User:Singerlines1/ChineseCalligraphyTattoos

Summary
Chinese calligraphy tattoos are a form of tattooing and a style of calligraphy put together into one form of art. Originally, Chinese calligraphy and tattoos were combined to distinguish social class or tribes. Calligraphy started in Europe and Asia and then spread to other continents and countries. Today, Chinese calligraphy tattoos can be found just about anywhere and anyone is able to receive them. People who tend to get these tattoos are fond of this style of tattooing because it’s unique.

Calligraphy
Calligraphy is a form of art related to writing. A pen, fine pointed object, or a brush can be used to draw symbols. Calligraphy originated in Ancient Greek. There are many different forms and styles of calligraphy that has evolved over the centuries. Many different countries and cultures that use calligraphy have their own styles of it because of their different traditions.

Styles
Calligraphy has many different styles because different cultures and traditions influenced their styles to be unique. Classical, Modern, and Typography are the three most known styles of calligraphy. Modern Calligraphy is most common out of the three styles. Modern calligraphy closely displays designs and art pieces. In modern calligraphy it is hard to distinguish the letters because they are mostly not legible. Classical calligraphy is more similar to modern because it’s more original. Classical is an older, more common style that people prefer to use. Typography is the art of designing proportionally spaced lettering arranged in the form of words, sentences, and blocks of text – also known as type.

Chinese Calligraphy
Chinese Calligraphy is the stylized, artistic writing of Chinese characters; which is the written form of Chinese that unites the languages spoken in China. Calligraphy is considered supreme among the visual arts in China and sets the standard for which Chinese painting is judged. Chinese calligraphy and painting are closely related. Each era of Chinese calligraphy has different styles and forms. Chinese calligraphy first started 4000 BC in Ancient China and is still used today. In Ancient China, calligraphy was used to paint on stones, steles, or bones and later they would carve where they made the brush strokes. Later on, calligraphy was written on paper or scrolls. Nowadays, Chinese calligraphy can be painted on scrolls and paper or they can be typed and printed off of computers. Cursive, handwritten, and computer are a few different styles of Chinese calligraphy that could have been used on scrolls or paper. Handwritten was most common because it could be used on anything and it could be put anywhere. Using brushes, ink, paper, paperweights, and desk pads made Chinese calligraphy.

Brushes and Strokes
In order to make Chinese calligraphy, the orders of the strokes are very important. Stroke order is important to Chinese calligraphy tattoos because it is a part of the history and it helps tattooists understand how to tattoo someone who wants Chinese calligraphy. Characters, which are the calligraphy symbols, should be written with the fewest hand movements and most strokes possible. This form promotes writing speed, accuracy, and readability to anyone who views it. Stroke order is normally taught at a young age because it aids in learning and memorization for students and it can help them in the future. Character order is also very important compared to stroke order. Many characters have more than one correct stroke form or order when writing and the stroke orders are conservative in regarding etymology, character construction, character evolution, and tradition. However, stroke orders will vary depending on the script style being used. A person can either use Cursive or Regular script to write the Chinese characters. However, cursive is the preferred script because it shows stroke order more clearly and it is more visible by the writing tool.

Stroke Order Guidelines

 * Write from top to bottom and left to right
 * Horizontal before vertical
 * Character-spanning strokes last
 * Diagonals right to left before diagonals left to right
 * Center before outside in vertically symmetrical characters
 * Enclosures before contents
 * Left vertical before enclosing
 * Bottom enclosures last
 * Dots and minor strokes last

Tattoos
Tattoos are made by inserting a needle with ink into the outer layer (dermis layer) of the skin to change the pigment. Tattooing has been around for many centuries and is believed to have started around 6000 BC on a South American mummy. Tattoo techniques have been dated back to the dawn of humankind, however historians can prove it from the Neolithic era. When tattooing first began mostly men and people within tribes had tattoos. It wasn’t until about the late 1800’s early 1900’s that women started to receive tattoos. Men, women, and teens commonly get tattoos now. Nowadays, the most common way of getting a tattoo is by a tattoo machine. “The most common method of tattooing in modern times is the electric tattoo machine, which inserts ink into the skin via a single needle or a group of needles that are soldered onto a bar, which is attached to an oscillating unit. The needles get pushed into the skin about 80 to 150 times a second.

Styles
There are five types of tattoos: Traumatic, Amateur, Professional, Cosmetic, and Medical. These styles are important to know because they have impacted how tattoos are done. Tattooists use these styles to tattoo Chinese calligraphy onto someone. Amateur and Professional tattoos are the most common because they were used in tribes, where tattoos mostly started. However, Cosmetic tattoos are becoming more popular because many people want to change or enhance their features. Amateur and Professional tattoos were mostly used to show how a person is feeling or felt about someone they cared deeply about. Many tribe members had tattoos to identify whom they were, in social class, and if they belonged to someone. Both Medical and Traumatic tattoos are not widely used because they are not as common as the other styles. Medical tattoos are mostly used on patients who have a skin pigmentation disorder. Some sort of substance, like asphalt, rubbing into the skin that ultimately changes the color of the skin, causes traumatic tattoos.

Chinese Textual Tattoos
Chinese textual tattoos are unique and also very common today. Many more women than men are receiving textual tattoos. Having tattoos on your body shows others that you are in control of your body. Many women want to display that their bodies belong to them only and that they can do whatever they want with them. Chinese textual tattoos are very controversial today because people are not aware of what is being tattooed on. If you don’t speak or know the language than you could think your getting one thing but in actuality you could be getting something completely different tattooed onto your body. However, people still receive these tattoos because they like how they look and they want to show others that they can do whatever they want to do with their bodies. In pre-modern China, textual tattoos were also used as a punishment to criminals. Criminals would get textual tattoos on their cheeks and foreheads of the crime that they committed and they would have it for the rest of their lives.