Daniela Zhang Cziráková:

Writing without Words – An Influence of theChinese Calligraphy on the Contemporary Ink

Painting in the Mainland China1

不不不不不不 - 不不 不不不不不不不不不不不不书

Keywords: abstraction, calligraphy, abstract ink painting,China; 抽抽 抽 抽抽抽抽抽 抽抽、 、、书

Abstract:  Chinese calligraphy as an art of lines that pay attention not to theoutside shapes of subjects but to recording subjects, has itself a lot in common withabstract painting. The study is involving in some semi-abstract features in Chinesecalligraphy from the point of view Chinese tradition. In the second part, there arepresented some of contemporary Chinese abstract ink painters, whose works havebeen influenced by calligraphy.

摘摘 摘摘 摘摘摘摘摘摘摘 摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘 摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘 摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘 摘 摘 摘摘摘摘摘 摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘 摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘 摘摘摘摘摘摘 摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘摘： ，，。一。一。书 传统书 书

According to Western art-theorist looking at the artworkof Chinese calligraphy, it could be easy realised that thiskind of art is very close to abstraction. The lines of Chinesecalligraphy have inspired a number of Western artists todevelop their abstract painting, as were, for example, MarkTobey, Georges Mathieu, Hans Hartung, Henri Michaux, or laterAntoni Tapies and the others. Some of them had learned Chineseor Japanese calligraphy which became an important source fortheir paintings.

But the situation in perception calligraphy in Chinesecultural background is quite different from Western point ofview. For many years, abstract painting in the minds of Chineseartists, especially those living in the Mainland China wasconsidered as something strange, hardly acceptable, and comingfrom different culture without any connection with Chinesetradition, even with Chinese calligraphy. Although Chinese

1 There are used both traditional and simplified forms of Chinese charactersin the article. The traditional Chinese characters in the article are used in mentioning ancient calligraphers or traditional kinds of calligraphy. The simplified characters are used in writing on contemporary Chinese booksor artists.

artists and art theorists easily accepted the technique of oilpainting, and its realistic tradition, different fromsubjectivism of traditional Chinese ink painting, has beenaccepted comparatively early, the acceptation of abstractpainting and the admitting of abstract features in the Chinesecalligraphy as a possible source of inspiration forcontemporary artists in Mainland China was a long process. Thechange of this attitude became in the end of the twentiethcentury, when some of Chinese artists using Chinese ink startedto paint abstract painting bearing an obvious influence of thelines of calligraphy. Some of these artists were in some wayconnected with the Movement of experimental ink painting; someof them are using different names of their style, as, forexample, an abstract calligraphy, or “false calligraphy”.

There is not an intention of the study to point out allChinese painters involving in abstract painting whose worksbear features of calligraphic brushstrokes. The purpose is toshow how calligraphy decades years after became an inspirationfor Western artists started to inspire Chinese abstractpainters, how some of them use traditional ink and brush tocreate, at least in Chinese cultural background, new style ofpainting, use calligraphy in different ways.

Sources and literatureThere are a lot of publications devoted to traditional

Chinese art of Calligraphy. Some of them are connected to thesubject of this study, as, for example, a work of Lee, L.Sherman, The Colors of Iink. Tseng Yu-ho, Ecke, Chinese Calligraphy,doctoral thesis of Gao Jianping at Uppsala The Expressive Act inChinese Art from Calligraphy to Painting where author mentionedexpressive power of calligraphy. The contemporary Chinesecalligraphy or contemporary Chinese abstract painting is hardlyeven mentioned in Western scholar studies. An exception is abook of Barras, Gordon, S., The Art of Calligraphy in ModernChina, there is also mentioned contemporary Avant-Gardecalligraphy and its protagonists, as Zhang Dawo, Pu Lieping,Wei Ligang, Wang Nanming and Zhang Qiang. Except of that, thereare also some books concerning in contemporary painting inChina, as for example, Art and Artists of Twentieth Century China byMichael Sullivan, where there is an introduction to thesituation of the New Wave 85, Scott, A, Literature and the Arts in

Twentieth Century China and others. Chinese sources includesespecially Pi Daojian´s (Ed.) 抽抽抽, Experimental Wash Painting of Chinain the 90´s, Wu Hong´en 抽抽抽, Zhongguo shufa jiqi xianzhuang 抽抽抽抽 抽抽抽抽书 Lin Xincheng抽 抽 抽 , Xiandai shufa yishu, 抽抽 抽抽抽书 . Chinese calligraphy is oftendiscussed in Chinese studies. The photographic materials arecoming directly from the artists, some of them I metpersonally, some I had contacted by mail.

