Calligraphic Style Research Articles

The Change of Calligraphic Style of the Buddhist Bell Inscriptions in the Unified Silla Period

The Change of Calligraphic Style of the Buddhist Bell Inscriptions in the Unified Silla Period

Sputnik and the Avenues: The Art of Chaz Bojórquez

Charles “Chaz” Bojorquez is recognized internationally for his role in developing a West Coast calligraphic style and an oeuvre of text-based paintings featuring original typographies inspired by t...

Two original decrees by Sulṭān-Ḥusayn Bayqarā in the National Archives in Kabul

This paper makes available images, transcriptions, and translations of two original decrees by Sulṭān-Ḥusayn Bayqarā (r. 873–911/1469–1506), the last Timurid monarch at Herat. Original Timurid chancery documents are exceedingly rare. By publishing images of the decrees’ recto and verso faces, and details of two different royal seals, the artistic and historical values of the documents are brought to the attention of scholars. The calligraphic style is taʿlīq, written in this instance with no dots. The recto and verso face royal seals are distinct and legible; the verso side seal (muhr) may not have been previously seen by scholars.

A Study on the Vein of Calligraphic Tradition in lljung, Chungheon Kim s Gungche

일중은 가전된 궁중의 우수한 한글서체를 독학으로 익혀 자신만의 서풍을 완성한 근현대서예가이다. 그는 한글과 한자서예를 병행하되, 한글서예를 중시한다. 일중 궁체의 서맥은 순원왕후의 둘째 공주 복온공주가 일중 가문에 하가 시 가지고 온 고전자료에 근거하고 있다. 하지만 고전 임모에 있어서 온고지신의 창작정신으로 용필법은 한자필의를 사용하였고, 결구법은 궁체를 임모하여 자신만의 개성 있는 서풍을 완성한다. 일중이 서예계에 남긴 대표적인 족적은 궁체만으로는 인간의 감성을 표현하기에 부족하다고 여겨서, 한문서체의 5체처럼 한글도 그와 같이 다양한 서체로 표현하도록 훈민정음 제자원리를 근거로 고체(판본체)를 작품화한 것이다. 그러므로 한글서체를 한자서체와 비견할 수 있도록 다양하게 확대하였다. 이와 같이 고전을 중시하는 교육관은 후학들에게도 스승의 아류가 되지 않도록 가르쳤다. 그 일환으로 교과서와 서예교본 등에 소장하고 있는 왕실의 고전 자료를 아낌없이 소개하여 스스로 서법을 터득할 수 있는 토대자료를 제공한다. 아울러 한글서예의 필법에 관한 논문과 교과서 및 저서를 간행하여 일반대중에게 널리 서예를 보급하고자 하였다. 또한 5백이 훨씬 넘는 작품을 궁체정자, 궁체흘림, 고체, 한자의 5체, 한글과 한자의 혼서, 궁체의 변형체 등 다양한 서체로 다양한 규격에 발표를 하였다. 일중은 일생이 학예일치로 온고지신하는 서예가이자 교육자의 삶이었다. 일중의 교육관을 한 마디로 표현하자면 ‘청출어람’이라고 할 수 있다. 