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CFP: Calligraphy Studies volume

The art of calligraphy, with its elegance, precision and expressive power holds a celebrated place among the arts of China, Japan and the Middle East, and is much studied as a result. Western calligraphy using the Roman-script, by contrast, is relatively neglected within academia.

However, given current interest in both drawing research and grapho-linguistics – the study of writing systems – the time is ripe to explore the fascinating intersection of visual art and written language with a scholarly volume on Western calligraphy studies, broadly defined.

To this end, we invite chapter proposals from scholars, researchers and experienced practitioners alike, in order to establish and define the field of Western calligraphy studies, from the early 20th century to the present. Contributions are welcomed from a wide range of scholarly disciplines: art theory, art history, literature, cultural studies, and beyond.

Potential topics may include, but are not limited to:

• Aesthetics : Analysis of calligraphic form. Contemporary calligraphy performance. Word-image relationships.
• Cross-cultural influences . Studies of significant calligraphers or works. Abstract / asemic calligraphy. Gestural aspects of writing.
• Education : Best practice in calligraphy teaching. Pedagogical case studies. Online learning. Criterion used for the assessment of calligraphy. Relationship to penmanship.
• Materials and technology : Traditional and non-traditional tools and materials. Inter-disciplinary work: letter carving, text art and book arts. Calligraphy–typography relationships. The digitisation of scripts. Digital calligraphy. Experimental work.
• History, social use and meaning : Social prestige and value: art / craft. Religious aspects: sacred texts, rituals. Historical development of scripts. Modern contexts: tattoos, graffiti. Semiotics of calligraphy in advertising etc. Relationships to literature, poetry etc. Socio-economic contexts and relations to identity: gender, ethnicity, class.

Final chapters should be 5000-8000 words and scholarly in nature but accessibly written for an interested readership too. They need not be previously unpublished research but could be a summary of a position or issue, case study, or an in-depth introduction to a topic. Co-authorship is encouraged. 

Potential authors are invited to submit by 31st October 2024:

• A chapter proposal of approx. 500 words, clearly explaining the concerns of the proposed essay and ideally including an indication of the major sources to be cited.
• An author biography of 100-200 words.

We will host an online conference in June 2025 for authors to share ideas, knowledge, and garner feedback.

31 Oct 2024: Deadline for chapter abstracts and author biographies 30 Nov 2024: Authors informed of editors’ decision June 2025: Online conference; book chapter drafts due 30 Sept 2025: Final chapters due from authors 30 Dec 2025: Final editing, proof reading and image rights completed 

Please email proposal and biography to both [email protected] and [email protected] with “Calligraphy Studies Volume” as email subject, and “author surname CSV proposal” and “author surname CSV biography” as file names.

Dr. Roland Buckingham-Hsiao, WenZhou Business College, China

Dr. Joanna Homrighausen, College of William & Mary, USA.

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Calligraphy crafts made from waste: A case study on Sawdust

DOI link for Calligraphy crafts made from waste: A case study on Sawdust

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The problem raised in this study is wood waste from the wood industry This industry produces building accessories such as doors, windows, and frames that are considered very useless and has a bad impact on the environment. Calligraphy craftsmen see an opportunity from this wood waste. Through the creativity of craftsmen, wood waste can be used as a craft that has a sale value. They chose sawdust as a material for making calligraphy crafts. This study aims to know how calligraphy craftsmen take advantage of furniture industry waste, namely sawdust, in order to increase the selling value so that it has an impact on increasing their economy. Through the method of the qualitative approach with a comparative method, it can be traced how the process of increasing the sale value of crafts made from sawdust by craftsmen is found in two techniques of making: molding and sticking. Both can increase the sale value of wood waste with multiple benefits. The results of the comparison show that the molding technique is more profitable in time, process, and cost.

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Visual analysis of inscriptions in the Tang Dynasty: a case study on the calligraphy style of Wang Xizhi

• Research article
• Open access
• Published: 14 June 2023
• Volume 1 , article number  8 , ( 2023 )

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• Yang Zhang 1 ,
• Ling Chen 1 ,
• Haonan Chen 1 ,
• Jinghui Chu 1 ,
• Baofeng Chang 1 ,
• Yunchao Wang 1 &
• Guodao Sun 1  

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2 Citations

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The art of inscriptions is one of the most important components of the glorious ancient culture in China. It is an essential method not only for ancients to record history and disseminate culture but also to provide original written and pictorial records for subsequent generations to learn about ancient Chinese culture. However, the art of inscriptions and calligraphy is currently not widely available because of its professional chirography, style and composition. Moreover, traditional calligraphy exhibitions cannot provide the public with an interactive and intuitive way to present the features of Chinese characters, such as stroke thickness. Therefore, in this paper, we present an interactive visual system to support the public in understanding and appreciating the calligraphic style of the inscriptions of the Tang Dynasty and the evolutionary path of the calligraphic style of Wang Xizhi. We first employ image processing technology to extract calligraphy features. Then, we help users explore the development of calligraphy from the spatial-temporal dimension and analyze the similarity between the works at two granularity levels: Chinese character structure and the works’ style. Furthermore, the system also provides a metaphorical visualization method to enhance the concretization of calligraphic appreciation. Case studies and comprehensive evaluation demonstrate the usability of our proposed visual analysis system of the calligraphic style of the inscriptions in the Tang Dynasty.

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1 Introduction

Ancient Chinese inscriptions flourished during the Tang Dynasty and were used to record history and spread culture. Through the inscriptions, we can not only read the contents of the inscriptions but also appreciate the handwriting of the calligrapher and the ornamentation of the inscriptions. They provide original written and pictorial records for subsequent generations to study ancient Chinese culture [ 1 ]. Meanwhile, the style of Chinese calligraphy has evolved from the its birth to the Six Dynasties Period, and it can be classified into categories such as regular scripts, semi-cursive scripts, and cursive scripts [ 2 ]. However, as calligraphic works have eroded over time, fewer works have been preserved. Therefore, the inscriptions of the Tang Dynasty preserve an extremely rich historical material of Chinese calligraphy.

Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy occupies an elevated position in the history of Chinese calligraphy [ 3 ]. His work “Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion” is also known as “the world’s No. 1 semi-cursive script”. However, in the study of the history of Chinese calligraphy, there is not much literature about how the Tang people learned calligraphy from Wang Xizhi. Thus, we will investigate the evolution of Wang Xizhi’s calligraphic style by comparing the Tang inscriptions with his authentic works or works that collect inscriptions of Wang Xizhi. In this work, we attempt to explore the evolutionary path of Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy and hope to help the public learn about the calligraphic style of Wang Xizhi.

However, there are three challenges in the extraction and analysis of the calligraphy feature. Because of the complex structure of Chinese characters and the existence of a large number of similar characters [ 4 ], the first challenge is the difficulty in identifying and processing calligraphic characters. Second, feature extraction is a key problem in the research of calligraphy style analysis. The work [ 5 ] in feature extraction generally consists of two categories: stroke extraction approaches and global feature extraction approaches. However, recent works lack a workflow for local-to-whole feature extraction of calligraphy to support downstream applications. Therefore, the second challenge is how to extract the calligraphy features from the local details to the whole picture. Additionally, due to the specialization of the art of inscriptions and calligraphy, Chinese calligraphy has not been popularized. Thus, how to make the professional knowledge of calligraphy available to the public is the third challenge in this work.

Current work on Chinese calligraphy involves many aspects, such as the transmission and promotion of the calligraphy. Some works [ 6 – 8 ] study ancient calligraphic works, including the conservation of works, digital display of works and the study of calligraphic styles. Others [ 9 – 12 ] have studied the transmission and promotion of the art of calligraphy, including the generation of calligraphic characters and systems of practising digital calligraphy. The rapid development of image processing technology and neural networks provides solutions for such applications. Recently, some works [ 13 – 15 ] have used visualization techniques to spread Chinese culture, which can help users understand the culture intuitively and provide an engaging and interactive approach. Thus, we want to tell a data story from calligraphic characters to calligraphic culture in an innovative and experiential way and bring the calligraphy into the public’s eye through data visualization.

To address the above mentioned challenges, we present a visual analysis system that allows the general public to understand the evolutionary path of the calligraphic style of Wang Xizhi from multiple dimensions. We first complete the segmentation of text by pre-processing images of Chinese inscriptions. Then, we extract multi-dimensional features such as skeleton and thickness of strokes from Chinese characters. Furthermore, we calculate the similarity between works by features to determine the evolutionary path of calligraphic styles. As shown in Fig.  1 , this system supports users in intuitively understanding the characteristics of calligraphic styles starting with seven dimensions and guides users step by step through the overview and seven detail views to explore the evolutionary path of Wang Xizhi’s calligraphic style in inscriptions of the Tang Dynasty. The main contributions of this paper are summarized as follows:

The visual analysis system consists of six components: ( a ) Geographical distribution of inscription works; ( b ) Users click on the graph or timeline to view the detailed information and original images of inscriptions; ( c ) Temporal distribution of inscription works for the exploration of the rise and fall of dynasties in relation between the works; ( d ) Word cloud display of words with high frequency in different calligraphy works; ( e ) Calligraphic evolution of the same characters displayed in the rice grid in different works according to the timeline based on the calligraphic strokes of the conjoined and thickness features; ( f ) Calculation of similarity between different works based on four weighted characteristics

(1) A workflow for the processing of calligraphic images and the extraction of calligraphy features. It provides a paradigm of extracting calligraphy features for other calligraphic analysis tasks.

(2) A visual analysis system that provides a set of intuitive visual designs to support interactive exploratory analysis of ancient Chinese calligraphy in Tang Dynasty inscriptions.

(3) Two case studies provide profound insights into Wang Xizhi’s evolutionary path of calligraphy through multiple dimensions.

2 Related work

This section reviews analytical techniques that are most relevant to our work regarding two main problems, namely, image processing of inscriptions and digital literary visualization.

2.1 Image processing of inscriptions

In recent years, digital image processing technology has become increasingly mature, and the method of preserving the images of inscriptions using digitization has been widely used. According to the relevant work [ 16 – 20 ], the general processing process is as follows. First, electronic scanning technology and camera technology are used to obtain digitized inscription images. After the image pre-processing operation, the image is subjected to text segmentation, character recognition and feature extraction.

Similar to other image processing tasks [ 21 – 23 ], it is necessary to perform pre-processing operations such as binarization and noise elimination on the inscription images. Wang et al. [ 24 ] applied the dual-binarization method to calligraphy works and used the anisotropic diffusion technique to blur the calligraphy image and reduce noise, but the method does not remove the ant-like block noise and the background patterns in the calligraphy works well. Therefore, Ge et al. [ 25 ] proposed using \(L_{0}\) gradient minimization to smooth the noise and repair the Chinese character strokes by guided filtering, and finally the noise of the ant-like blocks was well removed by using the eight-connected region technique.

In terms of Chinese character segmentation, the prevailing methods can be roughly divided into the following three categories: segmentation based on statistical methods [ 26 ], stroke and structure-based methods [ 27 ] and horizontal and vertical projection methods [ 28 ]. Statistical methods are commonly used for occasions where the width of characters is relatively uniform and the methods have worse effects on the cutting of characters with overlap and adhesion. Stroke and structure-based methods used the relationship between strokes and the structure of Chinese characters to discover the intrinsic features between texts, but the extraction of strokes is more complicated and demanding. Horizontal and vertical projection methods are suitable for texts with neat distributions of character rows and columns, but for Chinese characters, it was easy to cause incorrect segmentations of Chinese character components and punctuators. In addition to using a single segmentation algorithm, combining multiple complementary algorithms using a multi-step tessellation method is also an effective way to solve the image segmentation problem. Sahare et al. [ 29 ] first used vertical projection contours on the image to find the main segmentation path and then used distance-related criteria to obtain the fine segmentation path.

Regarding character recognition, Chinese characters are more complex than other scripts, and the current mainstream character recognition methods, such as convolutional recurrent neural network(CRNN) [ 30 ], recurrent neural network(RNN) [ 31 ], are difficult to be applied well to Chinese character recognition. Therefore, this paper adopts a tool and manual correction approach, using the Chinese OCR tool CnOCR Footnote 1 for the initial recognition of characters and then performing manual correction to re-label the wrong images.

