Standards and Norms for Calligraphy and Painting: Fenggu in Calligraphy

Calligraphy art has a long history and its emergence is inseparable from the Chinese character. However, calligraphy and regular writing are not the same thing. Since the Wei and Jin dynasties (220–589), oracle bone, bronze tripod, and stone drum had always been revered by calligraphers, and their merits were raised by later generations to an elevation that other arts could never reach. But they were technically not real calligraphy. The Qin (221–207 BC) and Han (202 BC–9 AD) dynasties saw the rise of calligraphy. As the Qin Empire was short-lived, it had produced no other great calligrapher than Li Si. And so, calligraphy discussion generally began from the Han dynasty. Notwithstanding, the Qin dynasty had already seen fenggu existing in embryo in calligraphy theory.