An Introduction to the Traditional Chinese Art ofCalligraphy

The essence of calligraphy, shufa 抽抽, art of writing, in thetheory of Chinese art lying on the same high level as inkpainting, is essentially close to abstraction. When therecording of text, written words, becomes a work of art thatcan be seen and admired as well as and as often as the famousartworks, this is a kind of visual art, which is very distantto the concept of art as description of reality. There isalways an idea, expressed by words, connected with someexperiences of each calligrapher2. In the artistic language ofthe calligraphy, it is not only the content of text, what isimportant; there is also the formal beauty of the text. Nomatters if the characters have been written to the paper,carved to the stone, if they are part of painting orindependent artwork. Chinese art theoreticians in the historyof Chinese art, often compared lines of calligraphy to elegancyof sword dance, to power we need carving to the stone. If werealise that some specific features of brushstrokes andcalligraphy masterworks for centuries have been admired,emulated and copied as well as famous paintings, we canunderstand better the position of this art in Chinese culture.

It is difficult to say, when exactly the writing ofChinese characters became an independent and highly respectedart of calligraphy, but it probably happened in the time of Weidynasty (220 – 265 A. D.), although we know the names of famouscalligraphers from Han dynasty (206 B. C. – 220 A. D.). Chineseart theorists in the past often discussed that painting andcalligraphy have the same origin. It is possible that thistheory was mentioned first in very early history by paintersnot by calligraphers, because the calligraphy as recording of

2 Král, Oldřich, Umenie tušu [The Art of Ink], GMB, Bratislava, 1989

hierograms achieved much more respect in the ancient society,and they tried to increase the position of painting3.

Chinese characters began to evolve in parallel with thedevelopment of Chinese bronzes. Scripture as calligraphy inChina later became a distinctive and unique type of art. Art ofcalligraphy has more than 3000-years history. Unlike paintings,calligraphy does not use colour, only abstractlines. Calligraphy is one of the traditional Chinese fine arts,in which the Chinese used a round brush, different from thespecific structure of European hair brush and ink. Art ofcalligraphy includes some different styles, as are, for examplejiaguwen 抽抽抽, jinwen 抽抽, zhuanshu 抽抽, clerical style lishu 抽抽,regular style kaishu 抽 抽 , cursive style xingshu 抽 抽 , andlightsome written concept style caoshu 抽 抽 , which came fromhistorical development of Chinese characters, used bycalligraphers. Each style has its own rules and estheticalvalue.

Concept calligraphy or fast written caoshu 抽 抽indicates in a general sense any kind of written characters, nomatter in which historical period has originated, if thecharacters are written simplified up to illegibility. In thestrict sense of the term caoshu is calligraphy whose charactersare written in relatively rapid, simplified strokes. During theEastern Han Dynasty they used zhangcao 抽 抽 , in the late HanDynasty had been created jincao 抽 抽 , which was later namedcaoshu. The famous calligrapher Wang Xizhi 抽抽抽(303 to 361, or321 to 379) has improved caoshu to high artistic level. Artistsfrom Tang dynasty, Zhang Xu 抽抽 (710-750) and Huai Su 抽抽(737 –799) used to wrote even bolder unrestrained, unreadable, theirmovement of brush reminds us snake’s movement. This type ofcaoshu is called crazy, kuangcao 抽 抽 . Kuangcao has a specificposition in the history of calligraphy.

3Gao Jianping, The Expressive Act in Chinese Art from Calligraphy to Painting, Uppsala, 1996