Feature extraction is the key to calligraphic style recognition, and the research mainly includes calligraphic contour extraction, calligraphic character skeleton extraction, and calligraphic character stroke extraction. Zhang et al. [ 32 ] optimized and improved the extraction effects based on the rotation invariant refinement algorithm proposed by Liu et al. [ 33 ], reducing the skeleton to the width of a single pixel and using the maximum circle method to merge the bifurcation points. Zhang et al. [ 34 ] extracted the horizontal strokes, the vertical strokes and the characters to quantify and calculate the calligraphic style.

In this paper, the pre-processing work is similar to others, and the image pre-processing is completed by image graying, binarization processing and median filtering. Unlike the previous work, we propose a recursive cutting algorithm using the adaptive adjustment of the structure threshold based on the previous work of horizontal-vertical projection segmentation, which can further improve the correct segmentation rate of Chinese characters. Furthermore, we perform word aggregation on the recognition results of each inscription work and extract features from six dimensions, involving outer and inner contour features, thickness of strokes, skeleton features, rice grid area features and conjoined stroke features. Following the above characteristics, we calculate the similarity among inscriptions.

2.2 Digital literary visualization

Currently, the cross-border integration of visualization and digital literary has sparked widespread attention in the field of social humanities and history [ 35 – 37 ]. Through cutting-edge information technology and digital design tools, the value of humanities and social sciences is deeply explored and creatively presented in the novel form of digital humanities works, which enriches the research means of digital humanities, and new digital humanities research projects have been implemented in multiple disciplines such as history, archaeology, literature, linguistics and sociology.

For example, China Biographical Database Project (CBDB) Footnote 2 , developed under the auspices of Harvard University, contains biographical data of hundreds of thousands of people. The CBDB centers on Chinese historical figures, digitizes important tool book entries and biographical data, extracts characters and social relationships among them and provides a large amount of data for historical visualization and analysis and visualization of social network relationships. Song et al. [ 13 ] introduced the data narrative in visualization analysis of Tibetan calligraphy, explored the data of writing movement and textual dimensions in Tibetan calligraphy and interpreted Tibetan culture from a novel perspective. Taking Dunhuang murals as an example, Luo et al. [ 14 ] constructed a semantic enrichment framework to aggregate and present image semantic information. The visualization platform based on the point of interest (POI) perspective is used to help users better understand cultural heritage images.

Combined with previous work, we start by digitizing images of inscriptions, deciphering semantic information in images of cultural heritage, visualizing the presentation of inscription works in terms of spatial and temporal information, stylistic similarity, stroke characteristics and font structure, and exploring the evolutionary path of Wang Xizhi’s calligraphic style in Tang Dynasty inscriptions, contributing to both visual analysis and calligraphy research.

3 Design rationale

This section presents the definition of the terms and the design rationale of this work, including the requirement analysis and design goals. We first introduce the terms about the calligraphy domain and then analyze the requirements summarized from domain issues and user surveys. Finally, we derive design goals that can fulfil the requirements.

3.1 Term definition

Before introducing the design rationale of this work, we first briefly introduce the terms about calligraphy domain to help the reader better understand this paper. As shown in Fig.  2 (b), the Six Dynasties Period (222–589) [ 38 ] is a collective term for six Han-ruled Chinese dynasties that existed from the early 3rd century AD to the late 6th century AD. The style of Chinese calligraphy has evolved from its birth to the Six Dynasties Period, and it can be classified into categories such as regular scripts and, semi-cursive scripts [ 39 ]. During the Tang Dynasty (618–907), inscriptions flourished and Wang Xizhi [ 40 ] was held in high esteem by Emperor Taizong of Tang [ 41 ], leading to the appearance of many inscriptions in Wang Xizhi’s calligraphic works.

Example diagram for introducing the terms about the calligraphy domain. ( a ) shows the comparison between the semi-cursive script and the regular script, and demonstrates examples of the work, character, radical and rice grid in the calligraphy. ( b ) presents the timeline of Chinese history to give readers some insight into the Six Dynasties and the Tang Dynasty. Note that the timeline cannot show the exact beginning year of Han Dynasty, Song Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, because these dynasties were established when their previous dynasty did not end

This work uses images of inscriptions as datasets for data extraction and analysis, and the image of the inscription shown in Fig.  2 (a) is called a piece of work. Each work consists of multiple Chinese characters. Radical is a semantic and phonetic component of Chinese characters, which plays an important role in modelling character semantics. For characters with the same radical, the characters generally have similar semantic meaning and grammatical usage [ 42 ]. The rice grid is a square grid used to help beginners determine how to write the characters, i.e., for the structure of the characters, when they learn calligraphy [ 43 ].

3.2 Requirement analysis

Our system is mainly designed for the general public, who may have no experience in calligraphy or have some interest and knowledge of calligraphy. Therefore, we conducted two weeks of interviews with five calligraphy practitioners with over five years of experience and two experts (one studied calligraphy and the other studied inscription culture). We analyzed the calligraphy features in the dataset to ensure that the extracted data were correct in terms of domain knowledge. Based on the above expertise, we conducted a questionnaire survey and communicated with 15 target users (five of whom were interested in or had experience in calligraphy and ten of whom had no experience in calligraphy). We identified the following requirement around the questions “What would users like to know about calligraphy?” and “How do users want to appreciate calligraphy?”

R1 How to explore the distribution of calligraphy works in the spatial-temporal dimensions? The rise and fall of times and changes in the current situation affect the development of calligraphy, and the geographical distribution reflects the origins of different calligraphic styles. Thus, users are inclined to gain a macro preliminary impression of calligraphy and analyze the correlations from the perspective of time and region.

R2 How to distinguish and compare the calligraphic styles from different works? Users can subjectively distinguish different styles of calligraphy by comparing the calligraphic handwriting of different works but lack expert technical guidance. Therefore, we extracted quantitative features that can represent calligraphic styles to help users understand the metrics of calligraphy and explore the similarity between different works.

R3 How to discover the evolutionary path of calligraphy style? Users are able to enjoy calligraphy works along the timeline, but there is a problem that the evolution of calligraphy style does not strictly follow the linear change in the timeline. Thus, we need to provide a way for users to clearly understand the path by comparing the same Chinese characters in different works.

R4 How to understand the characteristics of calligraphy in a more tangible way? Users may lack knowledge of calligraphy, and if we directly introduce the calligraphy features with the text, users’ interest will be reduced. Therefore, users prefer to map calligraphy features to specific things with which they are familiar and which may help them better appreciate calligraphy. For example, users tend to compare different styles of calligraphy by the thickness of strokes.

3.3 Design goals

Based on the above requirements, we derive several design goals as follows:

G1 Visualizing the spatial and temporal distribution of calligraphic works. Users tend to understand the relationship between the development of calligraphic works and their temporal and geographic distribution (R1). Thus, we map the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty and the distribution of works by chronology. We aim to guide users to explore the relationship between the development of calligraphy and the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty. We visualize the spatial distribution of works to discover the relationship between geography and calligraphic works.

G2 Exploring the similarity between works from different levels of granularity. Through literature surveys and interviews with experts, we define the calligraphic characteristics and use image processing techniques to extract calligraphy features from the granularity of words and works. To allow users to compare the calligraphic styles of different works (R2), we calculate and visualize the similarity between the works through the above features.

G3 Discovering the evolutionary path of Wang Xizhi’s calligraphic style. The evolutionary path is found through the skeleton and layout features of the same character in different works. Thus, we design the visualization method in chronological order (R3) with the help of the rice grids. Furthermore, the evolution of Wang Xizhi’s calligraphic style is explored by comparing different works with the calligraphy work of Wang Xizhi “Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion”.

G4 Interactively understanding the calligraphy features using a metaphorical approach. For users to understand the characteristics in calligraphy more graphically (R4), we analogize the momentum of mountains with the rhythm of calligraphy. This metaphor compares each character to a mountain, using the height of the mountain to represent the thickness of the calligraphic strokes. It combines the strokes in sequence to the high and low peaks of a mountain, which reflects the sense of continuous and everlasting calligraphy.

4 Data processing

In this section, we start with a brief introduction of the dataset (see Sect.  4.1 ). Subsequently, we provide a detailed illustration of the data processing pipeline (see Fig.  3 ). We first pre-process the image to eliminate image noise (see Sect.  4.2 ), and then use image processing techniques to extract the calligraphic characteristics for subsequent analysis (see Sect.  4.3 ).

The workflow of the system is from the inscription image input ( a ) to the calligraphy visualization output ( c ). ( b ) We pre-process the dataset and extract six Chinese characters for subsequent visualization, and then propose one overview and seven detailed views ( c ) to help users understand the inscription and appreciate the calligraphy

4.1 Data description

As shown in Fig.  3 (a), the dataset contains 27 precious ancient samples of Tang Dynasty inscriptions, which are provided by https://chinavis.org/2022/challenge.html and are licensed by the Ancient Books Library of Peking University. It includes 21 works by 12 authors, including 19 from the Wang Xizhi Semi-cursive Script Series and 3 from the Wang Xizhi Characters Series collection, and obtains 2978 Chinese character images after pre-processing. Wang Xizhi Semi-cursive Script Series is a collection of works by authors in different periods of the Tang Dynasty who have followed the Wang Xizhi style of calligraphy. Wang Xizhi Characters Series is a collection of calligraphic works that integrate the handwriting of Wang Xizhi. These works record calligraphic information from different authors at different times and provide effective characteristics for the downstream task.

4.2 Data pre-processing

As ancient inscriptions have a long history, the quality of acquired images is mediocre. In addition, the variety of Chinese characters, the complex character structure of Chinese characters and the large number of similar characters lead to difficulties in extracting characteristics of Chinese calligraphy. To efficiently extract Chinese calligraphic characteristics, the image datasets are pre-processed to remove the noisy images and improve the effect of font segmentation and text recognition of the inscription images.

To improve the image quality, emphasize the text brush, reduce the background color and the noise impact, the image is grayed out. By comparing the gray scale effect of the component method [ 44 ], such as the maximum method and the weighted average method, we use the maximum method to set the image gray scale and then binarize the image. Furthermore, by setting the gray value of each pixel point to the median of the gray values of all pixel points in a \(3\times 3\) sliding window at that point, the pretzel-like noise in the inscription images can be efficiently removed and the edge characteristics of the images can be maintained.

Regarding the subsequent extraction of Chinese characters, we split the inscription images by Chinese characters. Since the structures of Chinese characters are more complex than English words, there are independent structures such as the radical structure, so Chinese characters are prone to incorrect segmentation. At the same time, the problems of uneven alignment and different character spacing variations in multiple inscriptions make the traditional methods’ segmentation effect insufficient, such as the horizontal and vertical projection methods [ 45 ]. To improve the accurate segmentation rate of Chinese characters and the adaptability of segmentation algorithms in inscription images, we improve the horizontal and vertical projection methods and propose a recursive splitting algorithm based on the adaptive adjustment of structural thresholds, as it is shown in Algorithm 1. The algorithm adaptively calculates the position \(\mathrm{adj}_{hi}, \mathrm{adj}_{vi}\) to be segmented by traversing the number of pixels in the horizontal and vertical directions of the image, and recursively segments until the segmentation result no longer changes or reaches the maximum recurrence depth \(\mathrm{deep}_{\mathrm{max}}\) .

IterSplitImage(arr, n , step)

4.3 Data feature extraction

Calligraphy is composed of lines as the basic elements, formed by organic combinations that create the structure and shape of beauty [ 46 ]. Thus, we consider the shape and power of calligraphy to compare the characteristics of different calligraphic styles. Based on the segmented images obtained in Sect.  4.2 , the features of Chinese calligraphic characters are extracted from both the granularity of Chinese characters and works (Chinese character structure and the calligraphy works’ style).

