华人书法：线条的艺术？ Chinese Calligraphy: The Art of Lines?

华人书法就是书写华文字。既然中文字是有意味的符号，所以华人书法可以说就是有意味的符号的艺术。

华人书法还有另一面。书法的基本工具是毛笔。就是这个由动物毫毛（包括羊毛、狼毫、兔毫、鸡毛，等等）制成的特别的圆锥体与灵活的书写工具。中国书法家也研发了独特的方法来应用毛笔（即‘书写法则’，‘用笔’、‘行笔’与‘执笔’等技巧）。

毛笔是简单的书写工具。它须配合以宣纸或丝绸，与展示阴影的墨计。这些工具都很简单，可是能够把这三样东西融合，适当地应用就能产生丰富与难以置信的艺术表现力。

除了视觉造型的规则之外， 以经实证方法所产生的美丽线条是展示书法的最重要途径。这就是为什么被称为‘线条艺术’。

传统上，书法家研发笔法的目的就是为了服务书写有意味的符号 —— 中文为唯一的目的。

可是，一些现代书法家对此提出了挑战：他们的激进看法把中国书法看成是纯粹以毛笔书学线条，而完全没有想到要写中文字。

就是说，现代书法问了一个令人想都不曾想的问题：书法应写中文吗？

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Chinese calligraphy is about writing the Chinese characters. Since Chinese characters are basically significant form of symbols, it is therefore said that Chinese Calligraphy is a fine art of significant form of symbols.

There is another aspect of Chinese calligraphy. The primary tool in Chinese calligraphy is the writing brush. It is this unique cone and flexible writing tool which made of animal hair (including sheep hair, wolf hair, rabbit hair, chicken hair, etc.). Chinese calligraphers also developed unique ways to use the brush (that is, ‘writing rules’ or the techniques of ‘using the writing brush’, ‘moving the writing brush’, ‘holding the writing brush’ etc).

The brush as a writing tool is very simple. It is used together with the writing rice paper (mainly is Xuan paper) or silk, the black ink which showed shades. The tools are simple, but the ability to integrate the three into one and use them appropriately will produce rich and unbelievable art expressive force.

In addition to the rules of visual modelling, the most important way to display Chinese calligraphy art is the beauty of lines generated by proven techniques. This is why Chinese called the Chinese calligraphy as ‘line art’.

Traditionally, Chinese calligraphers’ purpose of developing brush techniques is to serve the sole objective of writing meaning symbols – the Chinese characters.

However, this has been challenged by some modern calligraphers who have taken a radical view that treats Chinese calligraphy as purely an art of using brush techniques to draw lines without having in mind the need to write Chinese words.

In other words, the Modern Chinese calligraphers have asked an unthinkable question: Should the Chinese calligraphy be the art of writing Chinese characters?