Lesson Overview:
Students will experience the art and culture of Chinese calligraphy and Chinese ink painting through watercolor painting and Chinese instrumental folk 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.
Length of Lesson:
Four 45-minute class periods
Notes:
This lesson is particularly suitable for grades 3-4.
Instructional Objectives:
Students will:
- describe and analyze their work using the vocabulary of art—such as line, value, and balance—in Chinese calligraphy and Chinese ink painting.
- use the elements of line, value, balance, and composition to demonstrate calligraphy strokes after following teacher demonstration.
- use accurate proportion skills of Chinese ink painting to make an original composition using Chinese ink painting strokes.
- identify and describe the beauty of Chinese ink painting through practicing specific techniques in calligraphy and painting.
- identify and describe the differences between Chinese landscape paintings with Western landscape paintings.
Supplies:
- newsprint
- plain white paper
- 12" x 18" art paper
- black felt pens or Calligraphy felt pens
- watercolor paints
- watercolor brush
- water containers and water
Instructional Plan:
Warm Up
Distribute and review the Vocabulary handout with your students.
Setting the Tone
Play a recording of thoughtful and meditative background music. Examples of traditional Chinese music can be found on The Internet Chinese Music Archive. You may wish to play selection of Chinese folk music, or a piece of music that bridges the gap between Occidental and Asian folk music. A good example of this type of music is the soundtrack to the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Display images of artwork using the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Web site, Gallery Guide: Chinese Arts of the Brush (see Sources section below) and ask the students to contemplate it for several minutes.
Ask the students to give responses to the 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.
Part One: Chinese Calligraphy
Discuss by direct instruction the ideas and philosophy of Chinese calligraphy and painting. Talk about the meditative quality of these art forms, and the fact that the Chinese practiced calligraphy to promote inner spiritual growth and personal character.
Show examples of Chinese calligraphy. Emphasize the different types and
styles of calligraphy that are produced by various calligraphy artists (i.e., free flowing and traditional). Show students a poem that is written on a scroll and point out that the Chinese language is written and read differently than Western languages. Chinese calligraphy is written beginning on the right side of the paper, and the characters are written downward instead of across the paper.
Familiarize students with the vocabulary for the lesson (listed at the beginning of the isntructional plan).
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.
Explain that Chinese calligraphy and painting is 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.
Demonstrate for the students the character "light" and allow students to practice making the symbol, using a black felt pen or calligraphy felt pen. 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.
Demonstrate on the easel or chart paper the character for "peace." (See this Think Quest Web page for reference.) Point out that this symbol is actually made up of the two separate symbols for "roof" and "woman." Explain that when more than one Chinese character is written in a group, the characters together make a new word. The same character used in a group also creates 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.
Tell students to choose two characters to practice to make a combined character (and a new word). Continue to listen to Chinese folk music selections as they 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.
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.
Have the students give short presentations (using the vocabulary of art) to describe their chosen composition of Chinese calligraphy.
Part Two: Chinese Ink Painting in the Bamboo Painting Technique
Show examples of Western landscape painting by Impressionist painters Claude Monet, Eduoard Manet, or Edgar Degas, or by Western landscape artists such as Nicolas Poussin, Claude Lorrain, Marco Ricci, Francis A. Silva, or Thomas Moran. Then show students examples of Chinese landscape paintings that incorporate calligraphy by ancient master landscape painters Zhao Wei and Tung Panta, or modern landscape masters such as Li Xiongcai and Huang Binhong. Online examples of Chinese landscape paintings can be found on Asia-art.net's Chinese Brush Paintings and Artists. As a class, discuss the differences between Western and Eastern landscape painting. List students' ideas on chart paper.
Show students samples of Chinese ink paintings created by Chinese masters in the Bamboo style and demonstrate the technique. A "Bamboo style" painting means that the painting is incorporating the Bamboo stroke. It is called the Bamboo stroke because it is used in representing sections of bamboo in a painting. The Bamboo stroke is considered one of the Four Gentlemen, or four basic subjects the beginning calligrapher paints in Chinese calligraphy. Include in the demonstration the
basic steps of painting a bamboo stalk and the technique of painting adjoining leaves in a pleasing aesthetic composition.
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.
Assessment:
The assessment will be conducted throughout the lesson by teacher observation and monitoring through practice, pair share, and presentation activities. The projects of a combined character composition and the final Bamboo painting composition will be assessed by a graded Assessment Rubric.
Sources:
Print:
- Bjorksten, Johan. Learn to Write Chinese Characters. Yale University Press, 1994.
- Topol, Cathy Weisman. Painting with Children. Worcester, MA: Davis Publications, 1992.
Media:
- 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.
Web:
Authors:
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Jan Morrow, Substitute Teacher
Susanville School District
Susanville, California