In terms of Chinese character structure, we extract the skeleton feature, outer and inner contour features and rice grid structure features (see Fig.  3 (b)). The skeleton features represent the morphological features of the characters, which stress the composition and layout of characters’ strokes. The outer and inner contour features indicate the projection features [ 5 ], and they emphasize the balance of the character strokes in the horizontal direction and vertical direction. The rice grid structure features express the position features [ 5 ], which emphasize the balance of the whole character. In terms of the style of the works, we approximate the stroke thickness and conjoined features (see Fig.  3 (b)) to indicate the calligraphic style. The thick/thin strokes show whether the work is graceful/bold, and the conjoined features demonstrate whether the calligraphy is smooth [ 47 ]. These features are consistent with the evaluation of the aesthetics of calligraphy—the coordination, balance and distribution [ 11 , 46 ].

Granularity of Chinese characters These features provide information on the structure and morphology of Chinese characters, such as the skeleton features, outer and inner contour features and rice grid structure features (see Fig.  3 (b)). Skeleton features [ 48 ] are used to extract structural information of Chinese calligraphic characters, and we adopt the binary image refinement method to obtain the skeleton features of Chinese characters by refining a region connected to the width of one pixel.

The outer contour feature is designed to describe the external contour information of the Chinese characters. We scan the segmented binary image processed in Sect.  4.2 from the four directions of the image: top, bottom, left and right, and count the area of each direction that first encounters the strokes. When performing the traversal operation from the top direction of the image to calculate the outer contour feature as an example, as illustrated in Fig.  3 (b), the top direction is divided into four equal regions and the area of the four regions (four shaded sections) \(C_{ t1 }, C_{ t2 }, C_{ t3 }\) and \(C_{ t4 }\) is calculated to obtain the vector \([C_{ t1 }, C_{ t2 }, C_{ t3 }, C_{ t4 }]\) . Finally, the characteristic vector in the four directions obtains \(4\times 4\) dimension characteristics. The internal contour feature is used to describe the internal structure information of the Chinese characters. We scan the refined skeleton images of Chinese characters from four directions and calculate the area between for the first time we encounter the stroke (the pixel point is 1) and for the second time we encounter the stroke again in the pixel data traversal, as shown in Fig. 3 (b). Similar to the acquisition of external contour features, we finally obtain four dimension vectors to represent the inner contour features.

Moreover, the rice grid (see Fig.  2 (a)) is generally an auxiliary tool for beginners in calligraphy [ 43 ]. It helps users to learn the layout of the Chinese characters and divides a square grid into eight triangles. Inspired by the function of the rice grid and position features in reference [ 5 ], we place the segmented binary image in the rice grid. To compare the differences in the structure of the same Chinese characters from different works, we calculate the percentage of the Chinese characters in the eight triangular areas of the rice grid. Specifically, we first scale down the longest side of the segmented Chinese character image to 255 pixels, and the other side to an equal proportion. Next, we place the deflated Chinese characters in the center of the \(255\times 255\) pixel rice grid (the character’s centroid is the center of the rice grid). Finally, we divide the characters into eight pieces according to the rice grid and calculate the proportion of each triangle area (see Fig.  3 (b) Rice Grid Area).

Granularity of the works These features include the stroke thickness and calligraphy conjoined features (see Fig.  3 (b)). The calligraphic style is generally represented by such features as the stroke thickness of the calligraphic works, so we compare the calligraphic styles by calculating the thickness of the strokes of works. In this work, we adopt the Stroke Width Transform (SWT) [ 49 ] to calculate the thickness of strokes, which starts from a point on an edge in an image, and finds a point on another edge parallel to it by traversing pixels in the direction perpendicular to the edge. Then, we form a stroke cross-section from the points of these two edges, and produce a completed stroke by connecting multiple stroke cross-sections of similar width.

Furthermore, as displayed in Fig.  2 , a comparison between semi-cursive script and the regular script shows that there is a significant difference in the characteristics of the continuous strokes. The regular script with pauses between strokes is more regular than the semi-cursive script, while the semi-cursive script has the continuity between strokes, making the characters look smoother [ 39 , 50 ]. In this work, we approach closer to the calligraphic conjoined feature by calculating the number of connected domains of Chinese character images. We implement the search around the domain with the seed filling algorithm to determine the connected regions and calligraphic conjoined feature.

Calculation of feature similarity According to the above extracted characteristics, this work calculates the similarity of the various characteristics of the works to explore the characteristics and evolutionary pattern of Wang Xizhi’s calligraphic style. We select the same Chinese characters in different works for similarity calculation, and the various features are weighted to represent the general similarity between the works.

Since the skeleton features of Chinese character are input as images, we calculate the similarity by image processing methods, such as the root mean squared error (RMSE) [ 51 ], peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) [ 52 ] and structural similarity (SSIM) [ 53 ] algorithms. The RMSE algorithm calculates the square root error of the image pixel values, which is sensitive to scaling and cropping operations. It is generally suitable for comparing the difference between the before and after frames in the videos. Both PSNR and SSIM algorithms are suitable for aligned images with low complexity. Thus, they are suitable for comparing different skeleton features of the same Chinese character. However, the SSIM algorithm is more consistent with the human eye’s judgement of image similarity than the PSNR algorithm in terms of image similarity measurement [ 54 ]. Therefore, we use the SSIM algorithm to measure the similarity of the skeleton features of Chinese characters in this paper, and the calculation formula is as follows:

where \(x, y\) represent the skeleton image of any two Chinese characters, \(l(x, y), c(x, y), s(x, y)\) are used to compare the brightness, contrast and structure of two images, respectively, \(\alpha, \beta, \gamma \) are power indices to adjust the importance of the three factors and we set them all to 1 here. Further simplification, \(\mu _{x}, \mu _{y}\) is the mean values of the \(x, y\) , respectively, and \(\sigma _{x}, \sigma _{y}\) is the variance of the \(x, y\) . \(C_{1}, C_{2}\) are constant values to prevent the formula from being divided by zero, the value of \(C_{1}\) is 6.5025 and the value of \(C_{2}\) is 58.5225.

In terms of stroke thickness features, outer and inner contour features, conjoined stroke features and rice grid region features are all in the form of vectors or matrices, so we first flatten the vectors or matrices and then calculate the Euclidean distance between vectors. The calculation equation is described as below:

where \(x, y\) represent the feature vectors of two Chinese characters, and k represents the dimension of the feature vectors. Then, the higher the similarity value, the higher the similarity between the two characters.

5 Visual design

Following the design goals, we design and implement the visual interface to support the public in understanding and appreciating calligraphic works, and further explore the evolution of Wang Xizhi’s calligraphic style in the inscriptions of Tang Dynasty. The system consists of three modules: (1) Spatial-temporal Correlation Analysis Module to explore the development of calligraphic works in relation with the time and region (G1); (2) Similarity Analysis between Works Module to provide users with various calligraphy metrics for understanding the calligraphy style (G2, G4); (3) Calligraphic Style Evolution Analysis Module to present the evolutionary path of calligraphy of Wang Xizhi(G3). Each module contains the detailed views to help the public further explore the characteristics of the calligraphy. Users can first explore the spatial-temporal distribution of the work, the character structure and the style of the work through the overview. Furthermore, with the help of textual explanation and interactive operations, users can explore seven detailed views step by step in the order of the spatial-temporal distribution, similarity analysis and evolution of Chinese calligraphic style. It is ensured that users have thoroughly used the core functions and explored each part of the system.

5.1 Spatial-temporal correlation analysis module

This module explores the trends in the development of Tang Dynasty inscription calligraphy in two dimensions: temporal distribution and geographical distribution. Figure  1 (c) maps the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty with the height of the mountains, and distributes the works in chronological order to help users explore the relationship between the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty and the number of inscriptions. Furthermore, in the detailed view (Fig.  4 (c-1)), the number of inscriptions is totaled by the reign title, and the number of distributions is reflected by the size of the dots. Users can click on different reign titles to view the information of the works. Figure  1 (a) uses a bubble chart to visualize the geographical distribution of the works, with the size of the circles indicating the number of works in different regions. Furthermore, users can click on a region to view the distribution of works and learn about the information of the inscriptions in Fig.  1 (b). Combining the chronology with the geographic distribution, the users are guided to explore the influence of the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty and the geographic distribution on the development of calligraphy.

Spatial-temporal Correlation Analysis Module explores the trends in the development of Tang Dynasty inscription calligraphy in temporal and geographical distribution. ( a ) and ( c ) are the part of the overview, ( a-1 ) is a detailed view of the distribution and ( c-1 ) is a detailed view of the timeline. ( a-1 ) introduces the relationship between the spatial distribution in Chinese at the upper right part of ( a-1 ), presenting the number of works in relation to the geographical distribution. ( c-1 ) introduces the relationship between the temporal distribution and lists the information of the works in Chinese at the bottom of ( c-1 ). It shows the number of the works in different years in relation to the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty. The size of the dots on the timeline or on the graph indicates the number of the works and the statistical graph of quantities at the lower right part of ( a-1 )

5.2 Similarity analysis between works module

Calligraphers perpetuate the calligraphy style of Wang Xizhi while developing their individuality, so users can see the similarity between calligraphic styles of calligraphers while appreciating calligraphy. This work extracts calligraphic strokes of the conjoined and thickness features as the style features of the works and clusters them according to the above features. Figure  5 (f-1) uses ink dots as the mask to display various calligraphy works, and the distance between the works indicates the degree of similarity in style. Users can click on the works to see the comparison of the work style with the style of Wang Xizhi in “Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion”.

Similarity Analysis between Works Module presents the similarity between calligraphic styles from multiple dimensions. ( d ) and ( f ) are the part of the overview, while ( f-1 ) and ( f-2 ) present the similarity between the works. Based on the calligraphic strokes of the conjoined and thickness features, ( f-1 ) is a detailed view to compare the works style with the calligraphic style of Wang Xizhi. The circle diagram represents the comparison of different works on the above two features. ( f-2 ) calculates the similarity between the works by weighting the four characteristics of Chinese characters and presents the characteristics at the lower right part of ( f-2 ). It introduces the relationship between the works in Chinese on the upper right part of ( f-2 ). The left part of ( f-2 ) presents the similarity of the works by the thickness of lines between the works. ( f-3 ) compares calligraphy to mountains and presents a brief introduction in Chinese in the lower left part of ( f-3 ). It uses the height of the mountain to indicate the thickness of the strokes and the order of the strokes with a rolling mountain range

Both momentum and rhythm, as well as brushwork, structure and layout are indispensable to calligraphy. This paper extracts four characteristics: skeleton feature, outer and inner contour features and thickness of stroke. Then, we calculate the similarity between the two works. Following the above features, Fig.  5 (f-2) reflects the similarity between different works, with thicker lines between different works representing higher similarity and thinner lines representing lower similarity. Users can click on the lines to see the feature values of different works, which makes it intuitive for users to see the similarity among works.

Chinese calligraphy consists of a series of strokes, which is known as “the art of strokes” [ 46 ]. Therefore, we extract the strokes of Chinese characters and the stroke thickness feature as data for visualization, while the thick/thin strokes show whether the work is graceful/bold. We can generally present the stroke order of each character by enumeration and compare the stroke thickness characteristics among different works by bar diagram. Inspired by the art of Chinese landscape painting [ 55 ], different shapes of mountains affect the style of landscape painting, so we want to link the mountains with calligraphy. We attempt to use the momentum of different mountains to indicate different calligraphic styles and map the thickness of the strokes to the height of the mountains. Therefore, we enumerate the strokes of a Chinese character by the horizontal axis to form a rolling mountain, while a pair of works form a group of mountains in Fig.  5 (f-3). We map the stroke thickness to the height of the mountain. This allows users to intuitively perceive different styles of different works by comparing the height of the mountains.

5.3 Calligraphic style evolution analysis module

The art of calligraphy has lasted for thousands of years, showing its artistic charm with its unique form. Therefore, we compare the morphologies of the same characters in different works to help users understand the style of different calligraphy works. We segment the images from the inscriptions and extract high-frequency characters to build a word cloud using the Orchid Pavilion [ 56 ]. As demonstrated in Fig.  6 (e-1), users can view the original image and information of the corresponding character by clicking on a character in the word cloud, and the historical evaluation of the corresponding work of the character is hovered around. This interaction helps the users clearly see the comparison of the same Chinese character shapes in various works.

