It is an ancient
sunrise painting. The painting was a design inscribed on
a big-mouthed pottery jar-a sacrificial vessel to the sun
by primitive Chinese forebears in Shandong during the period
when the Dawenkou culture thrived (4000-2000 BC).
This painting, or design, consists of three parts: upper,
middle and bottom. The upper part is a round sun. Below
it is a moon. A huge mountain with five peaks is at the
bottom. Some experts think this might be the original of
¥¹ (dan4) "sunrise", with the sun above a cloud
(or perhaps above the setting moon), on top of a mountain.
The same character appears in inscriptions on bone or tortoise
shell, on ancient bronze vessels, in lesser seal characters,
in official script and in regular script in later times.
The origin of the character is the picture. From the angle
of calligraphy we might regard the sun in the picture as
round as a circle. The moon is a bit wavelike.
The mountain is drawn with the brush exerting strength.
The shapes of the moon and the mountain are well proportioned
on left and right, imparting a sense of balance. The arrangement
is small on top and big on the bottom. The top is round,
the bottom flat. This gives one a sense of steadiness.
As calligraphy, the character is well written insofar as
technique, structure and presentation are concerned. The
character has a strong rhythmic sense. |
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