Order or Quote for Custom Chinese Calligraphy Artwork

Chinese characters are now standardized in Kai Style. Five major styles of calligraphy (Zuan, Li, Tsao, Hsin, and Kai) are still in practice today. More samples of styles can be found on this website.

Zuan (Seal Style) *

Li (Clerical Style)

Tsao (Running Style)

Hsin (Walking Style)

Kai (Standard Style)

* Only if you selected Seal Style above, please select your second choice in case there is not a certain Seal Style character to match your content.

(The Seal Style script is the most ancient form of Chinese writing and has the fewest number of characters available compared to the other four styles. A Chinese calligrapher should not coin a Seal Style character without any basis for catering.)

Let the calligrapher suggest
Li
Tsao
Hsin
Kai

Rectangle
(the most frequently recommended)

Fan

 (Will cost more for mounting or scrolls)

Round

 (Will cost more for mounting or scrolls)

Square
(the least recommended except for ordering only one Chinese character)

Let the calligrapher suggest

The calligrapher may recommend based on your desired content and his artistic perspectives.

All Chinese calligraphy artworks in this website are written in the traditional way: first from top to bottom, and then from RIGHT to left to retain the original spiritual beauty of this art. The numbers indicate the sequences of writing in the traditional and proper way.

Landscape (horizontal)

Portrait (vertical)

Let the calligrapher suggest

The calligrapher may recommend based on your desired content and his artistic perspectives for either Landscape or Portrait layout.

Shuan Paper is not made of rice; "rice paper" is a misnomer for Chinese calligraphy and painting paper.

Except for Basic White Shuan Paper, additional charge of $5 to $10 may be applied to color and featured Shuan Paper unless suggested by the calligrapher.

No extra charge only for "Name Translation" if "Red with Gold Flecks" is chosen. Chinese usually don't write people's names on purely white paper with a calligraphy brush.

If you do not know the exact number of Chinese characters for your request or the size of each character, it's not advisable to choose U.S. standard frame size, say 5" x 5" or 14" x 11", to confine the characters to fit into a predetermined size.

In contrast to Western calligraphy, Chinese calligraphers write more freely to express the artistic spirit and do not pursue font-like or mechanical uniformity. Considering the spacing between each Chinese character and different Chinese calligraphy styles, it's strongly recommended that: 

(1) You enter your preferred Chinese character size and then Joshua will let you know the approximate dimension of the paper. The paper can be trimmed later per your request or per the calligrapher's suggestion. The price of custom calligraphy work (not including mounting or scrolls) is based on the size and number of Chinese characters, not paper size.

or

(2) You may enter your preferred paper size and Joshua will select the size of the characters. If you are not looking for mounting or a scroll, the paper size will not increase the price. However, if you are looking for mounting or scrolls, their prices are based on the paper size.

Due to many artistic and technical considerations, it's not advisable to designate the layout and size of Chinese characters to fit a standard frame size. Even the characters of the current Standard Style are not perfectly square. To designate certain Chinese calligraphy styles or certain number of Chinese characters to fit into a certain size of paper or a frame without considering other factors will most likely distort the artistic quality.

In a word, if you are looking for a custom Chinese calligraphy work that is more artistically done, we have to consider at least the sizes of the characters, spacing, paper, and calligraphy style, not merely the standard frame size.