Calligraphic Style Evolution Analysis Module helps users explore the evolutionary path of the calligraphic style in Tang Dynasty inscriptions. ( e ) is the part of the overview and the circle diagram indicates the stroke thickness and continuous stroke characteristics of the work. ( e-1 ) is a detailed view of the word cloud and shows the same Chinese characters and history comments from the various inscription works. The central bottom part of the ( e-1 ) presents the characteristics of the various styles of calligraphy in Chinese. ( e-2 ) presents the structure and layout features of the same characters and displays them in chronological order. The right part of the ( e-2 ) shows the evolution of calligraphy in Chinese

On this basis, in order to help users explore the evolutionary path of calligraphic style of Wang Xizhi in Tang Dynasty inscriptions, this paper classifies the same Chinese characters from different works according to their authors. Then, we analyze the structure and layout features of the characters, map the characters in the rice grids, categorize the similar structural drawings and display characters in chronological order (see Fig.  6 (e-2)).

6 Case study

We first provide a brief introduction of the system implementation and then demonstrate the functionality and usefulness of the system through two case studies.

We chose two users to participate in the experiment and presented insights in the cases. One of them is Huang , a university student with five years of experience in calligraphy, and the other is Lu , a university student with no experience in calligraphy at all. The first case shows how to obtain an initial overview of the overall comparison of calligraphic styles of Tang Dynasty inscriptions, while the second case shows how to have a deeper insight into a particular work from a detailed view.

6.1 System implementation

We design a visualization system for visual explorations of calligraphy from Tang Dynasty inscriptions’ image dataset. The system helps users to understand the characteristics and evolution of the calligraphic style of Tang Dynasty inscriptions from different periods. The system consists of one overview view and seven detail views, which presents a horizontal scrolling format to explore the characteristics and evolution of Wang Xizhi’s calligraphic style from a macroscopic to a microscopic perspective.

The system is a web-based system with two components: a back-end for processing inscription images, extracting Chinese character features and calculating the similarity between works, and the front-end for visualizing the calligraphy metrics. We use OpenCV to implement the back-end and the D3.js library to implement the front-end.

6.2 Case 1: an overview of the inscription

In this session, we present the insights that the users discovered during the exploration (see Fig.  1 ).

First, they observed the chronological mountain graph in Fig.  1 (c), and learned the frequency distribution of all works of inscriptions on the timeline. They found that the mountains were higher in the regions where the works were denser and relatively lower in the regions where the works were sparser. After learning that there was a link between the rise and fall of the mountains and the Tang dynasty, Huang suggested that calligraphic culture would have been influenced by the politics and economy of the time. Therefore, she considered this presentation to be very plausible. They found the geographical distribution in Fig.  1 (a) and clicked on the largest dot to enter the local map of Shaanxi Province. Then, they saw the exact location of the works in that province. Furthermore, they clicked on the name of the work and knew the original image and related information in Fig.  1 (b).

Huang was interested in the word cloud distribution in Fig.  1 (d), where she discovered that the characters “zhi”, “guo” and “shen” could be clicked on for interaction. At the same time, the character structure diagrams in Fig.  1 (e) would change correspondingly. Huang found that the distribution of calligraphic fonts could be displayed in the meter grid well, which helped her recognize the similarities and differences of different authors’ strokes. Lu suggested that this approach could present the beauty of calligraphy in a new structural system. She thought that even though users have no basic knowledge about calligraphy, they can still observe the difference between calligraphic characters directly.

Finally, they found that the chord chart in Fig.  1 (f) showed the similarity between the eight works. The similarity result was statistically extracted from the four features below, which were visually reflected in the thickness of the chords. Lu thought that using data visualization to present the similarity of calligraphic works clearly. This can help people like him who have no knowledge of calligraphy understand the differences and connections between calligraphic works. After looking at the eight original drawings of the works, Huang agreed that the similarity results of the chord diagram were more in line with her knowledge of the field. For example, some works were more similar to her in terms of brushwork, structure and character shape.

6.3 Case 2: exploring calligraphy in detail

In Case 1, Huang and Lu were initially acquainted with the effectiveness of the system. However, they wanted to learn more about a particular work through the detailed views. They chose the work “Tombstone of Gao Fu” to explore the relevant content of the work step by step.

First, they wanted to know the comparison between this work and “Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion”, so they explored the clustering chart in Fig.  5 (f-1). They found that the contiguous feature of “Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion” was 0.71 and “Tombstone of Gao Fu” was 0.72, the stroke feature of “Preface to the Poems Composed at the Orchid Pavilion” was 51 and “Tombstone of Gao Fu” was 50. In both respects, the two works were relatively similar. Thus, Huang surmised that the author of “Tombstone of Gao Fu” probably imitated Wang Xizhi’s works.

Next, they explored the strokes of the mountain range diagram in Fig.  5 (f-3) by the “Tombstone of Gao Fu”. They observed that the overall changes is relatively gentle, which was consistent with the state of the work’s thin strokes. In addition to this, Lu appreciated the beauty of the mountain peaks constructed by the strokes of Chinese calligraphy.

Finally, they browsed the different writing styles of the same characters in Fig.  5 (f-2). By comparing them horizontally in time, Lu visually observed the different ways in which the characters “zhi” and “wei” were written in the “Tombstone of Gao Fu”. Huang found that the “Tombstone of Gao Fu” belonged to the early Tang Dynasty. Its script tends to be slender and fluid, which is more similar to Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy. In addition, some of the post-mid-Tang works tend to be thicker and more atmospheric. Although the shadow of learning Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy can also be found, it has more of its own characteristics.

7 Evaluation

To evaluate the functionality and usefulness of the system, 20 users were interviewed and consulted about their feelings after using the system.

7.1 Participants

Twenty college students (age mean: 22.4; female: 10) volunteered to participate in our interviews. Twelve of the users came from humanities and arts disciplines, and the other eight were from computer science disciplines. Five of the users had three or more years of experience practising calligraphy.

7.2 Procedures

The user interviews were structured in three parts. First, participants watched a five-minute demonstration video describing the functions in detail. They could pause the video at any point to ask questions or reflect. After the video, participants interacted with the system on their own. The process lasted for 10–30 minutes. Finally, participants completed a questionnaire to assess the functionality of the system, which took approximately 20 minutes on average. Each question in the questionnaire contained a 5-point Likert scale (from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree), and participants needed to give their reasons after rating. The entire experiment took approximately 50 minutes on average. Figure  7 lists the questions in the questionnaire.

The questions in our questionnaire and their corresponding score average and distribution

7.3 Results and feedback

Based on users’ questionnaire ratings and free comments, we analyze the three aspects of view design, system interaction and overall evaluation as follows.

View design In terms of the view design, most of the participants agreed that the chronological mountain graph and the geographical distribution could reflect the spatial and temporal distribution of the inscriptions well \((4.20/5)\) . A small number of participants remarked that the amount of data was too small and the information was limited. The participants agreed that the cluster and chord diagram could be used to compare the similarity of works \((4.80/5)\) , which could be intuitively understood from the visual guidance of distance, color, thickness, etc. Participants showed polarized evaluations of the stroke of mountains graph \((3.87/5)\) . Some commented that the design view used the intention of mountains to reflect the overall thickness of strokes between the different works well. However, some expressed doubts about whether the view could truly reflect the thickness of strokes. Participants were most satisfied with the functional design of the word cloud view and the character structure view \((4.75/5)\) . “ Placing the font in a rice grid will allow users to better understand the layout of strokes. ” “ It is possible to discover the similarities and differences between works. ”

System interaction In terms of system interaction, most participants agreed that the overall design of the system is beautiful and artistic \((4.70/5)\) , “ Intentional calligraphy as mountains, the change of strokes shaping the high and low trend. ” “ The word cloud graph is constructed with the intention of ‘Lanting’, which fits the theme well. ” Some participants felt there was room for improvement in the interactive format \((4.25/5)\) , “ The overall visual cue guidance is clearer, but some of the interactive features are vague, and there are fewer illustrations. ” “ Easier to operate, but too few interactive features. ”

Overall evaluation In terms of overall evaluation, participants remarked that this system stimulated their interest in calligraphy \((4.50/5)\) . “ The calligraphy was presented in a relatively novel way and system interaction is interesting ” “ Even people who do not know much about calligraphy can appreciate the artistry and knowledge of Chinese calligraphy. ” Participants were very supportive of presenting calligraphy works in a visual way \((4.40/5)\) and agreed that the system was popularity of science \((4.50/5)\) , “ Presenting calligraphy works with data visualization is more scientifically useful than just showing the original calligraphy images. ” “ Although it is only a visual analysis of the works of Wang Xizhi’s style, it provides an idea of how to understand other works of art. ” For the calligraphy learners among the participants, they commented that the system could better help them learn calligraphy \((4.20/5)\) . “ Arranging the works by chronological history can give learners a clear direction to imitate, and they can appreciate Wang Xizhi’s style from different dimensions. ”

Suggestions for improvement Some participants prefer to have more annotated information and interactive guidance. For example, some users would like to introduce features beyond the calligraphic strokes of the conjoined and thickness features as a measure of similarity in calligraphic style, such as the way in which the strokes start and the strength of the strokes. Moreover, the users tended to add annotations explaining the effect of different features on the style of the calligraphic works. Some people also suggested adding more textual introduction or image display about the works and authors. This would make the system more popular in science. These suggestions help us optimize the system and provide future directions for development.

8 Discussion

Although case studies and evaluation can verify the functionality and utility of our system, they inevitably have some limitations. In this section, we summarize the lessons learned from this study and explore future directions for development.

Calligraphic evolution We focused on the study of the Tang Dynasty monuments and posters in Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy style. Due to the insufficient dataset, the pattern information obtained through data visualization is not rich enough, resulting in a thin main story line. The evolutionary relationship between Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy style needs to be further explored. In addition, some of the view interaction information is not coherent enough. The logic is not clear enough, and some of the patterns are more far-fetched and improbable. It is necessary to further expand the exploration by acquiring more works of Tang Dynasty inscriptions and Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy.

Generalizability The framework of the system can be extended to other similar analysis tasks of ancient calligraphic images or even other cultural heritage. The system can be deployed in museums, libraries and other places. It can provide novel ideas for the preservation and dissemination of traditional Chinese culture. Further, the system can be extended to the field of calligraphy evaluation systems, but the work is currently difficult. It requires upgrading of image processing techniques and calligraphy style extraction algorithms.

Evaluation In the user evaluation phase, we collected many positive comments about the system from 20 college students. This proves to some extent the success of the system’s visual analysis direction for calligraphy. However, the interviewees all came from humanities, computer science, and art disciplines. They have a good professional foundation and understanding of learning ability. It is difficult to fully represent the general public users that we need to target. We also need to be more accessible in the interactive guidance and view explanation of the system.

9 Conclusion and future work

In this work, we propose an interactive visualization system for analyzing the calligraphy style of the inscriptions of the Tang Dynasty. Based on image processing techniques to complete extraction of the calligraphy features from multiple dimensions, such as layout and structural features, we calculate similarity between different works. Following the above extracted features, we develop a visual analysis system that allows the ordinary users to interactively explore the calligraphy features and the evolution path of Wang Xizhi’s calligraphic style. Two in-depth case studies and a user interview demonstrate the usability and effectiveness of the system in facilitating users’ understanding of calligraphic characteristics. Feedback from the users’ interviews provides us with some valuable suggestions for future work.

In future work, we intend to expand the scope of image processing and enhance the extraction of calligraphy features on a more refined level. In addition, we provide a more intelligent workflow to expand to the exploration of calligraphy works other than inscription works. Based on the above techniques, we further explore the connections of calligraphy features and enrich the pattern information to introduce users in a more vibrant way about calligraphy styles and evolution. Moreover, we hope the system framework is extended to other cultural heritage analysis tasks and is displayed in museums or other venues, which provide a novel approach to the preservation and dissemination of traditional Chinese culture.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets are provided by https://chinavis.org/2022/challenge.html and are licensed by the Ancient Books Library of Peking University.

https://toscode.gitee.com/cyahua/cnocr .

https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/cbdb/home .