자신은 물론 후학들이 보다 발전하고 자신만의 세계를 열어갈 것을 바랐던 것인데, 현재 그의 훌륭한 제자들이 그의 예술정신의 맥을 이어 서예의 발전을 도모하는 데에서 그 가르침과 배움의 열정이 ‘저 강물처럼 밤낮으로 쉬지 않고 흐르는 것’을 볼 수 있다.lljoong is a modern calligrapher who taught himself the excellent writing style of the Korean script used at royal court, which was passed down in the family, and perfected his own style of calligraphy. Although he practiced both Korean and Chinese calligraphy, he put more emphassis on Korean calligraphy. The legacy of lljoong’s Gungche(a court style of Hangul calligraphy) originated from the classical materials that princess Boak-on, the second dauhghter of Queen Soon-won, brought when she was married to lljoong’s family. However, when it comes to imitating classical calligraphy, in the spirit to ‘review the old and learn the new’, he used a writing style of Dhinese characters os to a technique to write calligrphic work with a brush and imitated Gungche for structure, thereby completing his unique calligraphic style. lljoong’s one of the representative footprints is that he worked on the writing style of Jumminjeongeum Haerye on the abasis of the principle of creation of Humminjeongeum, so that Hangeul could be written in many calligraphic styles like the five script styles in Chinese calligraphy. He believed that Gungche alone was not enough to express various human emotions. Therefore, he expanded a writing style of Korean scripts to be comparable to that of Chinese scripts. His view of education emphasizing classics taught hes students not to be simply imitators of their teacher. For instance, he introduced the royal classical works that were possessed in textbooks and calligraphy course books to the students and provided a foundation that they could learn calligraphic styles themselves. Furthermore, he published a number of theses, textbooks and publications regarding writing techniques of Korean calligraphy to spread calligraphy among the general public. Additionally, he released more than 500 works written in various calligraphic styles, such as Gungche in printed form, Gungche cursive writing five script styles of Chinese characters, Korean mixed script, and a variant Gungche. lljoong was a calligrapher and an educator who united study and art with an attitude to ‘review the lod and learn the new.’ lljoong’s view of education can be defined as ‘Cheong-Chul-Eo-Lam’ which means students surpass their master. He wished that not only himself but also his students would develop and advance their own art styles. Now, lljoong’s students inherit his spirit and make efforts to develop calligraphy, which shows that his teaching and the students’ passion to learn ‘continuously flow day and night like a streaming river.’

