Calligraphy from Other Traditions

Iznic Tile with Arabic Calligraphy

Calligraphy is sometimes translated as "beautiful writing". This is appropriate for the Chinese tradition, but there are examples of calligraphy from other cultures that are very different. Calligraphy is most often found in a religious setting, whether it is for Buddhist sutras or part of the Taoist discipline, as in China, or in Christian Bibles, Jewish Torah Scrolls and the Islamic Qu'ran in other parts of the world. Few people were able to read during many periods of history, especially before the printing press made books more accessible to the average person, so scribes were hired to copy important texts for kings, monasteries and other wealthy patrons. These examples of calligraphy are very elaborate and often highly decorated with drawings or paintings known as illumination.

There are similarities with Chinese calligraphy, in the disciplined use of the brush and ink and the training and focus required, but there are major differences, as well. Chinese calligraphy uses characters, symbols that represent words, while Arabic, Latin and Hebrew scripts use an alphabet of individual letters, which are put together to create words or sounds.