Customer Reviews

Chinese Calligraphy: From Pictograph to Ideogram: the History of 214 Essential Chinese/japanese Characters

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's cool in concept. 214 characters, many of which are the basis of the characters used in Chinese and Japanese; however, some of the excusion is a bit off. It is well organized, by types of items and does capture the fact that each elementary element is used in combination with others in creating more complex words. It's also very good in showing that nearly all the pictographs are grounded in something real or combinations thereof. The main meanings are fairly clear in English.

The problems include a) the 'pronounciations' in 'Chinese' aren't standardized or explicitly stated as to which dialect they are and since Chinese dialects are pronounced entirely differently it's nigh on useless, b) there is no source for where the heck he got the 'evolutionary' pictographs or if they're anything other than what's in his own head, c) some of the meanings he attributes to some phrases are just right off and, finally, an aesthetic nit d) the characters are written square-on rather than with any graceful posture. If you copied these characters and showed them to a Chinese calligrapher, they'd state that you must have learned them from a Westerner.

I am Chinese and I have practise the art. The scripts on the book look unbalanced, as if a child has written it. My advice to the author is:
read the masters, ... Honestly, the modern "standard" (Kai Su) style is the hardest to master, harder even than the "grass" or "walking" (cursive) styles, because the balance between stability and fluidity is very subtle.
The best way to start is from either "Sun Su" or "Dae Su", which are more stable and solid, where balance is easier to obtain, and whose strokes are also simpler.

I have been inspired by this book to pursue the study of Chinese characters to a deeper level. On the other hand, the more I read and compare it to other resources on the same subject, the more critical I become.

This book has inspired me to a deeper study of Chinese radicals (for a better understanding of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean). The result - I've found it makes a great stepping stone, and can be used for comparative analysis of the surprising variety of information available to English speakers mostly through the internet, or through native language dictionaries for those with access, but it should NOT be relied upon as a single source for learning, teaching, or research. It is reasonably educational and artistic, but not authoritative.

Even though I love this book and go back to it occasionally, there is one huge glaring error, to the point of unethical advertising, starting on the cover of the book. The title misleadingly contains the word "Japanese." Although Chinese characters are an important part of the Japanese language, it contains NOTHING about Japanese. You would have to be aware of Japanese independently of this book in order to make the connection that is made ONLY in the title. It is an English language book explaining aspects of Chinese, with the use of simplified characters created by the Peoples Republic of China as examples - although the simplified PRC characters bear some resemblance to the traditional characters that are mostly used in Japan, they are not the same, therefore making this book less useful for dedicated students of Japanese.

Anyway, despite this beef with the title and the fact that it should not be used a sole source for academic pursuit, it has many more merits than demerits. Since it is one of the very few books dedicated to this specific subject as well, the uniqueness adds a little to its value.

I was ecstatic to find this book! It is more than just a dictionary reference with cut-and-dry Pin Yin to English translations. For each of the 214 radicals, you get a nice story explaining the history of the radical along with illustrations of the character's evolution from ancient pictographs to its current form. There is also a step-by-step demonstration on how the strokes are arranged including what order and what stroke (if they do not already come naturally to you). And if all that weren't enough, each page has short list of characters that use a particular radical so you can see the radicals in action. This book is definitely useful if you are fascinated by the cultural depictions in traditional Chinese writing. You will be learning things even literate Chinese folks don't know. However, this book probably won't help you much if you are an absolute beginner. For best results, you should at least have a working knowledge to build off of.

This is a fairly good introduction to the Chinese writing system providing insight into its origins and current use. While the calligraphic representations of the modern forms of the characters may be somewhat off, much of the background information is fine. The romanisation system is the officially recognised pinyin romanisation scheme developed by Russian and Chinese linguists during the 1930s and updated in the 1950s; it is generally employed in the transliteration of Standard Chinese into Latin letters. There is no need to worry over what 'dialect' the transliterations belong to because the vast majority of any given publication concerning China and the Chinese language will be in Standard Chinese, the national normative based on Northern Chinese. There are seven to eight Chinese languages with a myriad of dialects each, and it would be illogical to favour the others over the national standard. With regards to the evolution of characters, the sources from which the author bases the evolution is explained in the background information towards the front. I would recommend this as a wonderful coffeetable book, art book, and general introduction to the Chinese writing system, but not as an ultimate foundation in learning the Chinese script. If one is seriously interested in learning good handwriting, I recommend Johan Bjorksten's 'Learn to write Chinese characters' from the Yale Language Series. It's inexpensive and perhaps even more useful than the volume on sale here. Both books use pinyin romanised Standard Chinese -- and usually with the tones noted, too! Most books, unfortunately, tend to leave them out. Bjorksten's work should be used as a supplement to a full on course in Standard Chinese (biaozhun hanyu, also known as putonghua); however, it can stand alone for those who are simply curious about the writing system itself and would like an appliable introduction.

If you respond to the beauty of Chinese calligraphy then this book is an enlightening introduction. Having no formal background in the subject, I can't debate the merits of Fazzioli's scholarship, but for aesthetic reasons I give it five stars.

I was expecting another 1,2,3...214 radical list. But the author have a more interesting approach: the book is really about radicals - the title "calligraphy" should not be used, as so for the "chinese and japanese". But that is just my oppinion. It is a first rate book as for binding, text and illustrations, and the subject it deals with: radicals. Besides, it has one explanation very well described and with stories, jokes, about the radicals, that make this book a must to relax and enjoy each of them. Personally I feel I will read it until the last
word and...start again. I really like the way the author describes not only the story of the character, but also its applications. I just did not give five stars because I could not see it in the " search inside" and know that the
examples of phrases are in Simplified characters, for I study in Traditional ones. As for the "calligraphy" it does not show you any beautiful cursive that the chinese use as pictures in their walls. But I guess the way it is presented is more didatic. It is clear and ease to understand. Maybe this is the reason it is so...but I still would not use the "caligraphy" in the title. But,I repeat,I loved the book. It is really good to read and to learn. Great !

This book does a great job introducing the 214 radicals showing their evolution from pictographs to the present day characters. It shows stroke order, gives a short description of the character placing in a cultural context and then shows it in a nice 9-section grid allowing you to practice it at home.

This book won't teach you Chinese but it will be a valuable addition to any course of study and provides a good grounding as part of your Chinese studies. Once your Chinese progresses you can begin to learn different styles of calligraphy and elevate your technique to a new level, but as they say "a journey of a thousand li starts with one step".

The most important thing when learning Chinese is practice, practice, practice. If you write every character in this book 100 times you'll have begun to build a foundation that will serve you well.

Each and every Chinese character has a form of its own, representing a particular meaning and/or sound. This book is a good introduction to Chinese characters. An exquisite Chinese character, like thousand words, tells its own story and evolution. Through understanding these key characters, sometimes called radicals, one can discover the beauty of Chinese culture as well as civilization. (...)

Chinese Calligraphy by Edoardo Fazzioli provides a complete history of all 214 essential Chinese and Japanese calligraphic letters. Highly recommended for a specialized audience of college-level students in either language or art.