The Calligraphic Style of Nanghyehwasang-bi of Seongju-sa Written by Choi In-yeon: Comparison with the Writings of Choi Chi-won and Hyegang

The Calligraphic Style of Nanghyehwasang-bi of Seongju-sa Written by Choi In-yeon: Comparison with the Writings of Choi Chi-won and Hyegang

A Translation and Analysis of the Shanghai Museum Manuscript *Wu Wang Jian Zuo

Although the *Wu wang jian zuo, published in the 7th volume of the Shanghai bowuguan cang Zhanguo Chu zhushu, has been available for nine years, scholars still lack a fully annotated English translation of the manuscript that reflects the current status of philological studies. This article translates not only the *Wu wang jian zuo manuscript, but also its transmitted counterpart, the “Wu wang jian zuo” chapter in the Da Dai Liji. After an introductory section discussing the problem of dating, textual parallelism and calligraphic style, I will provide original photographs, strict transcriptions, interpretive transcriptions, and translations of all the strips, and follow with a translation of corresponding texts in the received edition for comparison. In the last part, I shall discuss the differences between the manuscript and received versions from the viewpoint of redaction criticism.

‘한국화’의 현대화 담론과 이응노

The concept of Western ‘Modernity’ is based on the progressive view of history, which regards history as a unilinear process of development. In the modern era, such ‘Modernization’ became a universal goal around the world, and same phenomenon occurred in colonized Korea. ‘Painting and Calligraphy(書畵)’ of Joseon was reclassified under the ‘Arts’ of the Western modernity as separate genres: painting(畵) and calligraphy(書). In accordance with the art world’s inclination to describe history linearly, traditional painting, which was newly defined as ‘Oriental painting(東洋畵)’, became mainstream, and calligraphy-along with the ink painting(墨畵) of the Four Gracious Plants(四君子- ousted to the periphery. The modernization discourse of ‘Traditional-style Korean painting(韓國畵)’ got serious after Korea’s Independence from Japan in 1945. As a medium of eliminating Japanese influences and developing an identity as ‘the fine and true painting of Joseon’, Oriental painting sought to initiate its modernization. Around the 1950s’, it was pointed out that the elements of literati-style painting, such as the ink-and-wash painting or sa-ui(寫意), not only denote the essence of the spirit and the tradition of Oriental paintings, but also share the features of the Western Expressionism. Due to the inf luence of international art world, Abstract Art, especially Informel, became a foremost art movement in Korea. Consequently, the art scene of traditional-style Korean painting considered abstract works as the top task of modernization. From the fact that Abstract Art and Informel were inspired by East Asian calligraphy and ink-and-wash art, an idea was derived: the aesthetics and methods that both sides share were consider as the most advanced East-and-West-combining art form that contains modernity and internationality. The modernization of Traditional-style Korean painting continued its progress; inkand-wash painting expanded in the 1960s, and Abstract Art became the general tendency in the 1970s’. To sum up, similar to the modernization of colony, it seems that in the discourse on the modernization of Traditional-style Korean painting, the theory of the East-and-West fusion-a theory regarding the tradition as an instrument that corresponds with the West-oriented modern codes in the context of the theory of unilinear evolution-was the mainstream. However, it is difficult to overcome this chronic misunderstanding-Western modernity has universality and Eastern tradition represents particularity- with such monistic modernization. It is demanded to bring another modernization that can essentialize, generalize, and pursue its own tradition-not the tradition that is created by modernism and nationalism.BR Having a cr it ical perspect ive on this problem cal ls attent ion to Lee Ungno(1904~1989)’s formative preference and his process of overcoming. Lee started his artistic career as a traditional Four Gracious Plants painter, but constantly changed his art work style from ‘expressive abstract’ to ‘calligraphic style abstract’ and ‘abstract of characters’. Through ‘People’ series in the 1980s’, the artist challenged to overcome the conventional modernism. By using ‘paper, brushes, and ink(紙筆墨)’ as a medium, Lee tried to reach the primitive state of creation where drawing and writing are undifferentiated, and also unified painting and calligraphy in that sense. As a result, he succeeded in practicing the true sa-ui which reinstates and recreates the formative property or naturalness of an object. As such, an alternative mode of creation would be able to be achieved through accepting the concept of plural modernization which considers both the West and the East possess universality and speciality at the same time -rather than regarding the West to be universal and the East to be special. This allows us not only to escape from the unilinear theory of fusion East and West, but also to achieve the true unity between Eastern and Western traditions. And the possibility can be found by overcoming singular modernization based on post-war modernism, which was the final formative preference of Lee Ungno, the artist who once dissolved the form and content apart, and then reintegrated them back together again.

