Modes of Expression and Representation in Chinese Calligraphy: Calligraphic Works as Aesthetic-object-cum-public-message and their Dynamics with Contexts of Use in the City of Hong Kong

Little research has been conducted on Hong Kong calligraphy. Previous works have largely treated calligraphy as a form of high art, produced and appreciated by only a small community of literati. As a result, it has been generally assumed that calligraphic art is of little importance except to a restricted circle of specialists. To compensate for this neglect of calligraphy’s wider significance, this paper examines calligraphic works in public venues around Hong Kong and alternative modes of expression with their contexts of use in the city. In the field of art history, conventional methodology of stylistic analysis is commonly adopted for research on Chinese calligraphy. In contrast, this paper’s new research methodology is inspired by the parameters of “geosemiotics” that eventually offers a more encompassing approach for examining and interpreting the relationships and synergistic effects of the following factors: 1) calligraphic aesthetics and style as semiotic resources for meaning making; 2) calligraphic expressions manifested in a wide range of material forms in physical and cyber spaces; 3) alternative modes of calligraphic expression; and 4) calligraphy’s social and cultural contexts and contexts of use in Hong Kong. Scrutinizing calligraphy as a form of aesthetic-object-cum-public-message that connotes more profound meanings pertinent to the city and city life, the new methodology thereby illuminates how calligraphy has been transformed from a literati-oriented, rarefied form of art with a restricted audience into a more accessible form of visual culture that reaches wider audiences, thus shedding light on what has shaped Hongkonger’s thoughts, values and identity.

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