Zhang Xu, Four poems, calligraphy, detail4

“Crazy” kuangcao 抽 抽 , wild cursive script, is a type ofcalligraphy, which is closest to abstraction. Its letters arealmost illegible, but it is distinguish from pure abstractionby existence of text messages, information, even vague andincomprehensible for those who do not knew the rules ofcalligraphy, as well as the existence of at least approximaterules of writing and compositions of the characters. Some typesof wild kuangcao are full of energy, comes to the foreelsewhere harmony of form. Somewhere we become fascinated bythe symmetry, or conversely significant contrasts within theindividual characters or entire inscription, the perfectlycoherent, but that if random composition. Sometimes the beautyof wild forms of kuangcao springs from the apparent mess. It isthe most unconstrained among the calligraphic styles, beingfree from the restriction of other styles. It demands adifferentiation of written characters, but it is unnecessary tofollow the calligraphic rules strictly. Also, the structure ofthe dots and strokes can be changed. Although kuangcao cannotbe regarded as a real abstract painting, as there still existsthe text, characters they are meaningful, and it is close toabstraction because it express personal feelings of writer, hisemotions, using the power of lines, the artistic language of4 Source: http://www.indiana.edu/~e251/Zhang_Xu-Four_Poems-detail.jpg

calligraphy. Apart from the content of written text, viewerattention is attracted particularly by its beauty and theexpressivity of lines.

However, from the point of view of this study, the mostimportant is the fact, that in the Chinese art history,calligraphy has been never assumed from the point of abstractart. Even the voices calling to reformation of calligraphyusually stressed an importance of the new way of writing,creating the new, modern style of calligraphy.

The formal beauty of Chinese calligraphy and its correlation to abstract painting

Although a highly disciplined skill, calligraphy allowedto individual artist freedom for personal interpretation. Aftermastering the basic rules of strokes, the established methodsof joining and the drafting and adoption of the compositionalpatterns, calligraphy is left much room for subjectiveexpression. The rules that provides rescue to the averageartist, limits, where he could move, were often exceeded byoutstanding artists to new positions again and again. However,that happened not only in calligraphy but in the same extend inthe whole Chinese painting.

In the creative process of calligraphy, layout of thelines and the strokes, presents the way how the author feelsthe reality, even reflects the nature, feelings, morality, andthe whole personality of the author. Calligraphy, despite itdoes not copies specific shapes objective reality, sufficientlyclearly expresses the artists' aesthetic relationship to theobjective world. People always believed that calligraphy isyixiang 抽 抽 , imaginary picture of reality. The conditions tocreate the image of reality are in the artist’s freeimagination, his subjective perception, as well as in hisunderstanding of objective reality.

It can be said that is not necessary to fully understand

the contents of calligraphic text for the perception ofartistic value of calligraphy like the common enjoying the

beauty of medieval European paintings we do not need to know indetail its iconography.  When looking at Chinese calligraphy wecan enjoy various forms of beauty and enjoy the lines, toadmire their fluency, pace, elegance, seen the beauty ofdetail, small changes, whether in the composition of individualcharacters or entire inscription even without that weunderstand what the artist writes, but even then, however,cannot forget that calligraphy is primarily the art of writtenwords, captured on paper or in stone.  What distinguishescalligraphy from pure abstraction is the fact, that calligraphyis primarily the recording of the text, there are words whichbecome the basis or the excuse for calligrapher to startingplay his game with lines.

Calligraphy as an Inspiration for Contemporary Chinese Abstract Painting

Although we can find a number of overseas Chinese, orChinese artist residing in Hong Kong and Taiwan usingcalligraphy as a source of inspiration in their abstract orsemiabstract works of Chinese artists living abroad, in Taiwan,painting in the time of 60ties of twentieth century, like forexample Liu Guosong 抽 抽 抽 (b. 1932), in Hong Kong, as are ZhouLüyun 抽抽抽(1924-2011), an excellent woman painter, Bi Zirong 抽抽抽(b. 1949) and others, as well as Chinese artists residing inwestern countries, like some painting of a famous painter ZhaoWuji 抽 抽 抽 (Zao Wou-ki, 1920 –2013), the tendencies of usingcalligraphic brushstrokes in order to create an abstractpainting in the Mainland China started not earlier than in thetime of New Wave ´85. But abstract works of these Chineseartists living abroad had a great influence to Chinesecontemporary ink painting, especially in the 90ties of the 20thcentury. The fact, that those and other painters begun tolooking for a ways how to modernise ink painting and how to putin to the context of the world modernist movement, presentedalso a big impulse to Chinese ink painters.

Experimental ink painting in China, which includes alsoabstraction, appeared in China in the period of New Wave 85,since Gu Wenda´s ink works. His searching was far more thanonly revaluation and criticising of tradition. There are no

doubts that his bold experiments have opened the new ways tomodern forms of ink painting. This style became a strongmovement in the period of 90ties of twentieth century with anintention to reform the traditional ink painting. Not allartists active in this movement were abstract painters and onlya part of them used calligraphic brushstrokes in their works.