Abbreviations

Anno Domini

the Biographical Database of Chinese Historical Figures

Convolutional Recurrent Neural Network

Optical Character Recognition

A Point of Interest

Peak Signal to Noise Ratio

the Root Mean Squared Error

Recurrent Neural Network

Structural Similarity

Stroke Width Transform

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to all reviewers for valuable comments and participants in user study.

This work is supported by Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (No. LR23F020003) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 61972356 and 62036009).

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Zhang, Y., Chen, L., Chen, H. et al. Visual analysis of inscriptions in the Tang Dynasty: a case study on the calligraphy style of Wang Xizhi. Vis. Intell. 1 , 8 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44267-023-00012-z

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Devanagari Calligraphy and Calligraphers

Calligraphy is the art of beautiful writing. The origin of the word ‘calligraphy’ comes from the Greek words ‘kallos’ and ‘graphein’, meaning beauty and write respectively. Calligraphy has been practiced since many years in Indian and other countries. India has a rich tradition of calligraphy of different scripts. Many art and design schools in the country teach the basics of calligraphy. Nowadays, a lot of calligraphers and artists are also taking various workshops. However, calligraphy education is mostly Latin centric. Very few students are seen to try Devanagari calligraphy (or calligraphy in Indic scripts). Not many books (as compared to the number of Latin books that are available) or resources on the Internet expose students to Devanagari calligraphy, calligraphers, their thoughts and their philosophies.

The project is an attempt to create a body of knowledge for students that introduces them to Devanagari as a script and its calligraphy. This project is an attempt to document the works and thoughts of different calligraphers and explain how they capture the richness and beauty of Devanagari calligraphy.

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The intercorrelation between Arabic calligraphy and graphic design in Saudi Arabia, Dr.Noura AlOtaibi..-

2021, Middlesex University Research Repository

This thesis contributes towards the body of knowledge of the development of Arabic calligraphy, an art form that has passed through many historical stages since the advent of Islam and the revelation of the Holy Qur’an, in its patterns, styles, values and concepts. The relationship between Arabic calligraphy and Graphic design in Saudi Arabian culture and its creative industries is investigated; the arts and handicrafts policy of the Saudi government and the role of these in promoting and sustaining Arabic calligraphy is examined. Finally, the influence of five factors (financial, organisational, educational, social and technological) upon its development is analysed. The research is based on fieldwork conducted in Saudi Arabia (2016-2017). Mixed methods were used to collect data (questionnaire and interview). Fieldwork techniques allowed the opinions of calligraphers and graphic designers and the Saudi public to be known, allowing this study to be conducted from their perspective. Supporting literature was used to place Saudi Arabia within the larger context of arts, handicrafts and the creative industry. This research found that traditional Arabic calligraphic design has undergone an extraordinary development, where many of calligraphic styles have been created in a modern way to be used in graphic products. However, the connotations of the designs have changed in response to commercial requirements; in particular, their original religious contexts and significance are frequently neglected, thus changing people's perceptions, and their appreciation, of Arabic calligraphy. This research approaches this development. The implications of this research indicate a need for deeper understanding of the role that Arabic calligraphy plays as a symbolic representation of cultural heritage, identity of Arab-Islamic community and the language of the Qur'an, in light of challenges such as globalization, mechanization and technology.

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J. R. Osborn

This dissertation examines multiple applications of Arabic script and the relationship linking visual design with written communication. It presents typography and calligraphy as distinct communicative practices and explores the importance of print culture and printed material in relation to the rise of the modern bureaucratic state. The work is arranged in seven chapters, each illustrating how changes in the visual appearance of Arabic letters connote distinct channels of textual authority and knowledge. Chapter 1 opens a comparative framework with three models of writing in relation to religious tradition, and Chapter 2 explores written communication through the lens of grammatology. Chapter 3 delves into the Arabic calligraphic tradition, the symbolic interpretation of letters, and the meanings of multiple scripts. With the arrival of print, Arabic writing practices shifted in response to a new communication technology, and Chapter 4 outlines the Ottoman adoption of print technology. This section examines historical and archival material, which chronicles early Ottoman printing as well as post-print developments of Ottoman calligraphic art. The symbolic, visual, and textual changes that accompanied the new medium are addressed in Chapter 5, and Chapter 6 introduces a comparative study of Arabic letter design in modern Jordan. A series of interviews with practicing calligraphers, graphic designers, and contemporary artists highlight diverse applications of Arabic script and the flexibility of written communication and. Finally, Chapter 7 reflects upon the historical trajectory of previous chapters to ask what the story of Arabic script might teach us about the future of writing. This chapter traces the continuity of calligraphy and digital design and suggests a more nuanced concept of writing for digital practice. As practices of writing continue to shift both in the Middle East and globally, visual conventions surrounding Arabic script provide a wealth of strategies worthy of preservation and exploration.

Bagh-e Nazar

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Problem statement: Confrontation with the West has facilitated the influence of colonialism on Islamic societies and changing the contextual discourse of the structure of the traditional and social systems has brought about critical and profound changes in all areas, including Islamic culture and art. With the westernization of art education and progress and technology in various industries meanwhile the art of traditional book embellishment flourished. With the westernization of all manifestations of art and related technologies, the traditional art of book embellishment has become less obsolete and led to the "marginalization" of this art. The formation of post-colonial studies, with the "resistance" stance towards power in colonial forms, as well as the rejection of Western academia by some leading Western artists, has challenged the legitimacy of Western principles and aesthetics as a gold standard. Thus, Islamic artists turned again to calligraphy as a symbol of resistance and an element that was born out of Islamic civilization to find identity, and get rid of the consequences of colonialism, and reproduce indigenous culture. Research objective: Recognizing the factors that protect islamic calligraphy from colonialism. Research method: This article considers two main factors as effective in examining the cause of Islamic calligraphy resistance against the westernization process. First, the social situations and the search for a new identity, which is the byproduct of post-colonial influences, have led the traditional Art return to the origins and the theory of resistance. Such return has protected the traditional calligraphy from colonialism and cultural imperialism. Second, the quality and the possibilities of creative calligraphy, often coupled with the divine words possess abstract nature in essence and objectivity; it is fused with the treasures of wisdom as well as literature and humanities, and it is adaptable to other Islamic arts and ways of teaching and learning which is ultimately deeply rooted in the tradition and mysticism of Islam. Therefore, it can be concluded that Islamic calligraphy in the contemporary era will be able to maintain its originality and identity if it keeps its creative aspects and maintains its connection with the wisdom of its teachings and traditions.

The histories and practices of Arabic calligraphy and Arabic typography are richly intertwined, and this paper explores the narratives in which Arabic letter designers situate their work. It highlights two sites of Arabic lettering practice: the design firm of Syntax Digital in Amman, Jordan and the Institute of Traditional Islamic Arts at ai-Balqa' Applied University in Salt, Jordan. In dialogue with site representatives, the presentation explores the relationships connecting practices of letter design with wider structures of information architecture and textual application. The increasing flexibility of design remains a key site of textual, material and communicative negotiation. As practices of writing continue to shift both in the Middle East and globally, the variety of visual conventions surrounding Arabic script ask us to reimagine written design. To cite this article: J.R. Osborn (2009) Narratives of Arabic Script: Calligraphic Design and Modern Spaces, Design and Culture, 1:3, 289-306, DOI: 10.1080/17547075.2009.11643292 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17547075.2009.11643292

Wonderground International Design Research Society Conference, Lisboa

The paper addresses the role of visual representation in confining Arab cultural identity, by studying the use of Arabic calligraphy today in graphic design products. In vernacular, institutional products, calligraphy is often used externally and locally as an exoticizing medium to portray heritage. The lack of Arabic typefaces, and the Western postmodernist dissatisfaction with modern mechanical aesthetics were but to facilitate this construct. This local fascination of contemporary designers in the vernacular, and the cult of nostalgia affiliate them to the international postmodernist discourse of the design fetish, which contributes to the act of mimicry of the Western manufactured representations. Calligraphy as a form of heritage is then a shared code to define “Arab identity”. It is an exoticized “other” past locally, but that also conforms to external representation of the other as Arab and traditional. It is an intersection point, a reference where identity starts to construct in defining a “self” and “other”. The research method includes analysis of collections of calligraphic material from vernacular or institutionalized, internal and external resources (posters, stamps, book covers, cd labels, shop signs, etc). The material is analyzed in light of postcolonial literature, and writings on postmodernism, heritage and tradition, drawn from different fields. The paper unfolds then to suggest a repositioning of the use of Arabic calligraphy as cultural heritage.

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Islamic architecture is distinguished by the formulation in various forms and artistic models of the Arabic calligraphy style. Arabic inscriptions are found in several areas of Islamic architecture both in the external elements as well as in the building's internal elements. The art of calligraphy as describing the building has many impacts to improve the different roles that this art offers. This art often has a symbolic significance according to the structure. This study aims to explore existing research into the use of the art of calligraphy as an important component of Islamic architecture. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) as lead to direct this systematic review and 14 related studies have recognized and selected from databases Web of Science, Scopus, and Dimensions. This paper helps to provide some sources of information that can be used by people who would like to understand and study Islamic calligraphy and Islamic art. Two resea...

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hamidreza chatrbahr

Abstract. There are two general approaches to the study of Islamic art, each of which explaining some aspects of the art of calligraphy. Underlying the Historicism approach is the assumption that calligraphy is a worldly phenomenon whose evolution depends on historical, geographical, social, and political circumstances. The traditionalism approach, on the other hand, holds that Islamic art and, in particular, Islamic calligraphy result from spiritual beliefs and originate in timeless and placeless facts. The followers of the latter believe that Islamic calligraphy has was developed and has evolved as a result of respect for God's word which is a of a divine nature and which is never affected by human power. The present paper aims at a critical review of the Historicism approach to Islamic calligraphy. A investigation of this approach will indicate that calligraphy cannot be assigned to any Divine source and its evolution has become possible through later Islamic artists who, in ...

Pakistan Heritage, Department of Archaeology, School of Cultural Heritage and Creative Technologies, Hazara University Mansehra, Pakistan, Vol. 5, June. 2014

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He Shaoji’s Postural Way of Writing and Psychological Frustration and Adjustment: Case Study on Calligraphy Literature From a Psychological Approach

This paper is to try to study calligraphy literature from a psychological approach. In the future, calligraphy psychology will have a vast space for development in the study of the learning psychology, educational psychology, creative psychology, as well as psychotherapy studies and other areas. Based on frustration theory, the paper explores the close relationship between He Shaoji’s way of writing with bent wrist and the frustration in his political career, and points out that his postural way of writing which combines the bent wrist and the force of whole body is a compensation for frustration due to his dismissal from office, as well as the technical basis for his change in calligraphy style in his late years.

Gao, S. R. (1986). Calligraphy psychology (pp.60-61). Taiwan East Books Ltd.

Gao, S. R. (1986). Penmanship psychology (p.17). Taiwan East Books Ltd.

Social Psychology Editing Group. (Eds.). (2003). Institutions of higher learning (pp.127-128). China:Nankai university press.

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When I started hand-lettering, I began by posting my work on Instagram. I’d add hashtags to get likes. I thought those likes were worth something. I’d see more established lettering artists getting hundreds of likes. They had thousands of followers. At the time, that was the “success” I was working towards.

