the wolf, rabbit, deer, chicken, duck, goat, pig and tiger, etc.

The ink stone is used to rub the solid ink stick into liquid ink.

They are used to weigh down paper. Paperweights come in several types, and they are collectible works of art.

The desk pad is a pad made out of felt. Students use these desk pads, which are printed with grids on both sides. When placed under the paper, the grid helps to make the words the right size, and ensures correct placement.

Almost all traditionally educated men (and sometimes women) in East Asia are good in calligraphy. The most famous are:

• Mi Fei 米芾
• Wei Shuo 衛鑠（衛夫人）
• Wang Xizhi 王羲之
• Wang Xianzhi 王獻之
• Huai Su 怀素 (懷素)
• Qigong 启功
• Yu Shinan 虞世南
• Zhang Xu 張旭
• Yan Zhenqing 顏真卿
• Liu Gongquan 柳公權
• Ouyang Xun 歐陽詢
• Su Shi 蘇軾
• Huang Tingjian 黄庭堅
• Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty 宋徽宗 （趙佶）
• Zhao Mengfu 趙孟頫
• Liu Bingsen 劉炳森
• Chiang Kai-Shek 蔣中正
• Kang Youwei 康有为
• Zheng Banqiao 鄭板橋
• Huang Ruheng 黄汝生
• Shi Kefa 史可法

• Kūkai 空海
• Emperor Saga 嵯峨天皇
• Tachibana no Hayanari 橘逸勢
• Ono Michikaze 小野道風
• Fujiwara no Sukemasa 藤原佐理
• Fujiwara no Yukinari 藤原行成
• Hon'ami Kōetsu 本阿弥光悦
• Konoe Nobutada 近衛信尹
• Shokado Shojo 松花堂昭乗
• Ryōkan 良寛
• Yamaoka Tesshu 山岡鉄舟
• Igaki Hokujo 井垣北城

• Choi Chiwon 최치원
• Kim Saeng 김생
• Tan Yeon 탄연
• Yi Aam 이암
• Yi Yong 이용
• Bak Jega 박제가
• Kim Jeonghee 김정희
• Kim Myeong-hui 김명회
• Han Seokbong 한석봉
• Sejong the Great 세종대왕
• Grand Prince Anpyeong 안평대군
• Kang Sehwang 강세황
• Yun Sun 윤순
• Yi I 이이
• Yi Hwang 이황
• Yi Sun-sin 이순신
• Shin Saimdang 신사임당
• Jeong Yak-yong 정약용
• Kim Okgyun 김옥균

There are several word styles in calligraphy. Some of them are; Seal Script (often called small seal script), Clerical Script (sometimes called official, draft or scribal script), Semi-cursive Script (also called running script), Cursive Script (sometimes called grass script), Regular Script (often called ‘standard script’), Edomoji, Munjado, and Kao.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Calligraphy of East Asia.

• History of Chinese Calligraphy
• History of Korean Calligraphy Archived 2008-05-27 at the Wayback Machine
• Special Issue Of Vietnamese Calligraphy Archived 2019-09-25 at the Wayback Machine
• History of Calligraphy in Vietnam