The Calligraphy of San Francisco Chinatown

By Richard Aston

Every year, thousands of visitors wander through Chinatown, gazing at the profusion of calligraphy, many wonder what it all means. Are the characters pictures, words, or some kind of alphabet? There are many books on calligraphy as fine art, but none that put it into the co

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Aston
• Release date: Sep 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781733898720

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Also, by Richard Aston

VIEWS FROM GOLD MOUNTAIN: HISTORY, MEMORY, VOICES

Copyright © 2022 by Richard Aston-

All rights reserved.

Published by Sixth Avenue Books,

San Francisco, California.

[e-mail]

ISBN-13: 978-1-7338987-1-3

ISBN-13: 978-1-7338987-2-0 (e-book)

Aston, Richard.

The Calligraphy of San Francisco Chinatown/ Richard Aston.

Includes bibliographic references.

TRV025130: Travel/United States/West/Pacific.

ART019020: Art/Asian/ Chinese

ART003000: Art/ Techniques/ Calligraphy.

DEDICATION

To the memory of:

Bernice Wong Aston, Helen Gan Aston,

Wong Guin, Lum Shao Ying,

Lily Leong Gan,

Laura and Him-mark Lai,

Family and friends who opened my eyes to Chinatown.

And to teachers

Professor Hsu Kai-yu, Professor Daniel Kwok,

and Master Nan Huai-chin.

CONTENTS

I. GOLD THREADS, IRON CHAINS:

INTRODUCTION

II. DRAGON’S BONES:

THE ORIGIN OF CHARACTERS

III. POLISHING JADE:

LEARNING TO WRITE

IV. THE FOUR TREASURES:

WRITING IMPLEMENTS

V. TADPOLES AND SERPENTS:

TYPES OF SCRIPT

VI. A FIELD OF STONES:

SEALS

VII. DRAGONS THUNDERING:

THE AESTHETICS OF CALLIGRAPHY

VIII. WORDS LIKE STREAMS:

SPOKEN CHINESE

IX. BEYOND THE WALL:

CHINESE AND OTHER LANGUAGES

X. THE FIENDS FLED:

THE MAGIC OF WORDS

XI. INEFFABLE INTUITIONS:

CALLIGRAPHY AND ABSTRACT ART

XII. CLOUDY MOUNTAINS:

BALCONIES AND CLUBS

XIII. MOUNTAINS OF MEAT, LAKES OF WINE:

FOOD

XIV. A THOUSAND BOOKS, A THOUSAND MILES:

CONCLUSION

_______________

I. GOLD THREADS, IRON CHAINS:

INTRODUCTION

Every year, thousands of travelers, during visits to China, Japan, Hong Kong, or any country that has a large Chinese population— Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia-are exposed to Chinese calligraphy. Many Americans see Chinese characters in the Chinatowns of San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles, or in the little Chinese restaurant found in every town.

Such travelers may be perplexed, intrigued or, particularly in Hong Kong, overwhelmed by so many strange and incomprehensible figures, but few are not curious as to what it all means. To understand the literal meaning of Chinese characters is a difficult task, requiring years of study. However, even without knowing the meaning of characters, you can nevertheless appreciate their form and have some idea of their function.

To the Chinese, for at least three thousand years, calligraphy has been the most sublime of arts. Writing is the considered the mother of civilization, the thread that binds present society together and ties us to those who have gone before. Writing has the power to enlighten, or the power to enslave. It can open up the past or make tradition your master.

Because of the unique nature of Chinese writing—its origin, its semantic and phonetic qualities, the materials with which it is written, its long tradition, the difficulty of mastering it, and the role it has played in the social structure—it has aroused a variety of strong feelings, both positive and negative. Centuries of reverence now conflict with demands for simplification, or even its abolition. Thus, a description of ancient writing given by one poet seems to capture the visual and emotional responses that calligraphy can inspire: the Gold threads, of aesthetic freedom, or the Iron chains, of stifling tradition.

Calligraphy is, without question, the most fundamental and highest form of Chinese culture and art. One reason is, due to the nature of Chinese writing, calligraphy may be viewed purely as abstract art, with the literal meaning of the characters being irrelevant. Chinese artists themselves emphasis that calligraphy is an abstract visual form, with the meaning of the characters secondary to their aesthetic appreciation. In fact, the mind must be free of intellectual effort, in both in the writing and the viewing of characters.

This is not to say that the meaning of a poem, or an inscription, is deliberately ignored, or that one's pleasure is not enhanced if the piece is readable, but rather that the meaning of the characters may actually detract the mind from its ability to apprehend fully the purely calligraphic quality of the writing. Therefore, appreciated for its intrinsic beauty alone, and for its ability to capture the spirit of the universe, a piece of writing is often hung, as would be a painting, solely for the aesthetic pleasure it gives. It is common for a piece of calligraphy to be exhibited solely for its artistic merit, with the owner not