Chapter 3

1.Sum up the reading in your own words in 1 paragraph.

Chapter three was all about the Asian contribution to graphic design. Over hundreds of years, Chinese calligraphy went through a variety of styles, starting with chiaku-wen "bone-and-shell" style. It was called bone and shell because in ancient China, Taoist priests would take hot metal to things like turtle shells and animal bones and they would read the future or demands of the spirits based on how the bone or shell cracked. Then, with the reign of the first emperor of the Chin dynasty, chiaku wen was regulated into a new writing style, hsiao chuan or "small-seal" style. After the fall of the Chin dynasty, Chinese calligraphy transitioned to chen-shu or "normal" style. The styles of the first Chinese calligraphy were remeniscient of pictographs from the other ancient societies we looked at in earlier chapters. They were relatively easy to understand since each character was made to look like the thing it was representing(logograms). Once the Chinese transitioned to the "normal" style, their calligraphy became simplified characters that were more abstract. The chapter then went on to talk about the vital substrate created by an advisor to the emperor, Ts'ai Lun: paper. The invention of paper, less costly to make than papyrus or the "chops" that were being used, was an obvious breakthrough in both design and the way that the whole world would soon copy information.

2.Name the one thing (or person) you found most interesting from the reading.

I found it very interesting that the Chinese language and the Chinese characters used in writing are two separate entities in their society, having no connection at all. It brought up a lot of questions in my mind like, why have they still not made any connection between the two? It seems like they made collaborating between writing and speaking hard on themselves for no reason.

3.State at least one question you have after the reading.

What did that well known Chinese poet mean when he said that his "ki" or "spirit" connected him and the brush he used to write "one"?