Except from experimental ink painting there is another verysimilar style of painting, which is called wei shufa 抽 抽书 , false,forged calligraphy. It is a king of abstract painting comingfrom calligraphy, admitting calligraphy as a source ofinspiration, in the end of that process there are no morecalligraphic characters but abstract painting with strongcalligraphic features. We can find some calligraphic styles inthe Chinese history of calligraphy, whose had reached to theedge of understanding (as is kuangcao) and the formal beauty ofthe lines highly exceeded the content, the text became only aplea for writing unrestrained lines and express the personalityof author. Protagonists of the wei shufa realised that kind ofcalligraphy can exist only because its form and there is nomore needed to have a specific text as a reason of theexistence of the lines.

One of the best known and most representative Chineseexperimental painters is Wang Chuan 抽 抽 (b. 1953, Chengdu,Sichuan), an abstract painter, a member of Chinese Avant-Gardemovement in the 80ties, who resided in the US, New York forsome years since 1997 and now he lives in China, Beijing. In1982 he graduated Academy of Fine Art in Sichuan, faculty ofChinese painting. He participated on the exhibitionChina/Avant-garde in 1989 in Chinese Gallery in Peking and manyother exhibitions in China and abroad. He had a lot of soloexhibitions, first in1988, Beijing, Chinese Gallery 抽抽抽抽抽, hisfirst exhibitions at abroad (Hong Kong, New York) hold in 1990.Some people called him minimalist artist. Wang Chuan is veryimportant not only for the Movement of Experimental inkpainting but also for the whole contemporary art in China.

He devoted most of his artistic life to abstraction, nomatter which media was chosen. He uses oil as well as ink, hisworks are speaking clearly by language of a brush, we can see

there a skill of artist coming from awesome Chinese traditionalink painting, but it can be observed that he did not acceptedany restriction of the tradition. What let him to be totallydifferent from traditional painting is abstraction – there arenot any hint of landscape, nor of Chinese calligraphiccharacters, we can see only expressive lines, sometimes he usesdry brush (“bones”) sometimes “flashy” brushstrokes with lotof water in the brush.

Wang Chuan, Ink Series No 57, 19955

This kind of abstract painting with a strong calligraphy-looking appearance, as are, for example, the works of Song Gang抽宋 (b. 1960 Chongqing), is very close to Chinese understanding

of abstraction. As Wang Chuan too, he is one of artistsinvolved in New Wave of 85. He graduated Zhejiang Academy ofFine Arts in Hangzhou in 1986, in 1997 he graduated Accademiadi Belle Arti di Roma (Academy of Fine Arts of Roma). Since5 From author´s personal archive

2005 he has been teaching at Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma.He participated on the exhibition China/Avant-garde in 1989,where he belongs to the boldest as well very cultivatedartists. His abstract works came from Chinese calligraphy; bearthe features of that art of lines and strokes. The bigbrushstrokes remind us in some ways American Action Painting.Looking at his painting, we cannot forget the strong influenceof kuangcao, the most stylised kind of Chinese calligraphy,especially ancient masters as Zhang Xu and Huaisu,“expressionists” from late Tang dynasty as Wang Mo and theworks of Zen Buddhist’s painters with their stylisation. We canfeel the speed of his movement; see the drops of ink anywhere.Although he was not involving in the Movement of ExperimentalInk Painting of the 90ties, his works in comparison with theMovement are in high artistic level.

Yan Binghui, Stars, 90ties of the 20th century6

Yan Binghui 抽抽抽 (b. 1956) is the painter who is in thetime of last decade’s years searching for the new paths ofabstract ink painting. He graduated Academy of fine arts inTianjin. He also participated at the famous exhibitionChina/Avant-Garde in 1989 in Peking. Since 1985 he is tryingto express some emotions which let ink painting to entry into aspiritual level. For him, the most important is the reductionand purity of shape. Artist believes, he can express richemotions, feelings, through the simplicity of the shape, bringus to the state of mind “above the shapes”, state of6From author´s personal archive

abstraction. Yan Binghui came from the art of calligraphy buthis paintings remind us something of Western monochromaticabstract painting, with the surface covered by one colour.Author uses only black ink, sometimes enriched with subletstouches of colours.