A Study on the Aesthetics of the Book of Changes in Liu Xizai’s Shugai

劉熙載(1813-1881)는 「書槪」 첫머리에서 “聖人이 易을 지을 때 象을 만들어 그意를 다 나타내었다. 意는 先天이니 書의 本이 되고 象은 後天이니 書의 用이 된다.” 고 말했다. 이를 통해『周易』의 宇宙觀을 제일 중심 배경으로 삼아 그의 서론을 전개했다는 것을 알 수 있다. 또한 그의 서론에는 한 쌍의 상호 대립적이고 연계적인 개념을 가지고 비교, 구별하고 이들의 상호작용을 통해 그 안에 담긴 규율을 분석해 낸 것을 볼 수 있다. 이것은 『周易』에서 陰과 陽의 對待적 관계성을 통해 자연과 인 간을 설명해내려 했던 방식과 통한다. 또한 유희재는「서개」에서 『주역』의 음양대대적 특성을 내재하고 서론을 전개했는데 각 서체에 관한 것, 筆과 관련한 것, 서예와 인간에 관한 것으로 나눌 수 있다. 이는 『易傳』이 “만물을 陰과 陽, 動과 靜, 剛과 柔, 正과 反 등 상호 대립하고 상호 變化.生成하는 것”으로 나누어 설명한 태도와 같다. 또한「서개」에는 剛과 柔, 速 度와 法度, 完과 破, 直體와 曲致를 통해 음과 양의 대대작용의 중요성을 설명했다. 그리고 이를 그대로 서예의 용필과 장법, 서예와 서예가의 인격, 남파와 북파의 서예에도 그대로 적용했다. 그리고 이와 같이 中和를 존중하는 태도를 바탕으로 하여 창조성의 발현을 이끌어내기 위한 원리로서의 神, 妙, 丘壑, 貫, 洞達 등의 관점에 주목했다. 이는 周易美學에서 陰과 陽이라는 사유 구조를 바탕으로 한 對待 작용을 통해 生命의 創造를 이끌어내는 것과도 통한다. 그리고 이를 위해 沈著과 奇拔, 高韻과 堅質, 力實과 氣空, 生熟 등을 사용했고 이러한 개념들을 설명하는 방식으로 陰陽對待觀을 적용했다. 또한 여기에서 나아가 예술에서만이 적용할 수 있는 창조정신의 원리를 발견해야 한다고 보고 “서예를 공부하는 사람이 益에 힘쓰는 것은 損에 힘쓰는 것보다 못하다. 실제로 損하는 것이 곧 益하는 것”을 이해할 수 있어야 한다고 말했다.Liu Xizai said “When the saint wrote the Book of Changes, he expressed the meaning making the image. The meaning is an apriority, so it is the means of calligraphy, and the image is a posterior, so it is the function of calligraphy.” at the beginning of Shugai. It showed that he developed his calligraphic theory based on the perspective of the universe in the Book of Changes. Also, his calligraphic theory compared and distinguished a pair of opposing and connecting concepts and analyzed the principle through their interaction. It had in common with the way that the Book of Changes tried to explain nature and human through the correlative relationship between yin and yang. In addition, Liu Xizai developed his calligraphic theory embedding the correlative characteristics of yin and yang in the Book of Changes into Shugai, that could be categorized into three: about calligraphic style, about brush and about relationship between calligraphy and human. It was the same as the attitude which the Book of Changes explained that all things were in mutually opposing, changing and producing relationship between yin and yang, dynamic and static, strength and weakness, and rightness and counter. Moreover, Shugai emphasized the significance of the correlative effects of yin and yang explaining the relationship between strength and weakness, rapidity and regulation, perfection and irregularity, and straight and curve. Furthermore, it applied the correlative effects of yin and yang into calligraphic law of using brush and disposing, calligraphy and calligrapher’s personality, and Southern and Northern school. He also concentrated on the perspective of superbness, profundity, imagery, penetration, and mastery as the principle to derive the expression of creativity with the attitude that respected Equilibrium-Harmony. It had in common with the aesthetics in the Book of Changes that drew the creation of life through the correlative effects of yin and yang. In addition, it used imperturbability and ingenuity, elegant taste and simplicity, substantiality and emptiness, unfamiliarity and familiarity and applied the perspective of the correlation between yin and yang to explain those concepts. Furthermore, he thought that he should find a principle of creative spirit to apply on the arts, and he said that people should understand that “A person who studies calligraphy should concentrate on subtraction rather than addition. To subtract is to add.”

A Consideration of the Calligraphic Theory of Creating the New in the 17th and 18th Centuries of Joseon Dynasty - Focused on Heo, Mok․Lee, Seo․Lee, Gwangsa

