Students will experience the art and culture of Chinese calligraphy and Chinese ink painting through watercolor painting and Chinese instrumental music. In this lesson, students learn basic calligraphy strokes for the creation of Chinese writing as an art form. They will create a painting in the style of Chinese ink painting.
Describe and analyze their work using the vocabulary of art—such as line, value, and balance—in Chinese calligraphy and Chinese ink painting.
Identify and describe the differences between Chinese landscape paintings and Western landscape paintings.
Identify and describe the beauty of Chinese ink painting through practicing specific techniques in calligraphy and painting.
Teacher must be able to demonstrate Chinese calligraphy.
Students should be able to locate China on a map.
Cue up images to be shown.	If computer with projector is unavailable, collect images of Chinese calligraphy to show to class.
1. Distribute and review the Vocabulary handout with students. The handout is available to you within the Resource Carousel.
4. Ask the students to give responses to the artwork, and record them in a list on the board. Ask students what they think the title of the work might be. List these ideas for possible titles on the board or chart paper. Once ideas are given, reveal the actual title, and have the class discuss their responses to the title and the effect it has on their interpretation of the artwork.
5. Return to the Vocabulary handout and discuss the terms in relation to the artwork. Ask students to identify examples of the characteristics of Chinese calligraphic art described in the handout.
2. Discuss the history of Chinese calligraphy. Chinese writing was first done vertically on sticks which were then bound together. When the Chinese began to use paper, they wrote on scrolls, continuing to use vertical columns. Chinese used to be read from top to bottom and right to left, rather than from left to right across the page as English is, though now it is read across the page. Many Chinese characters began as pictographs, or representational pictures. Over time, they were stylized into symbols. Chinese writing is logosyllabic, so that each symbol stands for a syllable (and therefore often a morpheme or a complete word) instead of representing sounds as our alphabet does.
4. Demonstrate calligraphy by painting a Chinese character on chart paper with tempera paint. Tell the students that before the Chinese calligrapher begins painting, he or she clears his or her thoughts through meditation. Sometimes, this includes listening to Chinese meditative music. Emphasize that calligraphy is a process that requires great discipline from the artist.
5. Explain that Chinese calligraphy and painting are characterized by efficient uses of painting strokes. As the artist creates calligraphic writing, he or she makes very definite and careful variations in the painting strokes. It may appear simplistic to the western eye, but the Asian artist uses only the strokes necessary to convey meaning in his or her work. Since calligraphy requires the artist to develop great discipline and persistence, calligraphy artists were often chosen for government positions in China.
6. Demonstrate for the students the character "light" and allow students to practice making the symbol, using a black felt pen or calligraphy felt pen. (Find this character on the ThinkQuest website.) Once the students achieve some control, they may use black watercolor paint to create the Chinese character. As students practice, continue to play Chinese musical selections, in order to foster the meditative mood of the Chinese calligrapher. Give the students a few minutes to practice the skill and technique of this way of painting.
7. Demonstrate on the easel or chart paper the character for "peace." (See this ThinkQuest Web page for reference.) Point out that this symbol is actually made up of the two separate symbols: those for "roof" and "woman." Explain that when more than one Chinese character is written in a group, the characters together make a new word. Multiple uses of the same character used in a group also can create a new word. The word "forest" is an example of this—three characters of "tree" make the word "forest." Demonstrate the word "fire" as a single symbol. Then add another "fire" symbol to create the new word "blaze." Another possible character combination to demonstrate would be "mountain" and "fire," which create the word "volcano" when written together. Additional words can be demonstrated and practiced accordingly if time allows. Point out that these words are like compound words such as "dragonfly" and "housefly" in English. In Chinese, however, one character might be paired with 50 or more other characters to create compound words.
8. Tell students to choose a character or a word to practice. Continue to listen to Chinese folk music selections as students practice and work in the technique of Chinese calligraphy. Students should use art paper for this part of the lesson. This item will be evaluated by the Assessment Rubric, located within the Resource Carousel.
9. Have the students divide into small groups to share and discuss their compositions with fellow students. In their discussions, students should use the appropriate art vocabulary, such as "line," "value," "balance," and "composition" or other related art terms.
10. Have the students give short presentations (using the vocabulary of art) to describe their chosen composition of Chinese calligraphy.
1. Return to the examples of calligraphic artwork and find pictures of bamboo. Bamboo is traditionally the first subject painted by artists learning Chinese brush painting. If students have never seen bamboo, show photographs; a gallery of bamboo photographs is available within the Resource Carousel.
3. Allow students to paint a Bamboo-style Chinese ink painting. They should use the bamboo stalk stroke and leaf stroke techniques as they create their paintings.
The assessment will be conducted throughout the lesson by teacher observation and monitoring through practice, pair share, and presentation activities. Assess the projects with the Assessment Rubric located within the Resource Carousel.
Bjorksten, Johan. Learn to Write Chinese Characters. Yale University Press, 1994.
Topol, Cathy Weisman. Painting with Children. Worcester, MA: Davis Publications, 1992.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Soundtrack). Dun, Tan (composer). New York: Sony, 2000.
Ma, Yo-Yo. Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet (Audio Recording). New York: Sony, 2002.