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HRV Regulation by Calligraphic Finger-writing and Guqin Music: A Pilot Case Study

• Stewart P.W. Lam University of Hong Kong
• Henry S.R. Kao University of Hong Kong
• Xiaoyang Kao University of Illinois-Urbana-Champagn
• Miranda Mei Yan Fung China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Bejing, China
• Tin Tin Kao University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

Introduction . Previous research shows that brush Chinese calligraphy handwriting (CCH) improves one’s cognitive functions as well as emotional and mental health. Similarly, Guqin, the popular Chinese musical instrument, induces positive emotions and emotional stability. The present study tested the efficacy of using the index finger to achieve similar mind–body changes. Methods . We employed a heart rate variability (HRV) Calligraphy–Guqin biofeedback intervention that was implemented with a Zephyr HxM Bluetooth chest heart rate monitoring device and an Android smartphone. A web-based HRV big database app stored the data from three consecutive sessions: (1) 5 min of Guqin music listening; (2) 5 min of CCH finger writing of calligraphy; and (3) again 5 min of Guqin music listening. The second session was designed to explore additive effects of the fingerwriting task. One subject participated with the index finger employed for the writing task. Results . The results showed that the first and third Guqin sessions elicited 55% and 68% HRV coherences, respectively, while the CCH finger writing in the second session elicited 31% of high HRV coherence. The increase in HRV coherence between the two Guqin sessions was attributed to the calligraphy finger writing training effect. The practice of finger writing contributed to increased HRV regulation through heightened attention and concentration.

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Stewart p.w. lam, university of hong kong.

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Xiaoyang Kao, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champagn

Department of Electrical Engineering

Tin Tin Kao, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

Appelhans, B. M., & Luecken, L. J. (2006). Heart rate variability as an index of regulated emotional responding. Review of General Psychology, 10(3), 229–240. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.10.3.229

Chalmers, J. A., Quintana, D. S., Abbott, M. J.-A., & Kemp, A. H. (2014). Anxiety disorders are associated with reduced heart rate variability: A meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 5, 80. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00080

Chen, W., Chen, C., He, Y., Wang, Y., & Wang, W. (2016, June). Long-term Chinese calligraphy handwriting reshapes the cingulate gyrus: A VBM study. Poster session presented at the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Organization for the Human Brain Mapping, Geneva, Switzerland.

Chen, W., He, Y., Gao, Y., Zhang, C., Chen, C., Bi, S., … Wang, W. (2017). Long-term experience of Chinese calligraphic handwriting is associated with better executive functions and stronger resting-state functional connectivity in related brain regions. PLoS One, 12(1), e0170660. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0170660

Chiu, M. L., Kao, H. S. R., & Ho, S. M. Y. (2002, January). The efficacy of Chinese calligraphic handwriting (CCH) on stroke patients: A multiple cases study. In A. D. Korczyn (Ed.), Proceedings of the Second International Congress on Vascular Dementia (pp. 207–212). Salzburg, Austria.

Chu, K.-Y., Huang, C.-Y., & Ouyang, W.-H. (2018). Does Chinese calligraphy therapy reduce neuropsychiatric symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry, 18, 62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12888-018-1611-4

Dong, X.-P., Jia, J.-M., Wang, J., Cui, Z. L., & Zhang, R. A. (2006). A control study of calligraphy training plus venlafaxine in the treatment of anxiety disorder. Chinese Journal of Behavioral Medical Science, 15(5), 027.

Fung, M. M. Y., Han, J., & Lee, C. Y. (2014). Guqin music and mind–body coherence: An EEG experimental study. In B. C. Duan, W. D. Wang, Y. M. Cheng, H. L. Geng, Z. W. Liu & M. Gong (Eds.), The Study of Guqin Music. Shandong: Qilu Book Press.

Fung, M. M. Y., Kao, H. S. R., Lam, S. P. W., & Kao, T. T. (2019). Chinese Guqin music and calligraphy for treating symptoms of primary insomnia. Chinese Medicine and Culture, 2(1), 48–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/CMAC.CMAC_15_19

Fung, M. M. Y., & Wang, W. D. (2011). Guqin music treatment of insomnia: A clinical trials study. World Chinese Traditional Medicine, 12(6), 79–81.

Gindrat, A.-D., Chytiris, M., Balerna, M., Rouiller, E. M., & Ghosh, A. (2015). Use-dependent cortical processing from fingertips in touchscreen phone users. Current Biology, 25(1), 109–116. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.11.026

Kao, H. S. R. (1999, June). Psychogeometric Principles of Chinese Character Writing. In C. G. Leedham, M. Leung, V. Sagar, & X. Xuhong (Eds.), Proceedings of the 9th Biennial Conference of the International Graphonomics Society (pp. 107–110). Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Kao, H. S. R. (2000). The visual-spatial features of Chinese characters and a psychogeometric theory of Chinese character writing. In H. S. R. Kao (Ed.), Chinese Calligraphy Therapy. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.

Kao, H. S. R. (2006). Shufa: Chinese calligraphic handwriting (CCH) for health and behavioural therapy. International Journal of Psychology, 41(4), 282–286. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00207590544000059

Kao, H. S. R. (2010). Calligraphy therapy: A complementary approach to psychotherapy. Asia Pacific Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy, 1(1), 55–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21507680903570334

Kao, H. S. R., & Lam, S. P. W. (2011, May). iPad calligraphy: Fingering characters for elderly health and therapy. Abstract and presentation at the Person-Centered Care for Persons with Dementia Conference, Hong Kong.

Kao, H. S. R., Lam, S. P. W., Guo, N. F., & Shek, D. T. L. (1984). Chinese calligraphy and heart rate reduction: An exploratory study. In H. S. R. Kao & R. Hoosain (Eds.), Psychological Studies of the Chinese Language. Hong Kong: The Chinese Language Society of Hong Kong.

Kao, H. S. R., Lam. S. P. W., & Kao, T. T. (2018). Chinese calligraphy handwriting (CCH): A case of rehabilitative awakening of a coma patient after stroke. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 14, 407–417. http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S147753

Kao, H. S. R., Lam, P. W., Robinson, L., & Yen, N. S. (1989). Psychophysiological changes associated with Chinese calligraphy. In P. Plamondon, C. U. Suen, & M. L. Simner (Eds.), Computer recognition and human production of handwriting. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing.

Kao, H. S. R., & Smith, K. U. (1969). Cybernetic television methods applied to feedback analysis of automobile safety. Nature, 222, 299–300. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/222299a0

Kim, H.-G., Cheon, E.-J., Bai, D.-S., Lee, Y. H., & Koo, B.-H. (2018). Stress and heart rate variability: A meta-analysis and review of the literature. Psychiatry Investigation, 15(3), 235-245. http://dx.doi.org/10.30773/pi.2017.08.17

Kumru, H., Albu, S., Pelayo, R., Rothwell, J., Opisso, E., Leon, D., … Tormos, J. M. (2016). Motor cortex plasticity during unilateral finger movement with mirror visual feedback. Neural Plasticity, 2016, 6087896. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/6087896

Lam, S. P. W. & Kao, H. S. R. (2007). A biofeedback-based system of calligraphy therapy. Innovation Expo 2007. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Convention Centre.

Lam, S. P. W., Kao, H. S. R., & Fung, M. M. Y. (2012, April). Calligraphy-Guqin for brain health and emotion. Poster presented at the 33rd Annual Meeting and Scientific Sessions of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, New Orleans, LA.

Mather, M., & Thayer, J. F. (2018). How heart rate variability affects emotion regulation brain networks. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 19, 98–104. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.12.017

McCraty, R., Atkinson, M., Tomasino, D., & Bradley, R. T. (2009). The coherent heart: Heart–brain interactions, psychophysiological coherence, and the emergence of system-wide order. Integral Review, 5(2), 1–106.

Smith, K. U. (1961). The geometry of human motion and its neural foundations. II: Neurogeometric theory and its experimental basis. American Journal of Physical Medicine, 40, 109–129.

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Wagner, S. (2018). Calligraphy therapy interventions for managing depression in cancer patients: A scoping study. Alternative & Integrative Medicine, 7(1), 260. http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2327-5162.1000260

Wang, M. Q. (Ed.). (2006). Music & Health. Beijing: Chinese TCM Press.

Xu, M., Kao, H. S. R, Zhang, M., Lam, S. P. W, & Wang, W. (2013). Cognitive-neural effects of brush writing of Chinese characters: Cortical excitation of theta rhythm. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013, 975190. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/975190

Yang, X.-L., Li, H.-H., Hong, M.-H., & Kao, H. S. R. (2010). The effects of Chinese calligraphy handwriting and relaxation training in Chinese Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma patients: A randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 47(5), 550_559. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2009.10.014

Yeh, M. M. (Ed.). (1991). The art of Guqin music (pp. 111–139). Beijing: Commercial Press.

Zhu, Z. H., Wang, R., Kao, H. S. R., Zong, Y., Liu, Z. K., Tang, S., … Lam, S. P. W. (2014). Effect of calligraphy training on hyperarousal symptoms for childhood survivors of the 2008 China earthquakes. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 10, 977–985. http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S55016

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Case report open access, calligraphy treatment of children with adhd: a case study volume 2 - issue 1.

• 1 Department of Psychology University of Hong Kong, China
• 2 Alliant International University, San Francisco
• 3 Haidian Special School for Mental Retardation, Beijing
• 4 Yishuge gGmbH, Berlin

Received: November 25, 2019;   Published: December 10, 2019

*Corresponding author: Henry SR Kao, Department of Psychology University of Hong Kong, China

DOI: 10.32474/OAJCAM.2019.01.000127

• Introduction
• Acknowledgment

Background: Chinese calligraphy handwriting (CCH) enhances one’s cognitive, emotional and physiological functions and mental health conditions. Its applications have resulted in behavioral change, mental relaxation as well as improvements in the clinical conditions of the children with, Autism, ADHD and PTSD, showing positive and significant results Kao [1].

Objectives: We tested the treatment effects of CCH training on reducing autistic children’s behavioural changes and clinical symptoms exhibited in schools and at home.

Method: The experiment included 30 autistic children whose behaviour activities and clinical symptoms were measured by the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and the Infant Behavioral Summarized Evaluation (IBSE). The CCH writing task involved 40 minutes a day, five days a week, for a total of 4 consecutive weeks. The assessment took place five times: once before the experiment, and once per week during the four week’s training period.

Results: There were post-CCH training improvement in the four dimensions of Socialization, Communication, Living Environment and Attention/Consciousness, and the Total Score at the 0.01 level of significance of the IBSE assessment. Similarly, we found post-CCH training improvements for the Total Score and the 3 behavior dimensions of Interpersonal Relations, Verbal Communication and Strange Movements, and Rituals of the CARS subscales also all at 0.01 level of significance.

Discussion: The findings of this experiment were overwhelming: in most aspects of the autistic disorders measured by the ISBE (5/7) and CARS (4/5), there were highly significant changes and improvements as a result of the CCH training. These outcomes have important theoretical and practical implications.

Keywords: Withanolides; Withaferin A; Anti-inflammatory ; Anti-tumor; NF-κB

Chinese calligraphic handwriting (CCH) entails an integration of the mind, body, and character, interwoven in a dynamic process of handwriting. It involves visual perception of the character, spatial structuring of the character, cognitive planning, and maneuvering of the brush to follow specific character configurations Chen L [1]. In addition, long-term CCH training facilitates and improves the practitioner’s specific executive functions as well as the strengthening their neural networks in related brain regions Chen W et al. [2]. More specifically, the latest fMRI studies have further established the CCH’s capability of improving the practitioner’s selective attention and divided attention Chen W et al. [3]. These works have provided theoretical foundations for the efficacy of the CCH therapy. It has been, in recent years, gradually established as an indigenous and complementary practice that is capable of improving people’s behavioral, psychosomatic as well as clinical conditions. These include attention and concentration as well as the facilitation of their physical relaxation and emotional stabilization Kao HSR & Kao HSR [4,5].

Successful treatments with this intervention have been obtained with patients of Alzheimer’s disease, PTSD, dementia, as well as childhood disorders of autism and ADHD. These treatment effects were elicited by the CCH training, which entails an integration of the mind, body, and character, interwoven in a dynamic feedback process. The conceptual framework for calligraphy treatment is threefold. First is the sensory feedback: the individual receives sensory feedback from the graphic record while writing calligraphy. Second is the bio-emotional feedback, involving the movement of the arms and the whole body as the individual guides and regulates his movement. Finally, the cognitive feedback: the subjective experiences of heighted attention, alertness, and faster responses during the writing acts Studies on CCH have confirmed its positive effects on visual alertness, cognitive activation, emotional stability as well as physiological quiescence and relaxation Kao HSR & Kao HSR [4,5]. The disorders studied have included, among others, attention-deficit/ hyperactivity Chen CC et al. [6], and mental retardation Hu B et al. [7], as well as autism Lai SF et al. [8]. The positive and facilitative effect of the CCH is well documented for modifying, modulating and changing behaviors in normal as well as disordered children.

