Calligraphy, the art of writing, was the visual art form prized above all others in traditional China. Painting was contemporary with calligraphy, sharing     1     same tools—namely, brush and ink. Yet calligraphy was regarded     2     a fine art long before painting.

The status of calligraphy reflects the importance of the word in China.     3     makes the written words distinctive is its visual form. However, despite its abstract     4     (appear), calligraphy is not an abstract form. Chinese characters are dynamic, closely connected with the forces of nature and the kinesthetic (运动) energies of the human body.

How can a simple character convey all this? The use of brush and ink     5     (have) much to do with it. A calligrapher can control the     6     (thick) of the ink by varying both the amount of water and the solid ink. Once he starts writing, by loading the brush sometimes with     7     (much) ink or sometimes with less, he creates characters that resemble a shower of rocks here and a drop of dew (露珠) there.

The Chinese written language     8     (begin) to develop more than 3,000 years ago and     9     (eventual) evolved into five basic script types. Over the centuries, calligraphers were free to write in any of them,     10     ( depend) on the text’s function. The calligraphic tradition remains alive today.

As Spring Festival begins to be celebrated worldwide, the richness of Chinese cultures spreads widely as well. Recently, two special stamps     1     (design) by Han Meilin, a Chinese artist. They were used to mark the New Year of Rabbit. One of them shows a     2     (leap) rabbit bites the sky to create an opening so that sunshine can come to Earth,     3     symbolizes the wish for a better life. In the second stamp, a rabbit family of father, mom and baby sit by a small pile of peanuts, looking into the distance expectantly. That image represents the wish for a bountiful harvest and a happy family life. The creativity, well     4     (know) as a cultural landmark, goes beyond borders.