Chen Tiejun 抽抽抽 (Chen Laotie 抽抽抽, b. 1956) is one of theartists, who were active in the movement of Experimental InkPainting. Born in Peking, he graduated the Central Academy ofFine Arts in Peking in 1982, faculty of Chinese painting. Atthe beginning involved in calligraphy, landscape and figurativepainting, later inspired by surrealism, he is creating theabstract ink painting, organizing the exhibitions of inkpainting with expressionistic features. In 1995 he participatedin Biennale in Venice.

Unlike the others ink painters, Chen Laotie in hispaintings does not avoid the bright colour. Beside black ink,he often uses red colour, the bright one or in a tone ofviolet. Last years it seems that he has abandoned abstractpaintings and he is devoting mostly to traditional forms ofcalligraphy.

Another important member of Movement of experimental inkpainting using calligraphic brushstrokes is contemporarypainter and calligrapher Wei Baorong 抽抽抽, (b. 1946, Tianjin).He started to learn calligraphy in 1980 from famouscalligrapher Liu Bingsen 抽抽抽 (1937 – 2005). In 1984 he became amember of the Chinese Association of calligraphers. Hisabstract works are stressing calligraphic brushwork, they arebuilt on the strong expressive lines of calligraphy, and theyhave close relations to the traditional art of calligraphy. Hewas also involved in the Movement of Experimental Ink Paintingin the time of the 90th of the twentieth century.

If we are speaking about abstract ink painting with strongcalligraphic feelings or abstract calligraphy, ne cannot forgetpainter Wei Ligang 抽抽抽 (b. 1964), coming from Datong city. In1985 he graduated Nankai University in Tianjin, faculty ofmathematic. He is editor in chief of journal ContemporaryCalligraphy (抽抽 抽书 ), one of establishers of New Saloon of TrueLines (Xin Ganxian Shalong “抽抽抽抽抽”). He participated in a lot of

exhibitions, his work is collection of Tate Gallery. In 2011 heparticipated in the exhibition Ink No. 1.– Contemporary InkPainting(抽抽 NO.1——抽抽抽抽抽抽抽) in Germany.

The composition of his paintings indicate the stronginspiration of calligraphy – his abstract lines are composed inthe columns reminding us traditional works of calligraphy, butthere is an obvious difference between his work and traditionalcalligraphy. His lines present series of lines without typicalcalligraphic way of using brush, as we can see in the mostChinese ink artists mentioned here. Sometimes he uses drybrush; sometimes his lines are softly flowing, full of water.noall of his works are abstract, in some of his works it ispossible to see little stylized faces in the tops of columns.

Art critic and artist Wang Nanming 抽抽抽 (b. 1962) studiedLaw at the Huadong College of Politics and Law in Shanghai. In1988, he left the legal profession to become an independentartist, art critic and curator. Since the early 1990s, WangNanming has written numerous critical essays on art, includingcultural and social criticism.7

Wang quickly came to see his discarded balls of paper assymbolic of the various contradictions surrounding calligraphyitself. In his view, as well as being an elegant traditionalsystem of writing and the basis of an evocative from of modernart, calligraphy could be regarded as representing the darkerside of Chinese society. He felt that over the centuries itspurpose had been perverted in that it had been deployed as amechanism of social control. By screwing up a sheet of his workant throwing it away, an artist or writer clearly demonstrateshis rejection of it. And in the Chinese language, as in Englishand others, the word ´balls´ is a common expletive and forcefulstatement of rejection. In the balls of paper that Wang nowadopted as the hallmark of his art, he felt he had found theprefect graphic symbol for his rejection of the worst aspectsof Chinese culture.8

7Wang, Nanming (2000). The Shanghai Art Museum Should Not Become a Market Stall in China for Western Hegemonism—A Paper Delivered at the 2000 Shanghai Biennale’. In: Wu Hong (ed.), Contemporary Chinese Art Primary Documents, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, p. 454, 2010, ISBN: 978-0-8223-4943-3, pp – 353 – 354.8Barras, Gordon, S., The Art of Calligraphy in Modern China, p. 252-253.