Present study

The aim of the present study was to analyse the efficacy of the CCH training as an effective treatment in improving interpersonal relations, social behaviour, negative activities and speech communication that are associated with the ADHD children. We adopted the in-depth qualitative approach of case studies to examine specific psychological changes, likely decrease of disruptive behaviours as well as reduced clinical symptoms in children with the ADHD. We conducted a case study with a view to assessing the effects of Chinese calligraphy therapy on a child diagnosed with ADHD and his primary career, his mother. It is expected that the research may shed light on the details of the treatment plan such as therapy administration, the follow up actions, and on-site implementation of the training to sustain the therapy, as well as other relevant consideration factors such as family therapy.

Participants

A child, aged 7, diagnosed with ADHD, and his mother who was aged 46 and the child’s primary career took part in the case study. The child came from a family with father, an English man, mother of ethnic Chinese, and an elder brother aged 9.

In order to evaluate the effect of the treatment on the child, the following measures were used and completed by the mother of the child:

a) Disturbing Behavior Inventory (DBI) of the Child.

b) Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI).

The participants were given a special set of four booklets containing Chinese calligraphy templates (Kao & Lam, 2007). The child and his mother used Chinese brush pens to write on five pages of Chinese calligraphy templates everyday from Monday to Friday for four weeks. Thus, each of them had to complete a total of 100 pages (i.e. 5 pages x 5 days x 4 weeks) of writings. The participants were briefed to take time in writing the calligraphy and preferably to use around 30 minutes to complete the writing every day. In order to facilitate the assessment of the effects of the therapy, the mother of the child had to complete the following questionnaires before and after the therapy: the

a) Disturbing Behavior Inventory (DBI).

Moreover, the mother was interviewed by the researcher before and after the 4-week therapy. While the mother would take part in the therapy herself, she would write the calligraphy together with the child, with the whole process video recorded.

Before the 4-week therapy, the child was reported by his mother as very active and could not keep doing a task non-stopping for a few minutes. The child was slow in writing and often requested for many breaks and time-outs in doing his homework. The child was observed to have a pattern of leaving his seat or changing his sitting postures every 7-8 minutes. However, his impulsivity was within the manageable level, as little socially inappropriate behavior was observed. Week one: the child showed great curiosity and interests in the writing. He asked many questions throughout the writing, just like writing which word first, whether he should write faster or not, and how to dry the writing, etc. The child was also observed to be very energetic and of high mood, especially when he noticed that he was being videoed. He showed smiling faces in front of the camera and initiated different topics to talk with his mother. When his mother praised him for writing well and encouraged him to talk less but concentrate on writing, the child stop talking for a while but resumed talking after 1 minute. Week two: the child found the writing more difficult than that of previous weeks. He did request to stop writing or do only the easy ones. The child also needed about 30 minutes to do the writing. However, when his mother kept accompanying and encouraging him to write, he was able to do the tasks. The writing appeared to be good and positive experiences for the child. He accepted the difficult tasks with tenacity. He became delighted when he realized that the writing templates were less sophisticated for the following week.

Week three, the child did show enthusiasm in taking part in the calligraphy therapy. He sometimes reminded his mother that they should do the writing, showing his good sense of responsibility. According to the mother, the child appeared to enjoy being video recorded. He also tended to complete the writing fast, especially when he worried that his mother was writing faster than him. However, when his mother reminded him to slow down and keep concentrate on writing, he started slowing down a bit. However, he became writing faster if his mother stopped reminding him to slow down. Week four, the child indicated that he did not wish to stop writing the Chinese calligraphy after the fourth week, as he found this activity interesting. He also indicated that it was easy and indeed enjoyable for him to complete the writing in the fourth week. The mother needed sometime to help the child process the termination of the 4-week calligraphy therapy. At the end, the child was looking forward to having another round of therapy soon.

Post therapy assessment on the Disturbing Behavior Index (DBI) revealed significant decrease in the following behaviors:

The mother’s behavior throughout the 4-week training was relatively stable and consistent as compared to that of her child. As the total score of BAI, it was noted that the mother had lower anxiety score (from 9 to 6).

The pre and post assessment revealed that the mother reported less anxiety index of in the following areas:

a) Feeling heated.

b) Not very concentrated.

c) Indigestion problems.

During the post therapy interview, the mother stated that she really found the Chinese calligraphy therapy worked as when she was very upset or emotional, she would then go into her room and start writing the calligraphy practice alone. She would then become calm and less stressful. She also felt good when she did assign a particular time slot to do something interesting with her child on a daily basis. She realized that her relationship with her child became more positive. Subjectively, the mother did find practicing Chinese calligraphy writing would help her stabilize her emotions and free her from the overwhelming negative thoughts during her low stage of work life.

The findings from this in-depth case analysis serve to corroborate both the theoretical expectations and the previous researches over the effects of CCH treatments in general as well as specific similar activities reported in other studies dealing with childhood behavioral disorders, including autism, ADHD, and mental deficiency. These are especially significant in that very detailed changes of behavior activities on the part of the child were observed and described at this level of scrutiny. Of particular interest in this case analysis is the finding for the first time a parent’s presence and co-participation with shared tasks of brush handwriting has also resulted in a carer’s psycho-emotional stability and benefits. This points to the prospect of examining the efficacy of an onsite parent-child social co-training as a viable option of application. Here are below our reviews of some training experience arising from this case study.

The research perspective

The results of the 4-week calligraphy therapy are positive in most of the areas including less disturbing behaviors of the child and lower anxiety of the mother. Apart from the quantitative evidence, this research adopted a qualitative approach by indepth examination of the effects of the therapy. It was noted that such qualitative research was very useful and provided greater understanding of the specific causal effects of behavior changes in the course of the therapy. Apart from the qualitative research, it would be advised to conduct follow-up studies on the long- term effects of this calligraphy therapy in the areas of specific cognitive, emotional and behavioral changes. On considering the high predictability of early behavioral problems and the hyperactivityimpulsivity issues towards later criminal involvement, it would be advised to introduce early therapy to assure sustainable positive effects in the long run.

The therapy administration perspective According to the indepth interview, it was noted that Chinese calligraphy therapy was relatively easy to administer. Unlike pharmacological treatment, individual or group psychotherapy, the child could practice the calligraphy writings at a time and a place of his/her most convenience. From the experience of this study, it would be advisable to have a room or at least a corner set aside for the therapy, so that the brush pen, ink, paper and templates would be all ready for the child’s ready. This would definitely facilitate the child to take part and enjoy the writings, as the child needed to do the writing for 30 minutes a day, five days a week, continuously for four weeks. Special care should be made to arrange a suitable environment to conduct the therapy, free from other distractions like noise, visual or social stimuli.

The therapeutic approach perspective

Originally, the child with ADHD was the primary client of this case study. However, it was later found that the carer of the child, i.e. the mother, also benefited greatly from the therapy in terms of anxiety coping, stress management, and mother-child relationships. Further research might consider the possibility of conducting calligraphy training from the perspective of the family therapy approach. From the experience of this case study, it might be a good idea for the other members of the family including the father (an English man) and the eldest brother to join the child and the mother for the practice at the same time. Turning such a therapy as family activities may help them to share common interesting experiences and learn how to be calm and relaxed together. Even not for a family therapy, it would be helpful to turn the individual therapy as a parent-child therapy to ensure the positive companion effect of the therapy.

We thank Tin Tin Kao and Stewart P. W. Lam of the University of Hong Kong for help in the preparation of this article.

Figure 1: A graphic comparison in IBSE rating before and after the 4-week CCH practice schedule.

Table 1: Baseline measures by gender group.

• Chen L (1982) Topological structure in visual perception. Science 218(4573): 699-700.
• Chen W, He Y, Gao Y, Zhang CP, Chen CS, et al. (2017) Long-Term Experience of Chinese Calligraphic Handwriting Is Associated with Better Executive Functions and Stronger Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Related Brain Regions. PLoS One 12(1): e170660.
• Chen W, Chen C, Yang P, Bi S, Liu J, et al. (2019) Long-term Chinese calligraphic handwriting reshapes the posterior cingulate cortex: A VBM study. PLoS ONE 14(4): e0214917.
• Kao HSR (2006) Chinese calligraphic handwriting (CCH): a science for health and behavioural therapy. International Journal of Psychology 41(4): 282-286.
• Kao HSR (2010) Calligraphy therapy: A complementary approach to psychotherapy, Asia Pacific Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy 1(1): 55-66.
• Kao HSR, Chen CC, Chang TM (l997) The effect of calligraphy practice on character recognition reaction time among children with ADHD disorder. In: Proceedings of the 55 th Annual Convention of the Council of Psychologists pp: 45-49.
• Kao HSR, Hu B, Zhang B (2000d) Effects of Chinese calligraphic handwriting on reasoning, executive abilities and psychological health of children with mild mental retardation. In: Kao HSR (Edt.), Chinese calligraphic therapy. Hong Kong University Press, China pp: 321-344.
• Kao HSR, Lai SF, Fok WY, Gao DG, Ma TH (2000e) Brush handwriting treatment of negative behaviours in school and at home in children with autism. In: Book of Abstracts, 8 th Glasgow, Autism-Europe Congress. China pp: 19-21.

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• Published: 17 August 2024

Risk factors for necrotizing enterocolitis in small-for-gestational-age infants: a matched case–control study

• Xiang-Ping Ding 1 ,
• Xiang-Wen Hu 1 ,
• Shi Chen 2 ,
• Zheng-Li Wang 1 , 2 ,
• Lu-Quan Li 1 , 2 &
• Wen-Yan Tang 1 , 3  

Scientific Reports volume  14 , Article number:  19098 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

Metrics details

• Gastroenterology
• Gastrointestinal diseases
• Medical research
• Risk factors

Few studies have focused on the risk factors for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in small for gestational age (SGA) infants. The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors for NEC in SGA newborns. This study included consecutive SGA neonates admitted to a tertiary hospital in Jiangxi Province, China from Jan 2008 to Dec 2022. Patients with NEC (Bell’s stage ≥ II) were assigned to the NEC group. Gestational age- and birth weight-matched non-NEC infants born during the same period at the same hospital were assigned to the control group. The risk factors associated with NEC were analyzed with univariate and logistic regression models. During the study period, 2,912 SGA infants were enrolled, 150 (5.15%) of whom developed NEC. In total, 143 patients and 143 controls were included in the NEC and control groups, respectively. Logistic regression analysis revealed that sepsis ( OR 2.399, 95% CI 1.271–4.527, P  = 0.007) and anemia ( OR 2.214, 95% CI 1.166–4.204, P  = 0.015) might increase the incidence of NEC in SGA infants and that prophylactic administration of probiotics ( OR 0.492, 95% CI 0.303–0.799, P  = 0.004) was a protective factor against NEC. Therefore, sepsis, anemia and a lack of probiotic use are independent risk factors for NEC in SGA infants.

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Introduction.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a common and devastating gastrointestinal emergency of preterm birth that occurs in 7–12% of very low birth weight infants 1 , 2 . The mortality rate associated with NEC ranges from 20 to 40%, and survivors are at increased risk for poor long-term growth and neurodevelopmental impairment despite improvements in medical technology and neonatal care over the past several years 3 , 4 . The exact etiology of NEC remains unclear, but multiple factors, such as formula feeding, prematurity, low birth weight, intestinal ischemia and abnormal microbial colonization, are considered risk factors 5 , 6 , 7 . Classification as small for gestational age (SGA) is assigned if a newborn has a birth weight < 10th percentile for their gestational age 8 , suggesting possible intrauterine growth retardation and growth insufficiency. The risk of developing NEC in SGA neonates is more than double that in appropriate for gestational age (AGA) neonates 9 . However, the risk factors associated with the development of NEC in SGA infants remain unclear. To our knowledge, few studies have focused on the risk factors for NEC in SGA infants. The aim of this study was to identify the potential risk factors for NEC in SGA infants.