본 연구는 朝鮮時代에 활동한 문인서예가인 眉叟 許穆(1595-1682)․玉洞 李漵(1662-1723)․圓嶠 李匡師(1705-1777)의 서예론을 통해 17-18세기 한국서예의 創新性에 관해 조명한 글이다. 17세기에 활동했던 미수 허목의 경우, 尙古精神에 입각하여 새로운 서예창작 세계를 개척한 인물이다. 17-18세기에 걸쳐 활동했던 옥동 이서는 당시의 서풍이 정신적으로 무기력 하고 조형적인 기교에 치우쳤던 양상을 타파하려는 革新의 書藝精神을 지향한 인물이다. 18세기에 활동했던 원교 이광사는 당시 柔媚․姸媚한 조선서예의 폐단을 자각하고 「書訣」을 저술하였다. 허목은 六經古文을 통해 서예의 기원과 문자의 기원을 재인식함으로써 자기만의 독특한 서체를 창안하였고, 이서는 易經을 통해 서예의 원형과 正道를 이해함으로써 변화의 서예정신을 이끌어냈으며, 이광사 또한 六經에 바탕한 양명심학의 학문정신을 서예에 투영함으로써 생명정신이 깃든 조선풍의 서예를 강구하였다. 이러한 차원에서 학맥과 인맥의 계통성은 없지만 이 세 사람은 공히 조선의 서예미학사상 진정한 법고창신을 실현하고자 노력했던 인물로 평가될 수 있겠다. 이들의 創新論은 조선의 서예가 중국의 영향에서 벗어나 獨自的인 書藝體系를 갖추게 하는데 일조하였다. 이들의 創新論에는 중국과의 관계에서 한민족의 主體性․自矜心을 회복하려는 정신이 내재 되어 있다. 또한 당시의 암울한 사회․경제․문화에 대한 우려와 새로운 활로 및 부흥을 바라는 마음이 공통적으로 나타나 있다.This study examined the Korean calligraphy’s characteristics of creating the new through the calligraphic theory of Misu Heo, Mok․Okdong Lee, Seo․Wongyo Lee, Gwanga, who were literati calligraphers in Joseon dynasty. Misu Heo, Mok, who lived in 17th century, pioneered a new world of creating calligraphy through the spirit of pursuing the old text. Okdong Lee, Seo, who lived in 17th and 18th centuries, pursued an innovative spirit of calligraphy to change the aspect that the calligraphic style of those days was deficient in spirit and biased towards a formative technique. Wongyo Lee, Gwangsa, who lived in 18th century, recognized the negative effects of Joseon’s calligraphy and wrote Seogyeol. Heo, Mok created his own unique style of calligraphy by recognizing the origin of calligraphy and characters through the old text of the Six Classics. Lee, Seo drew the calligraphic spirit of changes by comprehending the origin and the right Way of calligraphy through the Book of Changes. Lee, Gwangsa devised Joseon’s style of calligraphy with a vital spirit by reflecting the academic spirit of Yangming school of Mind based on the Six Classics in calligraphy. Although their academic traditions and personal connections were not relevant at all, they could be evaluated as the people who tried to realize emulating the old and creating the new in the history of calligraphic aesthetics in Joseon. Their theories of creating the new contributed to make the calligraphy of Joseon have an independent system of calligraphy getting out from under the influence of China. The spirit to revive the independence and the self-esteem of the Korean race in the relationship with China is inherent in their theories. Besides, the theories contain the concerns about the grey situations of society, economy and culture of those days and the wishes to revive by seeking for a way forward.

Chinese calligraphic style representation for recognition

Chinese calligraphy draws a lot of attention for its beauty and elegance. The various styles of calligraphic characters make calligraphy even more charming. But it is not always easy to recognize t...

Production and Use Specifics of Carved Decorations in the Architecture of Medieval Khwarezm (XIII-XIV Centuries AD)

This work is an attempt to study and describe some varieties of non-glazed ceramic facing bricks (the carved clay) because the goods made of this material, as well as their peculiarities, and the role they played in the socioeconomical history, the aesthetics, and the architecture on Medieval Khwarezm have not been studied until the present day. The carved clay is a fragile, unfired, unglazed architectural millwork. This is why it is quite rarely found unbroken in the excavated building debris. The carved decorations on the clay support were omnipresent in the historical site ornamentation of the XII-XIV centuries AD. However, as we can judge by the surviving building details and by their fragments, in Khwarezm unglazed carved pottery, or pottery cast in the q a l ı p moulds and clay slipware had been in use since the VIII century AD (the Afrighids period, V-IX centuries AD). This is testified by the surviving medieval mausoleums, mosques, houses of the rich townspeople, and by the findings at the sites discovered by archaeological expeditions. The architectural decoration parts usually had an epigraphical or botanical ornament. The carved ornament could include semiabstract botanical motives (any petals, leaves, branches), or geometrical ones, looking like entangled bands, curls, and inscriptions made in N a s k h Arabian calligraphic style. Initially, the ornament was carved in raw clay and then fired in pottery kilns. Closing the interdisciplinary gap in the studying of the cultural heritage of Central Asia – explicitly its architectural and aesthetic aspects – is deemed utterly important. The use of certain technologies in the production of the architectural decorations specifically from the carved clay indirectly allows to reveal and describe the social and economic practices pertaining to the medieval society and state. The results and conclusions have an applied significance for recreating the complete decorations of the historical Khwarezmian architectural sites. Besides, the materials accumulated in this work may be of interest for art experts, orientalists, and architectural historians.

