HELLO from KOREA

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Calligraphy: The Art of the Scholar Writing things down with pen or pencil on paper as we do everyday usually requires little effort or thought. Most of us do not worry about our handwriting or how it looks, as long as it is readable. Even calligraphers who write in Romance, Germanic, or Slavic language, do not have to face all the iron discipline, nor do they have the dazzling freedom offered by the art of calligraphy in Korea. Traditionally, the characters used in calligraphy in Korea as well as in Japan has been Chinese, the only written language of East Asia for thousands of years. Even after the invention of the Korean alphabet hangeul in 1446, Chinese continued to be used as the written language of the official sphere until the late 19 th century. Because Chinese is written with tens of thousands of characters, each with a different arrangement, number of strokes, and meaning, learning how to read and write these characters is no small task. Chinese calligraphy was introduced to Korea about 1,500 years ago. To do brush-writing, or butgeulssi, as it is called in Korean, the Four Friends of the Scholar are needed. They are ink, an ink stone, a brush, and paper, all of the finest quality possible. The ink is made of carbon mixed with glue and fragrance which are formed into very hard, dense, black blocks. The ink stone was made of stone, usually blue stone, of just the right hardness and with a smooth sloping surface in the depression that holds water at the deep end. Most important in butgeulssi is the balance of spacing and the proportions of the characters, spontaneously executed with no retouching. This 43 _ Culture
44 _ HELLO from KOREA is a kind of ink you cannot erase. You may choose to follow the style of a particular school or tradition, and each of these has its own set of rules and aesthetics, based on the artistry of the calligrapher. Starting from the Goryeo dynasty, Korean kings adopted the Chinese practice of choosing public officials through a periodic civil service examination. The applicants were tested on their knowledge of Chinese classics and among other things, the quality of their calligraphy. Thus, historically, to attain the highest positions in society depended on how learned a man was and how accomplished his writing style was. You may have guessed already that butgeulssi is not for the dilettante. Most brush-writing artists today begin with rigorous, long training, and recognized success is for the very few. Even those who learn butgeulssi as amateurs continue to study with their teachers for ten, twenty, thirty years. It is one of the most demanding arts in Korea, and requires the best of Korean discipline, artistry, and spirituality. Many of the most accomplished calligraphers were painters too, like Kim Jeong-hui. Using the same brush to create a leaning orchid or windblown bamboo grove, these artists might write a poem about what they had painted. Even so, Korean painting has its own wealth of traditions.
Page 2 and 3: HELLO from KOREA Korean Overseas In
Page 4 and 5: Mongolia Russia Vladivostok Pyongya
Page 6: The Dangun Myth Once there was a di
Page 11 and 12: 10 _ HELLO from KOREA People Korean
Page 13 and 14: 12 _ HELLO from KOREA Celebrating B
Page 15 and 16: 14 _ HELLO from KOREA Economy Korea
Page 17 and 18: 16 _ HELLO from KOREA Education The
Page 19 and 20: 18 _ HELLO from KOREA
Page 21 and 22: 20 _ HELLO from KOREA into the sout
Page 23 and 24: 22 _ HELLO from KOREA Kim Yu-sin (5
Page 25 and 26: 24 _ HELLO from KOREA Geunjeongjeon
Page 27 and 28: 26 _ HELLO from KOREA manufacturing
Page 29 and 30: 28 _ HELLO from KOREA Geobukseon (T
Page 31 and 32: 30 _ HELLO from KOREA On March 1, 1
Page 33 and 34: 32 _ HELLO from KOREA The Constitut
Page 37 and 38: 36 _ HELLO from KOREA and locks wer
Page 39 and 40: 38 _ HELLO from KOREA The Emille Be
Page 43: 42 _ HELLO from KOREA underglazes,
Page 47 and 48: 46 _ HELLO from KOREA Paintings by
Page 49 and 50: 48 _ HELLO from KOREA Face by Byon
Page 51 and 52: 50 _ HELLO from KOREA Paik Namjune
Page 53 and 54: 52 _ HELLO from KOREA Architecture
Page 55 and 56: 54 _ HELLO from KOREA Music You've
Page 57 and 58: 56 _ HELLO from KOREA The Chung Tri
Page 59 and 60: 58 _ HELLO from KOREA Seungmu (monk
Page 61 and 62: 60 _ HELLO from KOREA Salpuri (sham
Page 65 and 66: 64 _ HELLO from KOREA World Cultura
Page 67 and 68: 66 _ HELLO from KOREA Gyeongbokgung
Page 69 and 70: 68 _ HELLO from KOREA Stone towers
Page 71 and 72: 70 _ HELLO from KOREA Korean folklo
Page 73 and 74: 72 _ HELLO from KOREA Jejudo Island
Page 75 and 76: 74 _ HELLO from KOREA Bulguksa Temp
Page 77 and 78: 76 _ HELLO from KOREA Gold earrings
Page 79 and 80: 78 _ HELLO from KOREA Did You Know?
Page 83 and 84: 82 _ HELLO from KOREA Baseball Just
Page 85 and 86: 84 _ HELLO from KOREA Soccer Korean
Page 87 and 88: 86 _ HELLO from KOREA Devils" a-cro
Page 89 and 90: 88 _ HELLO from KOREA Taekwondo Tae
Page 95 and 96:
94 _ HELLO from KOREA all medal cou
Page 97 and 98:
96 _ HELLO from KOREA The younger g
Page 99 and 100:
98 _ HELLO from KOREA Chajeonnori i
Page 101 and 102:
100 _ HELLO from KOREA religion, an
Page 103 and 104:
102 _ HELLO from KOREA Yunnori, a k
Page 105 and 106:
104 _ HELLO from KOREA cherry punch
Page 107 and 108:
106 _ HELLO from KOREA Important Ko
Page 109 and 110:
108 _ HELLO from KOREA Food The eas
Page 111 and 112:
110 _ HELLO from KOREA the kitchen
Page 113 and 114:
112 _ HELLO from KOREA off the heat
Page 115 and 116:
114 _ HELLO from KOREA a Korean tab
Page 117 and 118:
116 _ HELLO from KOREA the gimbap m
Page 119:
http://www.korea.net Visit korea.ne
show all

HELLO from KOREA

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?