Shu Dao: A Calligraphy Score Framework Linking Calligraphy, Music, and Performance

Abstract

This paper introduces Calligraphy Writing Score Representation (CWSR) and proposes Shu Dao as a framework that interprets East Asian calligraphy   as a performative art rather than a static visual artifact. Inspired by traditions such as Japanese Shodō and embodied cultural practices such as  Chadao, the framework models calligraphy as a structured performance analogous to musical notation.

Instead of representing characters as fixed images, the proposed approach encodes each brush stroke as an ordered and executable action, forming a calligraphy score. Characters are organized within a structured spatial grid, and strokes are annotated with attributes including stroke type, execution order, spatial coordinates, trajectory, compositional role, and dynamic properties such as brush pressure and pacing. This representation captures temporal and expressive aspects of calligraphic writing that are typically absent from image-based representations.

The paper makes three main contributions. First, it introduces CWSR as a structured notation system for representing calligraphy across multiple levels, including strokes, character structures, and compositional organization (e.g., layout and zhangfa), together with their rhythmic and performative dynamics. Second, it conceptualizes Shu Dao as a score-mediated framework that models calligraphy as structured performance. Third, it establishes a computational foundation for the analysis, visualization, and executable generation of calligraphic works by AI-based calligraphic agents.

Together, these contributions bridge calligraphy, musical notation, and performative cultural practices, supporting human--AI co-creation in computational calligraphy and digital humanities research.