It is the practice of writing with a pen or brush in a decorative, artistic manner. Throughout history, calligraphy has played an important role in communication and the arts, and it continues to be relevant today. Originating in ancient China, it was used to communicate thoughts and feelings through carvings on bones and shells, a skill which evolved into an art form with intricate patterns and strokes of an ink brush. Today, calligraphy is still widely used in many countries around the world, particularly within China where its influence can be seen across various forms of artwork. Let’s take a closer look at calligraphy and its journey from humble beginnings to modern times.

Calligraphers have long used their skill to communicate messages through written words on paper or other surfaces like parchment and wood panelling. Although calligraphy may look different depending on the region, the basic principles have often been the same —beautiful, expressive lettering.

Over time, calligraphers from different countries have developed calligraphic styles characteristic to their own culture. For example, Japanese calligraphy generally features strokes that are highly abstracted from the characters they represent; China's calligraphy is more often used for formal purposes such as government documents and poetry; and Arabic calligraphers strive for an asymmetrical harmony in their writing. Despite their distinctive styles, calligraphers from diverse backgrounds all share a common language in a visual display.

Outside of Asia, the use of calligraphic scripts was popularised by monks during the Middle Ages who used them as illuminated manuscripts for religious texts such as Bibles and Psalms. Calligraphic writing was also widely employed by kings throughout Europe who commissioned elaborate documents such as treaties between countries using this ornate style of handwriting which added both beauty and authority to these documents.

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Calligraphy is believed to have originated in China during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC). It was initially used as a means to record events on bamboo slips or bronze vessels before the invention of paper. The earliest known examples of Chinese calligraphy date back to the Warring States period (475–221 BC), when ink brushes were invented and popularised by famous calligraphers such as Wang Xizhi who incorporated brushstroke techniques into their work.

As time went on, more styles developed such as regular script, semi-cursive script, running script, grass script, seal script and clerical script. These styles were then adopted by other East Asian countries such as Japan and Korea due to cultural exchanges between them throughout history.