Pictographic Chinese Calligraphy (53) Stride into 2021 - 走进2021

 

In the top line, from left to right

Big (big seal script): a person open his arms and legs to make bigger.

Step (bronze script): two footprints - walking forward

Walk (big seal script): the top is a person who swings arms and walks forward, the bottom is a foot.

Forward (big seal script): the top left is Road or Street, the right one

is a bird. The bottom one is Foot. Ancient Chinese found that bird only walks forward, never walks backward. 

So we have "Big Step Walk Forward into 2021".

Pictographic Chinese Calligraphy (52) Once upon a time, there was a temple on a mountain ...... - 从前有座山，山上有座庙，。。。。。。

 "Once upon a time, there was a temple on a mountain where a old monk and young monk lived in. The young monk asked the old monk to tell stories, the old monk said 

'Once upon a time, there was a temple on a mountain where a old monk and young monk lived in. The young monk asked the old monk to tell stories, the old monk said

'Once upon a time, there was a temple on a mountain where a old monk and young monk lived in. The young monk asked the old monk to tell stories, the old monk said

'Once upon a time, there was ......'"

The young monk felled asleep.

This is a famous story every Chinese heard many times in his/her childhood by his/her Dad/Mom, or GrandPa/GrandMa

Let's see how to use calligraphy to show the story.

I just want to go the first part "Once upon a time, there was a temple on a mountain ......". You could imagine what happens in the temple.

Here is my artwork.

There are 3 characters: Mountain, Temple, and Cloud.

Character Mountain of shell bone script:

I eliminated the horizontal line on the bottom to make it more like a mountain.

Character Cloud of shell bone script:

The top 二 is the calm clouds, the hook alike on the bottom is swirling clouds. 

Character Temple of bronze script is

The cover 广 is big open space in front of a cliff. The right part is a river, we can see the water flow and water drops. The left part: middle (a circle with a dot inside) is sun, over and under it are grass. More than 3000 years ago, Kings occasionally chose a good day, went a big open space near a river when the sun just rises up a little bit higher than grass, held a ceremony to worship ancestors. The big open place where the ceremony was held is called Temple.

As time passed, the religious appeared, people built buildings in mountain area for regular religious activities, people called the buildings Temple. 

Pictographic Chinese Calligraphy (51) Race-walking - 竞走

 The shell bone script of Character Compete is

Two people standing side by side, just like the sprinters standing at the starting line. 

The bronze script of character Walk is

The top is a man moving his arms and walking in big steps, the bottom is foot. 

Here is my artwork "Race-walking"

 

Pictographic Chinese Calligraphy (50) Float - 浮

The post has been collected in the book "Pictographic Chinese Calligraphy" published on Amazon as Paper book (Hardcover, and Paperback), and eBook. You could click the following link to get the information on Amazon,

Pictographic Chinese Calligraphy

Or you could search "Pictographic Chinese Calligraphy" on Amazon to find the book.

Pictographic Chinese Calligraphy (49) Teaching - 教

 The shell bone script of character Teaching is

On the left up, the two X are small sticks for counting, the left bottom is a child who is learning how to count. On the right, the vertical stroke is a long stick held by a hand (right bottom).

Ancient Chinese believe, corporal punishment is necessary in teaching. If the kid was lazy, or unable to solve the problem, teacher could beat him with the stick.

It is bad but it is true.

I created an artwork based on this character: Teaching.

On the left, it is same as the character. One kid under the stick. I call it as "One on One teaching".

On the right, there are 4 kids under the threaten of the stick, which is a modification from the original character. I call it as "Group teaching".

Pictographic Chinese Calligraphy (48) Illusion & Dream - 梦幻

The shell bone script of character Dream is

On the left is a person, on the right is a bed, both in vertical position. Because more than 3000 years ago (shell bone script was popular then), there was no paper, people wrote or drew characters on bamboo slips which is very narrow, difficult to write horizontally, so people wrote or drew vertically very often like this character.

The big seal script of character Illusion is

The bent curve is a tree branch, the hanging 8 is spider silk, which may give people an illusion when they are wet under sunshine.

In dream we may see beautiful pictures, same as we see the colorful wet spider silk net under sunshine. They are beautiful but not real.

The following is my artwork:"Illusion & Dream":

Pictographic Chinese Calligraphy (47) Thunderbirds - 雷鸟

The big seal script for character Thunder is

The middle cross curve is lightning, the four rings are four wheels. Ancient Chinese believed when the God of War starts to go battle with enemy, he uses the lightning and drives his chariot with four big wheels running on the sky, making thunder and storm.

The small seal script for character Bird is

I created a Chinese calligraphy artwork "Thunderbirds - 雷鸟“ based on the two characters above.

The idea is from the ongoing Thunderbirds flying over cities across U. S. A.