Calligraphic Style of the Wooden Tablets of the United Silla by Use

Calligraphic Style of the Wooden Tablets of the United Silla by Use

Computational method for calligraphic style representation and classification

A large collection of reproductions of calligraphy on paper was scanned into images to enable web access for both the academic community and the public. Calligraphic paper digitization technology is mature, but technology for segmentation, character coding, style classification, and identification of calligraphy are lacking. Therefore, computational tools for classification and quantification of calligraphic style are proposed and demonstrated on a statistically characterized corpus. A subset of 259 historical page images is segmented into 8719 individual character images. Calligraphic style is revealed and quantified by visual attributes (i.e., appearance features) of character images sampled from historical works. A style space is defined with the features of five main classical styles as basis vectors. Cross-validated error rates of 10% to 40% are reported on conventional and conservative sampling into training/test sets and on same-work voting with a range of voter participation. Beyond its immediate applicability to education and scholarship, this research lays the foundation for style-based calligraphic forgery detection and for discovery of latent calligraphic groups induced by mentor-student relationships.

A Study of the Formation of Fujiwara no Korefusa's Calligraphic Style

A Study of the Formation of Fujiwara no Korefusa's Calligraphic Style

The Ilkhanid Qurʾan: An Example from Maragha

This essay examines a dispersed Qurʾan manuscript transcribed at Maragha by ʿAbdallah ibn Ahmad ibn Fadlallah ibn ʿAbd al-Hamid al-Qadi al-Qazwini between Shawwal 738 and Shawwal 739 (April 1338–April 1339). It takes the codex as an exemplar to show first how scriptoria in the Ilkhanid period codified features such as paper size, page format, calligraphic style, and multi-color illumination to rapidly produce so many of these sublime works of art. It then uses the manuscript’s codicology to investigate broader questions such as who commissioned these Qurʾan manuscripts, who were the calligraphers and illuminators that produced them, how were these manuscripts used, how was the court style formulated at the turn of the century under Yaqut al-Mustaʿsimi and his followers disseminated to provincial cities such as Maragha in northwest Iran, and how did these manuscripts in turn serve as models for others made a century later for the Timurids who willfully copied Ilkhanid styles to promote their dynastic legitimacy.

The Suigong Xu 遂公盨 Calligraphy and Inscription: A Contextual Reconstruction and Translation

This article discusses some of the major issues that arise in the reconstruction and interpretation of the Suigong xu inscription, including a discussion of the authenticity issue from the perspective of Western Zhou calligraphy, and provides a contextual reconstruction of the bronze inscription as well as an English translation. The author argues that the Suigong xu calligraphy is consistent with the typical calligraphic style of the late Western Zhou bronze inscriptions represented by the Sanshi pan and Maogong ding rather than with the style of the middle Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, in particular, those dated to the reign of King Gong. It also argues that the main body of the Suigong xu inscription consists of two paragraphs that end with the two exclamatory sentences jue wei wei de 厥亹唯德 and with (jue) hungou yi wei xie tian (厥) 婚媾亦唯協天 respectively, and that both sentences share the same sentence structure jue 厥 … wei 唯 …

History for Timbuktu: Aḥmad Bul‘arāf, Archives, and the Place of the Past

Aḥmad Bul‘arāf died in September 1955 and was buried in his adopted Timbuktu. He was laid to rest in the town's Sīdi al-Wāfi al-Amīr al-Arawāni cemetery but it would be hard to identify his grave. Gravestones soon disappear into their natural sandy settings. At the time he was widely eulogized for his life's work as a man of religion, culture, and knowledge. Well-known scholars and copyists of his era composed panegyric verses in his honour. One wrote:What a pity on the sciences and their books/On their owners when this calamity occurred/Their schools and places have become deserted/There's no one in them except crows and vultures/Suddenly today there is a caller and no one to respond/Except the echoes and the tunes of the winds/By Ahmad Bui ‘arāf they were granted a gift/How many lessons were conducted and/You have upheld their loftiness, established their origin/You maintained their essence with your honorable books.Decades later he still lives on in the memories of scholars as a “great hero and famous scholar, reviver of Islamic culture,” as a young writer described him in 1986, in a carefully handwritten essay in a local calligraphic style devoted to his achievement. Composed in “Sudani” script in blue ink with headings in red, when the typewriter, if not the PC, had long ago arrived in the region, this encomium to Bui‘arāf was a fitting tribute to a man who loved the written word. He cared for ideas expressed on paper, for their circulation, and how books could be stored for use in the present and in the future. He was devoted to conserving the manuscript heritage of Timbuktu. His own calligraphy in various regional variants was widely recognized and he practiced it without hesitation in the print age.

