Good afternoon everyone,Today, our team’s topic is Chinese calligraphy and painting.First of all, let me introduce the first half of the Chinese calligraphy.开篇视频翻译：Calligraphy is traditionally been regarded in China as the highest form of visual art.书法，传统上被视为视觉艺术的最高形式。
The four treasures……文房四宝，笔墨纸砚pine soot（松烟）Calligraphy in social dimension……self-cultivation emulation of moral exemplars书法在社会层面上，孔子：自我修养，效仿道德模范老子：内心自我认识的表达直到今天，中国书法依然在中国人生活中保持着强大力量。
Chinese calligraphy, the four ancient Chinese artistic forms are called qin, chess, penmanship, and painting; and penmanship particularly refers to Chinese calligraphy. (中国古代四大艺术“琴棋书画”的“书”特指书法)Chinese calligraphy is a kind of art using a brush to write seal script, official script, regular script, running script, and cursive script, and other various writing styles of Chinese characters.（它是用毛笔书写篆、隶、楷、行、草等各体汉字的艺术）The writing techniques of Chinese calligraphy are highlighted by the manner of using a brush, the way ink is used, the art of composition, and so on. （中国书法在技法上讲究笔法、墨法、章法等）Its harmonious beauty of art is reflected in between the lines. （它艺术的和谐之美体现在字里行间）Chinese calligraphy exhibits（iɡˈzibits）its beauty in different poses, such as the uniqueness （jʊ'niknɪs）of the official script ―silkworm head and swallow tail(隶书的蚕头燕尾),the regular script requirement to ―stick to the norm and rules(楷书的中规中矩),the characteristic of cursive script ―flying dragon and dancing phoenixes(草书的龙飞凤舞), and the distinctive ―natural grace of the running script(行书的潇洒飘逸).可谓异彩纷呈，千姿百态Indeed, Chinese calligraphy reflects the personality of Chinese people’s straightforwardness, dignity, and reticence('retɪsns).(中国书法体现了中华民族的豪爽大气、端庄含蓄的特点)Chinese characters were initially meant to be simple pictures use to help people remember things. After a long period of development, it finally became a unique character system that embodies phonetic sound, image, idea, and rhyme(raɪm) at the same time.(汉字是从原始人用以记事的简单图画，经过不断演变发展最终成为一种兼具音、形、意、韵的独特文字) The writing system, which was extremely advanced in ancient times, began with inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells, and these are regarded as the original forms of Chinese characters. (现存中国古代最早成熟的文字是甲骨文，被认为是现代汉字的初形)Afterwards, Chinese characters went through numerous calligraphic styles: bronze inscriptions, official script, regular script, cursive script, running script, etc. (此后，汉字又经历了金文、隶书、楷书、草书、行书等不同的阶段)Chinese characters are usually round outside and square inside, which is rooted in ancient Chinese beliefs of an orbicularsky and a rectangular Earth. (汉字结构“内圆外方”，源于古人“天圆地方”的观念)The five basic strokes of Chinese characters are 一(the horizontal stroke), 丨(the vertical stroke), 丿(the left-falling stroke), 捺(the right-falling stroke), and 乙(the turning stroke). (汉字有五种基本笔画，即：横、竖、撇、捺、折)The four treasures of the study.文房四宝The writing brush, ink stick, ink stone, and paper were requisite（'rekwɪzɪt）treasures in the study of the scholars of ancient China, and they are often referred to as the ―Four Treasures of the Study.（笔墨纸砚是中国古代文人书房当中必备的宝贝，被称为“文房四宝”）The writing brush and ink stick have been used by the Chinese to write and paint since 5,000 years ago.（用笔墨书写绘画在中国可追溯到五千年前）In the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC), people already used feathers（'fɛðɚ）of different hardness and bamboo trunks to make brushes.（秦朝时已用不同硬度的毛和竹管制笔）During the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD), man-made ink was used instead of natural ink. （汉代以人工制墨替代了天然墨）After paper was invented by the Chinese, bamboo slips, wooden tablets, brocade and silk, which originally functioned as writing surfaces, gradually faded out. （有了纸张以后，简牍锦帛逐失其用）The ink stone was first developed with the use of writing brushes and ink. （砚台则随笔墨的使用而发展）After the Song Dynasty(960AD-1279AD), the ―Four Treasures of the Study，particularly referred to hubi, the writing brush produced in Huzhou, Zhejiang province; huimo, the instick produced in Huizhou, Anhui province; xuan paper, a kind of paper produced in Xuanzhou, Anhui province; and duanyan, the ink stone made in Zhaoqing, Guangdong province(Zhaoqing was earlier called Duanzhou).Indeed, the ―Four Treasures of the Study have written the whole Chinese civilization, as it is.“文房四宝”到宋朝（960-1279）以后特指湖笔（浙江湖州）、徽墨（安徽徽州）、宣纸（安徽宣州）、端砚（广东肇庆，古称端州）。
