Travel To China

Andri Irawan asked:


Beginner Chinese Calligraphy, The Han Dynasty in 100 A.D. is the first origin of Chinese characters. The Chinese dictionary completed at that time included around 9,353 characters. The next version of the Chinese dictionary came out of Qing Dynasty and was called the “Kangxi” dictionary. The 42 booklets contained over 46,964 characters, which most are not even used today. There are variants on the characters, revised and refined in the current simplified edition of the Chinese language. This edition was put out by the People’s  Republic of China in 1956. This book  narrowed the characters down to about 6,500. This is considered a simplified form and is the most common form used today, although some remain committed to using the old traditional ways.

Chinese characters have been defined as complicated yet beautiful in their meaning.  They are complex in relation to other writing languages. Romanization is used in terms of relation or simple visual information, however the meaning of the character remains mysterious as the art styles behind it. Some Chinese characters mimic similar tones of other characters, yet have different meanings. Some characters written with just an added dot or stroke, turn into something completely different.

Of Chinese history, the crowning achievement to their culture, is the Chinese characters. They are an abstract art form displaying incredible depth of meaning in just a few brushstrokes. This thick symbolism has made it’s way into mainstream art from centuries gone and desirable still today. Words like love, faith, endure, tranquility, written in a one character form creates a personalization amongst the observer admiring it.  Many of these characters live on walls in homes to communicate a feeling.  Many masters have created their own unique style and now exists over 120 different styles of written Chinese calligraphy.

Learning to draw these characters requires patience, proper tools, clear concise instructions and of course, lots of practice. Acquiring this skilled art form can be hours of entertainment and enjoyment because it is so unfolding in a multi conceptual way.  You will learn the proper directions and different styles (one or two you may adopt as your own), and you will also learn each character’s simple, yet intense meaning. More than likely, you will choose a few complimentary to your own personality and self-expression. Rich information and cultural history is born from learning to write Chinese characters. The ability to dive into a whole new world is invigorating and creating the beautiful work is self actualization process all on it’s own.

Whether you embark on learning to write one character well to display as art on your wall, or you continue with the craft to put words together, even learning to read Chinese, it is rewarding.  The more you unravel the mystery living inside each of these characters, it seems to create added curiosity and a desire to keep going.

The ancient art of Chinese characters are popularized in cultures other than Chinese. The styles and forms of characters seen everywhere, are now a highly demanded art to learn.



Hunter

James Dunn asked:


As with many forms of martial arts, the origins can be attributed for an early need for self-defense, military needs as well as hunting. Of course, martial arts became an integrated part of the Chinese culture over time and as such, the term “Kung Fu” became a universal name for Chinese martial arts all together. As a result, the origins of Kung Fu can be considered the origins of Chinese martial arts themselves.

Many people believe that during the year 2698 B.C., the Yellow Emperor (a man known by the name of Huangdi) introduced martial arts for the first time in China, he wrote many treatises on several topics, including early forms. The earliest forms of Chinese fighting included moves such as grappling, kicks, punches and throws as well as joint-locks and the utilization of pressure points to one’s advantage to defeat an opponent.

As the development of Chinese martial arts continued, the incorporation of several philosophies and even more techniques soon followed. Yin and Yang play an important part in the creation of Kung Fu, this philosophy embodies both “soft” and “hard” techniques that balance each other and when put into effect can create a balanced martial art.

In congruence with the Yin and Yang philosophies, the Taoist people play their part in the creation of Kung Fu by adding softer elements from the martial art known as Tai Chi. Tai Chi places a great deal of importance on the health and wellness of the body, spirit and mind and it is these elements that have also been incorporated into Kung Fu.

Kung Fu began to gain in popularity around the year 1912 (during the Republican Period and the dissolution of the Qing Dynasty) when martial arts masters were encouraged to spread their knowledge and help teach their art form to the general public and basically to anyone willing to learn it.

It was in Berlin during the year 1936 that Chinese masters first performed Kung Fu for a large, multi-cultural audience during the Olympics that year. This too helped spread interest in Chinese martial arts for the first time.

Many masters, however, began to migrate to other cities and countries to evade the Communist rule that dominated China during that time and with them, of course, went their knowledge and teachings of martial arts. Of course, this solidified the spread of Chinese martial arts across the globe and this is when it truly molded into the “Kung Fu” as we know it today, no longer were these amazing combinations of martial arts bound by ethnicity or anything else.

Masters were free to teach the art and students were free to learn it. Westerners became particularly interested in Kung Fu due to the fact that many movies during that time were created and featured many techniques that came directly from Kung Fu or were derived from it. In spite of its murky origins, however, it remains one of the most popular martial arts in the modern world.



Jasmine