Chinese calligraphy

Chinese calligraphy
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	書法しょほう
Simplified Chinese	书法
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Shūfǎ Wu Romanization sy平ひらた fah入いれ Hakka Romanization su24 fab2 Yue: Cantonese Jyutping syu1 faat3 Southern Min Hokkien POJ su-hoat
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	Thư pháp
Chữ Hán	書しょ法ほう
Korean name
Hanja	書しょ藝げい
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Seoye McCune–Reischauer Sŏye
Japanese name
Kanji	書道しょどう
Hiragana	しょどう (modern) しよだう (historical)
Transcriptions Revised Hepburn Shodō

Chinese calligraphy is calligraphy that is done in China. Chinese calligraphy is compared to painting, poetry, and music.

In China, calligraphy is called shūfǎ (書法しょほう/书法). It means "way/method/law of writing". It is called shodō (書道しょどう) in Japan. It means "way of writing" in Japanese. It is called seoye (서예; 書しょ藝げい) in Korea. It means "skill of writing" in Korean.

Materials and tools

Four of the most important tools in Chinese calligraphy are called the Four Treasures of the Study. They are the ink brushes, the ink, the paper, and the inkstone. Many calligraphers also usually use water-droppers, paperweights.

Stroke order

Calligraphy usually follows a certain order when writing.

• First horizontally, then vertically
• Top to bottom
• Left side, then right side
• First the middle, then the sides
• First the frame, then inside the frame
• Close the frame last
• Secondary dots last