Clinical features

During the study period, 2,912 SGA infants were admitted to the Department of Neonatology, Jiangxi Hospital Affiliated to the Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University (CHCMU). Among these infants, 150 (5.15%) developed NEC (Bell’s stage ≥ II), 143 of whom were eligible for enrollment; the other 7 patients were excluded because they were discharged from the hospital during the first 24 h of hospitalization (n = 4) and had incomplete information (n = 3). Consequently, 143 matched SGA infants without NEC were included in the control group.

Table 1 shows the comparison of demographic characteristics between the two groups. No differences in neonatal baseline factors or maternal factors were found between the two groups ( P  > 0.05). Compared with non-NEC infants, infants with NEC required a longer duration of hospitalization ( P  = 0.046) and had higher overall mortality ( P  = 0.000). After adjustment, the mortality rate in the NEC group (Table 1 ).

was still significantly greater than that in the control group ( P  = 0.000).

Table 2 shows the risk factors associated with NEC identified with the univariate analysis. A higher incidence of anemia and sepsis and a lower incidence of prophylactic probiotic administration were found in neonates with NEC ( P  < 0.05). In infants with NEC, sepsis occurred at a mean of 2 (range 1–5) days before the onset of NEC; the time of sepsis onset after birth and the timing of NEC onset are presented in Fig.  1 . No differences in the incidence of patent ductus arteriosus, respiratory failure, apnea, respiratory distress syndrome or polycythemia were found between the two groups ( P  > 0.05).

The time of sepsis onset after birth and the timing of NEC onset.

The most important risk factors for NEC in SGA infants in the less than P3 and P3–P10 subgroups are shown in Table 3 . Specifically, sepsis was an important risk factor for NEC in SGA infants in the less than P3-P10 subgroup ( P  = 0.012), and anemia was an important risk factor for NEC in the P3 subgroup ( P  = 0.034). Additionally, prophylactic probiotics appeared to reduce the incidence of NEC in the P3 group ( P  = 0.005).

Table 4 shows the independent risk factors identified by the multivariate logistic regression model. Neonatal anemia ( P  = 0.015) and sepsis ( P  = 0.007) were considered independent risk factors for NEC in SGA infants, and SGA infants prophylactically administered probiotics were less likely to have NEC ( P  = 0.004).

To further clarify whether the presence of these risk factors affects the prognosis of NEC in infants, we compared subgroups of NEC survivors and nonsurvivors. Table 5 shows that the presence of sepsis significantly increased the mortality of NEC infants ( P  = 0.016), whereas the prophylactic administration of probiotics might reduce their mortality ( P  = 0.000). Here, anemia did not increase the mortality of NEC patients ( P  = 0.732).

SGA infants are considered a high-risk population for NEC 9 , 10 . In this population, the incidence of NEC in SGA infants was 5.15% (150/2912). Other studies have reported that the incidence rate of NEC in SGA infants is between 3.2% and 6.02% 9 , 11 . Notably, a multicenter survey of the Chinese population revealed that the incidence rate of NEC in SGA infants may be as high as 20.41% 12 .

However, the exact risk factors for NEC in SGA infants remain unclear. We found that neonatal anemia and sepsis were risk factors for NEC, and prophylactic administration of probiotics might decrease the incidence of NEC in SGA infants. This study may provide scientific evidence for prevention and treatment strategies for NEC.

We found that SGA infants with sepsis were more vulnerable to NEC. The mechanism by which sepsis causes NEC is thought to be multifactorial. Bacteria from hematogenous and gut-derived infections can directly destroy intestinal epithelial cells, and bacterial products such as endotoxins can cause necrosis of the intestinal tract 13 , 14 . Various inflammatory mediators, such as platelet-activating factor, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6 and IL-10, contribute to the onset and progression of NEC 15 , 16 . We also found that anemia was associated with the development of NEC in SGA infants. Anemia can impair splanchnic perfusion, including that in the intestine, resulting in increased anaerobic metabolism and the production of byproducts such as lactic acid 17 , 18 . Additionally, anemia can impair the normal maturation of vascular autoregulation in the intestine 19 . These effects can trigger a cascade of events leading to ischemic-hypoxemic mucosal gut injury, predisposing neonates to NEC 17 , 18 .

Finally, we found that prophylactic probiotics were associated with a lower incidence of NEC in SGA infants. Several clinical trials have demonstrated that probiotic administration after birth decreases the incidence of NEC in neonates 20 , 21 . Inappropriate bacterial colonization in the gastrointestinal tract plays an key role in the development of NEC. Probiotics may promote the colonization of beneficial microbiota, inhibit the growth of pathogens, improve the function of the gut mucosal barrier, and prevent the incidence of NEC 5 , 22 . Therefore, a lack of probiotic use may be associated with a higher incidence of NEC 23 , 24 .

In this study, the overall mortality rate of the NEC group was significantly greater than that of the control group, and after adjusting for mortality due to NEC, the mortality rate in the NEC group was still significantly greater than that of the control group. Sepsis, anemia, respiratory failure, and other factors might significantly increase the mortality rate of patients with NEC 7 , 25 , 26 ; therefore, the higher mortality rate in the NEC group observed here might be closely related to the presence of multiple comorbidities in the SGA infants themselves.

There are several limitations in this study, including errors and bias inherent to the retrospective nature of the study. Moreover, this was only a single-center study and might not represent the characteristics of the entire Chinese SGA population. Therefore, prospective multicenter studies are needed to clarify the high-risk factors for NEC in the SGA population.

In conclusion, sepsis, anemia and a lack of probiotic use were independent risk factors for NEC in SGA infants in the present study. Thus, more attention should be given to SGA neonates with anemia and sepsis in future medical practices. Additionally, prophylactic probiotic use may reduce the incidence of NEC in SGA neonates.

Study population

This study was designed as a 1:1 matched case–control study. Consecutive SGA neonates who were admitted to the Department of Neonatology, Jiangxi Hospital Affiliated to Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University (CHCMU) from Jan 2008 to Dec 2022, were included. This retrospective study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Jiangxi Hospital Affiliated to CHCMU (Approval No. 2016–19), and use of the database containing the evaluated data was permitted by the Ethics Committees of Jiangxi Hospital Affiliated to CHCMU. The requirement for informed consent was waived by the Ethics Committee of Jiangxi Hospital Affiliated to CHCMU. All study protocols were carried out in accordance with the ethical standards of the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. SGA was defined as a birth weight < 10th percentile for each newborn’s gestational age according to the growth chart for Chinese neonates 8 , 27 . SGA neonates with diagnosed NEC (Bell’s stage ≥ II) were included in the NEC group 28 . The SGA neonates without NEC admitted during the same period to the same hospital (the admission time of the control group infants did not differ from that of the NEC group by more than 3 months) were screened as possible controls; those matched for gestational age (difference of < 3 days) and birth weight (difference of < 100 g) were selected. When there were multiple candidate infants , one infant was randomly selected for inclusion in the control group by a computer. Neonates whose medical information was incomplete or who were discharged from the hospital during the first 24 h of hospitalization were excluded from the study.

Data collection

The demographic characteristics, including maternal factors such as maternal age, antibiotic exposure during pregnancy, antenatal glucocorticoid exposure, gestational hypertension, intrauterine cholestasis during pregnancy, anemia during pregnancy, gestational diabetes mellitus, premature rupture of the membrane (> 18 h), fetal distress and meconium-stained amniotic fluid, were recorded. The neonatal factors included gender, gestational age, birth weight, mode of delivery, feeding type, and Apgar score at 1 and 5 min. Risk factors prior to the occurrence of NEC, such as neonatal anemia, sepsis, patent ductus arteriosus, respiratory failure, apnea, respiratory distress syndrome and polycythemia, were also recorded. Laboratory examinations and clinical outcomes were collected retrospectively from the hospital’s neonatal database. Neonatal anemia was defined as a hemoglobin or hematocrit concentration greater than 2 standard deviations below the mean for postnatal age 29 . Sepsis that developed prior to the onset of NEC was diagnosed on the basis of clinical manifestations and the growth of bacteria on blood culture and ancillary tests such as leukopenia (WBC < 5 × 10 9 /L) or leukocytosis (WBC > 25 × 10 9 /L for ≤ 3 days or WBC > 20 × 10 9 /L for > 3 days), a platelet count < 100 × 10 9 /L, an immature-to-total neutrophil ratio (I:T ratio) ≥ 0.16, and a C-reactive protein > 8 mg/L 30 , 31 , 32 . NEC was defined according to the modified Bell’s criteria as Bell Stage II or greater 28 , 33 . All infants were treated with suitable and necessary interventions according to their conditions, with the possible interventions including cessation of enteral feeding, nasogastric suction and parenteral nutrition, antibiotic therapy and surgical intervention. The data were collected, reviewed, deidentified, and anonymously analyzed by the authors, and the Ethics Committee of Jiangxi Hospital Affiliated to CHCMU waived the requirement for informed consent because of the anonymized nature of the data and the scientific purpose of the study.

Statistical analysis

All analyses were conducted using SPSS 24.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The Kolmogorov‒Smirnov test was used to assess the normality of continuous variables. Normally distributed variables were analyzed using Student’s t test, and skewed variables were analyzed with the Mann‒Whitney U test. The chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test were used to compare categorical variables between the two groups. All potential risk factors related to NEC incidence were included in the multivariate regression model to identify independent risk factors for NEC. P  < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Department of Neonatology, Jiangxi Hospital Affiliated to Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Nanchang, 330103, People’s Republic of China

Xiang-Ping Ding, Xiang-Wen Hu, Zheng-Li Wang, Lu-Quan Li & Wen-Yan Tang

Key Laboratory of Pediatrics in Chongqing, Chongqing International Science and Technology Cooperation Center for Child Development and Disorders, Neonatal Diagnosis and Treatment Center, Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400014, People’s Republic of China

Shi Chen, Lu Guo, Zheng-Li Wang, Yu He & Lu-Quan Li

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All the authors made substantial contributions to the study. Xiang-Ping Ding collected the clinical data drafted the manuscript. Xiang-Wen Hu, Shi Chen helped to collect the clinical information. Lu Guo and Zheng-Li Wang analyzed the data, Lu-Quan Li contributed to the critical revision. Wen-Yan Tang supervised the project and contributed to the conception and design of the study. Xiang-Ping Ding, Xiang-Wen Hu, Shi Chen, Lu Guo, Zheng-Li Wang, Lu-Quan Li and Wen-Yan Tang provided the final approval of the manuscript.

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Ding, XP., Hu, XW., Chen, S. et al. Risk factors for necrotizing enterocolitis in small-for-gestational-age infants: a matched case–control study. Sci Rep 14 , 19098 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-70351-4

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-70351-4

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Computer Science > Artificial Intelligence

Title: fine-tuning llms for autonomous spacecraft control: a case study using kerbal space program.

Abstract: Recent trends are emerging in the use of Large Language Models (LLMs) as autonomous agents that take actions based on the content of the user text prompt. This study explores the use of fine-tuned Large Language Models (LLMs) for autonomous spacecraft control, using the Kerbal Space Program Differential Games suite (KSPDG) as a testing environment. Traditional Reinforcement Learning (RL) approaches face limitations in this domain due to insufficient simulation capabilities and data. By leveraging LLMs, specifically fine-tuning models like GPT-3.5 and LLaMA, we demonstrate how these models can effectively control spacecraft using language-based inputs and outputs. Our approach integrates real-time mission telemetry into textual prompts processed by the LLM, which then generate control actions via an agent. The results open a discussion about the potential of LLMs for space operations beyond their nominal use for text-related tasks. Future work aims to expand this methodology to other space control tasks and evaluate the performance of different LLM families. The code is available at this URL: \texttt{ this https URL }.

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