Zhang Dawo 抽抽抽(b. 1943, Chenggu, prov. Shanxi) is residingalternately in Australia and China. First forty years of hislife he used to do traditional ink painting, in 1982 he startedto write modern calligraphy, then he turned up to abstractpainting. He calls his artistic style “Dawo miaomo 抽 抽 抽 抽“ (wonderful ink of Dawo) and he personally admits that hisabstract ink painting bears strong elements of artistictradition of Far East. In 1994 he moved to Australia, but hehas a studio in Beijing and every year he spends part of timethere. He has a lot of personal exhibitions and heparticipated to numerous collective exhibitions in China,Australia, Paris, Hong Kong and other places, often connectedwith contemporary ink painting, as is Ink No. 1.– ContemporaryInk Painting(抽抽 NO.1——抽抽抽抽抽抽抽) in Germany (2011).

Zhang Dawo, Ink painting9

He says about his works that although he has been livingmany years in abroad, they are coming from Chinese tradition;his art has not decided relationship to Western art. Hisabstract painting influenced by Zen Buddhist and Daoistphilosophy has naturally grown up from Chinese calligraphy,especially from unrestrained lines of kuangcao. Abstractionmeans for Zhang Dawo breaking old rules, whose restrictedChinese calligraphy for thousands years. His works are full ofbold emotions, expressive power; we can feel the speed of thebrush movement. The composition of his painting often remainsus the composition of ancient calligraphic inscriptions on9From author´s personal archive

steals or the composition of ink landscape paintings, but it ispossible to find the works, where the lines fulfil all space onpaper. On some of his works Zhang Dawo uses dry brush,hectically covers the paper by calligraphic lines. What he iswriting is no more calligraphy, it is just play with ink, someof his works are made by brush full of water; his quickbrushstrokes leave darker or lighter places on paper.

The works of Pu Lieping 抽 抽 抽 (b. 1959) are even more

difficult to classify. Having often made use of materials otherthan ink and paper, one must sometimes struggle to understandhis abstractions as calligraphy. Moreover, the professedallusions to a classical poem by Li Bai suggest a kinship withand challenge to the literati mode.10

For several years Pu has been an untiring champion of theAvant-Garde school of calligraphic art in China. Above all, inhis own work he has at least found his own form of expression,in which he uses abstract art to convey messages from China´scultural past, while at the same time voicing concerns aboutthe future. 11

The last but not the least author mentioned here is ZhangShuguang 抽抽抽(Paolo Zhang, b. 1967 in Heilongjiang province) nowresiding and creating in Slovakia (Bratislava) and China(Beijing) is devoting to abstract painting, oil painting aswell as ink painting, calligraphy. Graduated from ChineseInstitute of Traditional Opera in 1993, since 1997 member of anAssociation of Slovak Artists; in 2002 – 03 he studied atCentral Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing.

10http://www.asianbrushpainter.com/blog/knowledgebase/the-avant-garde-movement-of-chinese-calligraphy-a-globalized-calligraphy11Gordon. S. The Art of Calligraphy in Modern China, p. 243

Zhang Shuguang, Ink painting, 199312

In most of his works is visible strong inspiration ofChinese calligraphy. Variety of lines and the way of usingbrush remind us the skill of calligrapher knowing the hundredsyears history of traditional calligraphy, especially in themost unrestrained form – kuangcao. Somewhere he plays withinformal-looking textures; whose can be associated withcontemporary movement of art as well as with the ancientChinese wall painting in their silent waste away, where linesof painting cross the lines of floating time.13

Conclusion

As it can be seen from above, although not all the Chinesepainters involving in abstraction are using calligraphic linesin their works, calligraphy is still a strong inspiration notonly for Western abstract paintings, but it becomes more andmore popular within Chinese artists. This study shows artistsfrom Mainland China gradually discover the huge potential ofcalligraphy as a source of inspiration for abstract painting.Authors mentioned here as well as many others started torealize that using calligraphic brushstrokes is one of the wayhow to express their own roots in doing abstract painting.12From author´s personal archive13 Zhang Cziráková, Daniela, Volanie čiar, šepot farieb [Calling of Lines, Whispering of Ccolours], In: Revue svetovej literatúry (Revue of the World Literature), Bratislava, 1999