A study on calligraphic style of Seokdok Gugyol in Koryo Dynasty

A study on calligraphic style of Seokdok Gugyol in Koryo Dynasty

The Necessity of Hand Printing

''Pearl of the Snowlands: Buddhist Printing at the Derge Parkhang, featured at the Columbia College Center for Book and Paper Arts, is the first presentation in the United States of books and prints from the Tibetan Derge Parkhang printing temple. Along with vibrant and colorful examples of Tibetan woodblock printing, extensive color photographs and ethnographic video offer viewers an unprecedented opportunity to study the historical, cultural, and religious implications of this distinctive printing method. Patrick Dowdey, curator of Wesleyan University's Mansfield Freeman Center for East Asian Studies; Clifton Meador, artist and Director of Columbia College's MFA program in Interdisciplinary Book and Paper Arts, and Padma'tsho of the Southwest University for Nationalities in Chengdu conducted three years of field research in Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in what is now western Sichuan, to prepare this exhibition. The exhibition attests to the remarkable beauty of Derge Parkhang printing as well as its long and tumultuous history pointing especially to times when this Parkhang's future hung in the balance. Early struggles for leadership and the repression of Tibetan religious expression under the rule of the Chinese Communists in the 1950s left many of the Parkhang destroyed throughout Tibet. A Derge communist party official undertook an ad hoc preservation effort to catalog, store, and protect the Derge Parkhang's woodblocks against future damage by turning it into a medical dispensary, making a later resurgence of printing possible. The Derge Parkhang reopened in the 1980s as the printing temple it is today. Tsewang Jirme Rinpoche, Director and Living Buddha of Derge Parkhang's Bon School of Tibetan Buddhism, offered Meador and Dowdey full access to their repository of 300,000 woodblocks used for books, thangka, prayer flags, and mandates, Founded in 1729, the Derge Parkhang currently functions as a living institution in which major Tibetan texts such as the Buddhist Sutra, Commentaries, and Thangka, as well as non-religious works of history, science, medicine, and literature are produced. The thousands of woodblock-printed books are the result of a remarkable production process, described in the exhibition's photographs, videos, and texts. As with all woodblocks, they are cut in reverse so that they print right reading--a monumental challenge considering the extensive texts and distinctive calligraphic style of the Derge Parkhang. Here, less experienced woodblock cutters produce initial rough cuts that are finished by senior block cutters. The woodblocks are then proofed and sent out for checking and those with errors are sent to more skilled cutters who drill out the mistakes, and plug and plane the block to text-height, thus repairing the text. Printing is a collaborative activity with many key participants, including a block runner, who transports blocks and primed pages, and a team of two printers who roll ink, place paper, lift, and repeat at a speed that facilitates maximum output. …

Latent Style Model: Discovering writing styles for calligraphy works

Chinese calligraphy works is a valuable part of the Chinese culture heritage. More and more calligraphy works images are digitized, preserved and exhibited in digital library. Users always want to appreciate the style-similar works simultaneously. To satisfy their need, calligraphic style representation and browsing calligraphy works by its style are the most important problems to be addressed. This paper proposes calligraphic style representation which is a multinomial probability distribution over visual words, and Latent Style Model to discover the style of calligraphy works and organize the works by style. In our experiments, we evaluated various factors that influence the model, and proved the effectiveness of the style representation and the model. At last, we illustrate the Calligraphic Style Browser to organize and exhibit the resource according to the styles.