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CULTURE FOCUS ON CHINA / 04 / 2011 FOCUS ON CHINA / 04 / 2011 CULTURE 57
KONGFU
PAINTING AND CALLIGRAPHY
Chinese painting and calligraphy has a long
history.
Chinese characters evolved from pictures
and signs, and the Chinese art of calligraphy
developed naturally from its unique writing
system. Through the ages, great calligraphers
developed representative calligraphic styles of
their times.
Bruce Lee Wax Figure at Madame Tussauds.
Chinese Kongfu is classified into various styles
according to different regions, different schools
and families, as well as different fighting
techniques. There are two most famous Kongfu
scenic spots: Shaolin Temple in Henan Province
and Wudang Mountain in Hubei Province.
The Shaolin Monastery or Shaolin Temple is long
famous for its association with Chinese martial
arts and particularly with Shaolin Kongfu. Of the
tens of thousands of Kongfu and wushu styles,
several hundred have some relationship to
Shaolin.
In years past, the mountains of Wudang were
known as an academic centre for the research,
teaching and practice of Chinese martial arts.
Wudang Taiji, also known as shadowboxing,
is another major division of Chinese martial
art. Now it becomes a practice that promotes
relaxation and relieving stress.
Chinese Artwork Auction
The values of Chinese antiques are
rising even outside the country’s
own art market, which is now
second only to the U.S. A Qianlongdynasty
scroll painting sold in March
in France, for a record 22.1 million
euros ($31 million), the latest in a
series of big- ticket auction prices
pledged by Asian bidders keen to
buy back China's heritage.
Painted by Xu Beihong.
Painted by Zhang Daqian.
The roots of Chinese painting can be traced
back to paintings on Neolithic pottery six or
seven thousand years ago. Since similar tools
and lines were used for the earliest painting and
writing, painting is said to have the same origin
as calligraphy. Thus, Chinese paintings usually
integrate poetry or calligraphy with themes that
include figures, landscapes, flowers, birds and
other animals.