Fundamentals of the Chinese Character Writing. Part 1

The course gives a concise survey of the Chinese character-writing tradition. You’ll master the fundamentals of the Chinese writing aesthetics; learn about the main phases of the characters’ evolution and about the great calligraphers of the past. You are going to distinguish 6 types of the Chinese written symbols, become skilled in history of Chinese scripts and possibility of their modern usage. You’ll get the explanation of the 214 Chinese character radicals (the first part in Part 1 of the Course, the second — in Part 2) and can practice their writing, using the animated and static samples given in videos and on pages. Elaborate tests are going to help you regularizing the new information and filling the lacunae. 

During the course, students will get acquainted with the stages of the evolution of Chinese writing, the basic principles of writing hieroglyphs and the rules for the order of strokes, as well as groups of hieroglyphic radicals, which will greatly facilitate learning of hieroglyphics in the future.

Welcome to the mysterious world of the Chinese characters! You will definitely love it

Distance-learning

This course may be of interest to bachelors, masters and graduate students of higher educational institutions, as well as to all those who are interested in the designated topic. The course will help potential employees to receive evidence-based information that gives a competitive advantage in their own employment.

This course consists of 6 modules:

1. INTRODUCTION

• Remeber different types of Chinese charcters
• Learn several radicals and practice the writing
• Use the tools mentioned in the unit to practice writing
• List different materials used for inscriptions in Ancient China

2. EARLY STAGES OF THE HISTORY OF THE CHINESE WRITING

• Learn different styles of the Chinese writing
• Learn the biography of famous master of calligraphy Wang Xizhi (王羲之, 303–361)
• Practice three groups of the radicals

3. HISTORY OF CHARACTER-WRITING AND PRINCIPLES OF CALLIGRAPHY

• Learn eight princples of the characters 永
• Maintain the main principles of the character-writing
• Practice two groups of the radicals
• Learn the biography of famous master of calligraphy Ouyang Xun ( 歐陽詢, 557–641)

4.  CHARACTER-WRITING IN TANG DYNASTY 

• Learn the biography of famous master of calligraphy Chu Suiliang (褚遂良) (597-658)
• Learn the biography of famous master of calligraphy Yan Zhenqing ( 顏真卿) 709—785)
• Practice two groups of the radicals

5.  CHARACTER-WRITING IN TANG AND SONG DYNASTIES

• Learn the biography of famous master of calligraphy Liu Gongquan （柳公權）(778–865)
• Learn the biography of famous master of calligraphy Huang Tingjian (黃庭堅）（1045-1105）
• Practice two groups of radicals

6. CHARACTER-WRITING IN SONG DYNASY

• Learn the biography of famous master of calligraphy Su Shi (蘇軾)
• Learn the biography of famous master of calligraphy Zhao Mengfu (趙孟頫)
• Practice two groups of radicals

The discipline is aimed at the formation of universal competencies of students in the educational programs of the bachelor's / specialist's degree, as well as other competencies provided for by the educational program.

Upon completion, the student should know the main groups of Chinese characters and the order in which they are written.

Upon completion, the student should be able to:

• write and learn 214 Chinese radicals;
• recognize the radicals in the composition of a complex hieroglyph.

Upon completion, the student should master the rules for writing and the order of the lines of Chinese characters.