earticle

영어

It is notable that there have not been published specific studies concerning cursive script (草書) in Korea. Practicing and studying of cursive script require many times because it is the most abbreviated type in Sino-Korean characters. For this reason, it is only calligraphers and scholars of classics who can read and write this script.

Generally, traditional calligraphers copied several Chinese famous models for the purpose of practicing calligraphy. Scholars of classics had a responsibility to read, understand, and teach it for their students on the base of teachings of masters'

Therefore, cursive script has been thought to be the secret and it caused to make difficult in building any theories on it. In today's Asian countries sharing Chinese characters, cursive script dictionaries containing famous calligraphers' works have been compiled. In this context, this paper attempts to explore some aspects as follows.

In the first place, the writer investigates what stage of cursive script in the successive changes of Chinese characters is. Running script (行書) was devised in order to write clerical script easily as well as rapidly in Chin dynasty China. The writer attempts to erudite that cursive script was derived from clerical script(隸書), and running script was derived from standard script(楷書) in the development of cursive script from Han till Tang dynasties China.

Secondly, the development of cursive script of the Joseon dynasty was broadly fallen to the first and second stages. In the first stage, early Joweon period, cursive script was written without regulation while it was controlled by disciplines in the late Joseon period. Yi-Ik(李瀷) and Yi Kyu-hyeong(李圭景), scholars of the late Joweon period, remained their writings concerning cursive script.

Finally, this paper explores characteristics of cursive script showed in calligraphic works, letters, and historical manuscripts. Aspects on social status of calligraphers, size of each character, and documents are also considered.

As mentioned above, this paper only is an attempt, but it covers all formative stages of cursive script throughout the Joweon dynasty. For the further research, other undertakings such as an analysis of calligraphic details and materials are waiting.