If you learn Chinese or Japanese languages, or any other language that is based on the Chinese writing system, you will sooner or later come in contact with the living language. This is where the artificial reality of various text books will most likely fail to guide you through a jungle of nuances that create a rift between what we call in Japanese 活字 (かつじ, katsuji, i.e. "print font", which is nothing else than a computer font that you see in any book, website or newspaper), and the … [Read more...]
Archives for August 2011
Kanji: 花
1. Meaning: flower 2.Readings: Kunyomi (訓読み): はな Onyomi (音読み): カ、 ケ Japanese names: わ Chinese reading: huā 3. Etymology 花 belongs to the 形声文字 (けいせいもじ, keiseimoji, i.e. phono-semantic compound characters). This is by far the largest group of Chinese characters, concluding about 85 - 90% of all kanji, which are composed of semantic (disclosing the general nature of a character) and phonetic (responsible for its sound, and often further narrowing the meaning of … [Read more...]
The calligraphy exhibition of Master Ishitobi Hakkō (石飛博光), Tōkyō, July 2011, Part 3.
Echoes of the ancient world. There are many calligraphers out there that throw themselves into the unknown and dangerous waters of 創作 (そうさく, sōsaku, i.e. "own composition"), without building a solid foundation through years and years of study 臨書 (りんしょ, i.e. "copying masterpieces"). In effect, their works are weak, pale and lifeless. The 臨書 of Master Ishitobi Hakkō shows how much knowledge he possesses and how powerful his brush technique is. The work pictured in Figure 11a stands out in … [Read more...]
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