Chinese Calligraphy Mystery: Why did the ancient Chinese write vertically and write from right to left?

The problem is that with multiple lines of continuous writing, the right hand of the writing always covers the written text, and the right wrist or sleeve will also Wet ink hits. Therefore, it is very inconvenient to lift the wrist when writing, and even hold the right sleeve with the left hand. Is this writing accidental or intentional? Isn’t it good to write from left to right like in modern times?

The ancients wrote vertically because before the invention of papermaking, the ancients wrote on bamboo and bamboo slips. Bamboo slips are narrow and long pieces of bamboo wood, which can be rolled into a book by stringing them with rope. The word “Book” is a simple pictograph. Opening a volume is naturally the right-hand holding end, and the left hand is easy to unfold. Therefore, writing is from top to bottom, from right to left. In ancient times, bamboo slips were written in a single piece and then bound.

Characteristics of Chinese characters and human writing habits in Chinese Calligraphy

From the characteristics of Chinese characters and human physiological habits, the stroke order of a character is naturally convenient from top to bottom and from left to right. If you write horizontally from right to left, when writing the left half, the writing brush is bound to block the right half of the glyph, which is not convenient for arranging the structure and affecting the beauty of the ending.

The last stroke of each Chinese character is in the middle or lower right, and the last stroke of the previous character is followed by the first stroke of the character. The vertical writing is more convenient than the horizontal writing.

The ancients respected the right

The writing of Chinese characters from top to bottom, from right to left, also reflects the ancient people’s humility. In ancient times, the superior was the monarch and the parents; the lower was the minister and the children. The right is big and the left is small. “Unsurpassed” means not exceeding.

Related to lettering on the stone

Arabic and Hebrew are written from right to left. It is said that this is related to the ancient people’s lettering on the stone. For ordinary people, the left hand is holding a drill and the right hand is holding a hammer.

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