中国一份“文化符号调查”报告指出，最具代表性的前10项分别是：汉语（汉字）、孔子、书法、长城、五星红旗、中医、毛泽东、故宫、邓小平、兵马俑。
所谓“中国文化符号”，就是能代表中国文化的突出而具高度影响力的象征形式系统。文化软实力正是通过文化符号表现出来。
在艺术的领域中，只有书法被入选为十首之一，而与书法最有密切关系的汉字也入选并排在首位。这样的结果，是应该令人深思的。
一位旅法学者熊秉明（1922-2002）就曾经说过：“中国文化的核心是哲学，而处于这个哲学的中心正是书法。”这就是有名的“书法是中国文化核心之核心”。熊先生去世后，有位书法大师在刊登于《中国书法》的文章中对这句话提出了质疑，认为书法还无法担当如此重任。另一位书法理论教育家很快的跟着响应。
书法在中国文化中的地位肯定是特别的，就因为它特别，我们不能以西方的思维来看待它、解释它，而应该以完全是中国本土的思想思维来肯定与注释它。西方学者从来不把艺术放在哲学的核心。西方美学中的一些理论，如模仿论、造型艺术、抽象艺术、本质论，等等，依我看，可供参考，要以此来探索书法创作与创新之路，那 是舍本取末的作法。
无独有偶，河北景县一位学者韩玉涛在他的《书法十讲》中提倡书法为写意艺术，他说：“书法又是哲学的，又是写意的。它是写意的哲学艺术。”
好个哲学艺术。
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A survey on Chinese cultural symbols has identified the followings as the top 10 symbols: Chinese characters, Confucius, Chinese calligraphy, the Great Wall, the Chinese national flag, the traditional Chinese medicine, Mao Zedong, the Forbidden City, Deng Xiaoping, and the Terracotta warriors.
The Chinese cultural symbol refers to the symbolic sign or system that is highly influential in and that can represent the Chinese culture. The cultural soft power is said to be expressed through the cultural symbols.
The Chinese calligraphy has the honour of being the only fine art to be included in the top ten symbols. It is interesting to note that the Chinese writing system (the Chinese characters) which is closely associated with the Chinese calligraphy is placed at top position. The fact that both are being selected provides food for though.
Xiong Binming (1922-2002), a Chinese who lived in France once said, “The core of Chinese culture is philosophy, and at the centre of the core is Chinese calligraphy.” After his death, a famous Chinese calligrapher questioned this observation in an article published in the “Chinese Calligraphy” magazine, and this was responded almost immediately by another famous calligraphy theorist and educationist.
The Chinese calligraphy is indeed uniquely Chinese, and it occupies a special position in Chinese culture. Because it is special, it cannot be viewed and explained by using the Western yardstick. Instead, one should view it with a Chinese mindset. In the West, fine art is never placed at the core of its philosophy. The western aesthetic theories of such as art as imitation (mimesis), formative art, ontology etc may be good references for study, but they cannot be used as basis in developing the creative works of Chinese fine arts. By doing so, one loses the substance by grasping the shadow.
Coincidentally, a scholar from Hebei Province of China promotes Chinese calligraphy as an art of freehand expression in his book “Ten Lectures on Chinese Calligraphy”. He said, “Chinese calligraphy is philosophical, it is also a freehand expression. It is a philosophical art of freehand expression.”
Well said, indeed.
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