Shinga (English spelling) xin huà

Japanese: 心画 - しんが（英語表記）xīn huà

It means copying or calligraphy. In the Fayan by Yang Xiong of the Han dynasty, it is written, "Words are the voice of the heart, and calligraphy is the painting of the heart. Voice and painting are revealed, and gentlemen and petty men are seen." Here, "calligraphy" means documents or writing, but in later times it was mistakenly used to mean copying or calligraphy. The misuse probably began after Zhu Changwen (1039-98) of the Song dynasty wrote in the Continued Shudan that "Yangziyun (Yang Xiong) used calligraphy as painting of the heart." The phrase "Calligraphy is painting of the heart" is frequently used in calligraphy circles when discussing the personality of calligraphy, along with Liu Gongquan's "If the heart is right, the brush is right" from the Tang dynasty.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

書写，書道をいう。漢の揚雄（ようゆう）の《法言》に，〈言は心の声なり，書は心の画なり。声･画形（あら）われて，君子･小人見（あら）わる〉とあり，ここにいう〈書〉とは文書，著述をさすが，後世あやまって書写，書法の意味に使われる。誤用は宋の朱長文(1039‐98)が《続書断》において，〈揚子雲(揚雄)は書を以て心画と為す〉と述べて以後のことであろう。〈書は心画なり〉は，唐の柳公権の〈心正しければ筆正し〉とともに，書の人格性を論ずるとき，書道界ではしきりに用いられる。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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