Calligraphy can offer a self-expression, it is able to depriveoff restrictions of the sense of the characters, and it startedto live its own artistic life. However, it should be consciousthat in Chinese traditional culture any change or innovation isa long and very painful process. From one point of viewtradition is inspiration, but on the other hand, in Chineseculture it is also strong restriction, as an awareness of longhistory discourage new authors do bold experiments in theintentions indicated by their ancestors. In the time ofstudying Chinese painting at Central Academy of Fine Arts Iheard the comparison characterizing innovations and originalityin Chinese painting: the best fish is that jumps out the pool.But the long and splendid tradition of Chinese art is makingthe wall of the imaginative pool higher or better said, pool isdeeper and wider and fish even do not realize the need to jumpout, because the pool of tradition becomes endless ocean formost of fishes. According the theory of eclectic painter andart theorist Dong Qichang, the same theory used in the end oftwentieth century by Postmodernists in the West, everything wasalready invented, only foolish man can think that he can inventhis own original art style, the only way is selecting from theolds styles what convents us, or according to Slovakpostmodernist poet Peter Macsovszky, the feeling of theoriginality is the symptom of bad memory. Tough the opinion ofDong Qichang, Shitao came with the imperative of originality."The beards and eyebrows of the ancient masters cannot grow onmy face... How can I follow any ancient style withouttransforming it?"14 Struggling with an appeal of tradition andthe desire to create something new is still actual problem inChinese cultural background. That may be a reason why some ofChinese artists reject traditional techniques of painting asare brush and ink, that they feel more freedom in using Westerntechniques or even using the performance art for self-expression as they do not feel the burden of tradition and theneed how to manage this tradition in their works.

Chinese ink painting was more than just a technique; itpresented a way of thinking, a way how to feel a descendant ofsplendid tradition of Chinese tradition. This borders are muchweaker now, a number of Chinese painters doing oil paintingfeel that there is not so strict difference between these

14Fong, Wen C., Why Chinese Painting is History. 2003.

techniques, some of them feel as they can try to paint inkpainting. In this situation the inspiration Chinese art ofcalligraphy can be used more widely in the whole abstractpainting in China, as it is in the Western world. It seems thatthere is another fish just jumped out the pool.

Bibliography

Barras, Gordon, S., The Art of Calligraphy in Modern China,University of California Press, 2002, ISBN 0-520-23451-O, pp.291

Chang, Leon, Miller Peter, Four thousand Years of ChineseCalligraphy, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990

Ch'en Chih-Mai: Chinese Calligraphers and Their Art. 286 pp.CarJton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press; London and NewYork: Cambridge University Press, 1966. ISBN 10: 0522835597 /ISBN 13: 9780522835595

CHENG Tingyou, Chinese Calligraphy, China IntercontinentalPress, 2011, ISBN-13: 9780521186452, 121 p.

Chiang Yee, Chinese Calligraphy: An Introduction to Its Aesthetic andTechnique, London, 1974, ISBN-10: 0674122267

China/Avant-Garde 抽抽抽抽抽抽抽抽抽抽抽抽 (抽抽 - 抽抽)1989, pp. 48ISBN / ISSN: 7219010141

Driscoll, Lucy, Kenji Toda, Chinese Calligraphy, Chicago 1935Fong Wen, Beyond Representation: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, 8th –

14the Century, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992Gao Jianping, The Expressive Act in Chinese Art from Calligraphy to

Painting, Almqvist & Wiksell International, Uppsala, 1996, pp.237, ISBN9155437346 9789155437343

Ge Lu 抽抽, Zhongguo gudai huihua lilun fazhan shi 抽抽抽抽抽抽抽抽抽抽抽，1982，ISBN: 9786665801527 194，

Gu Gan, The Tree Steps of Modern Calligraphy, Beijing: China BooksPublishing House, 1990

Hearn, Maxwell K, Smith, Judith G., Chinese Art: ModernExperssionism, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001

Hwa, Khoo Seow, Penrose, Nancy L., Behind the Brushstrokes –Appreciating Chinese Calligraphy, Hong Kong: Asia 2000, 1993Král, Oldřich, Umenie tušu [The Art of Ink], GMB, Bratislava, 1989

Král, Oldřich, Znaky, čínská kaligrafie [Characters, Chinese Calligraphy],NG 1992, chapt. Estetika čínské kaligrafie [Estetics of Chinesecalligraphy]

Lee, L. Sherman, The Colors of Ink: Chinese Paintings and Related Ceramics from the Cleveland Museum of Art，1974， ISBN9780878480425， 168

Li Zehou 抽抽抽, Mei de licheng 抽抽抽抽[A History of Beauty],抽抽抽·抽书·抽抽抽抽 抽书,2009, 9787108030375

Pi Daojian (Ed.) 抽抽抽, Experimental Wash Painting of China in the 90´s/ 摘 摘 摘 摘 摘 摘 摘 摘 摘 摘 , World Chinese Art Publication Company Limited, Hong Kong,1998, ISBN: 962-8246-16-x, p. 143

Revue svetovej literatúry [Revue of the World Literature], Bratislava,1999, ISSN 0231-6269

Scott, Adolphe C., Literature and the Arts in Twentieth Century China,Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated, 1982, ISBN-10031323227X, 212 p.

Tseng Yu-ho, Ecke, Chinese Calligraphy, Philadelphia Museum ofArt, / David R. Godine, Philadelphia / Boston, 1971, ISBN:087923072X / 0-87923-072-X, 224 p.

Tseng Yuho, A History of Chinese Calligraphy. Hong Kong: ChineseUniversity Press, 1993, ISBN-10: 9622014267 | ISBN-13:9789622014268, 446 p.

Tsuen-hsuin Tsien, Written on Bamboo and Silk, University ofChicago Press, Chicago 1962, second updated ed. 2004, ISBN,0226814181, 9780226814186, Pp. xxiv+323

Wang, Nanming, The Shanghai Art Museum Should Not Become a MarketStall in China for Western Hegemonism—A Paper Delivered at the 2000 ShanghaiBiennale’ In: Wu Hong (ed.), Contemporary Chinese Art Primary Documents,The Museum of Modern Art, New York, p. 454, 2010, ISBN: 978-0-8223-4943-3, pp – 353 – 354

Fong, Wen C., Why Chinese Painting is History, 2003, In: The ArtBulletin, Vol. 85, No. 2 (Jun., 2003), pp. 258-280

Wu Hong (ed.), Contemporary Chinese Art Primary Documents, TheMuseum of Modern Art, New York, p. 454, 2010, ISBN: 978-0-8223-4943-3

Wu Hong´en 抽 抽 抽 , Zhongguo shufa jiqi xianzhuang 抽抽抽抽 抽抽抽抽书 , Zhongguoxiandai shudao xiu zuo zhan, Yokohama, Catalogue from theexhibition, 1992

Lin Xincheng 抽抽抽, Xiandai shufa yishu, 抽抽 抽抽抽书, 抽抽抽抽抽抽, 1991, 7800745295,9787800745294, 68 p.Wang Xuelin 抽抽抽, XUE Feng 抽抽 (ed.), Jian ming meishu cidian 抽抽抽抽抽抽 (Consise Dictionary of Art 抽抽抽抽抽抽抽抽 / 1982, 2-513 p.

Xue Yongnian 抽抽抽, Shu hua shi conggao 抽抽抽抽书 Chengdu: Sichuan meishuchubanshe, 1992, ISBN：7-5408-1597-4, p. 370

Yuehping Yen, Calligraphy and Power in Contemporary ChineseSociety,RoutledgeCourzon, New York, 2004, ISBN 9780415646369,0415646367

Zhang, Paolo, Tieň jin-jangu [The Shadow of Yin Yang](Book of Poetry),transl. D. Zhang Cziráková, Millanium, Dunajská Lužná, 2011,pp. 90, 978-80-89178-43-8

Zhang Cziráková, Daniela, Volanie čiar, šepot farieb [Calling of Lines,Whispering of Ccolours], In: Revue svetovej literatúry [Revue of theWorld Literature], Bratislava, 1999, ISSN 0231-6269

Self-assemment in Art and Writing of Body/ In: KUART/ 摘 摘 摘 2011.6-7,21, 抽 抽抽抽抽抽西 , pp. 117-123

KUART/摘摘摘 2011.6-7, 21, 抽 抽抽抽抽抽西 ISBN 978-7-5480-0590-2, p. 190.14<http://thephoenix.com/boston/arts/112820-drawn-

together-the-mfas-fresh-ink/#ixzz2feYm8tzC><http://www.asianbrushpainter.com/blog/knowledgebase/the-

avant-garde-movement-of-chinese-calligraphy-a-globalized-calligraphy>