Art of Chinese Calligraphy Writing

(Weisun Ng-Qureshi)

Chinese calligraphy is an art, a time capsule and a culture. With an extended history going thousands of years back, through many dynasties, the unique growth of Chinese calligraphy is seen through the elegancy and complexity of characters. Chinese calligraphy has been passed down by many scholars from the famous Wang XiZhi (303-361) of Jin dynasty to presently used as precious gifts and part of festival culture.

Associated with Chinese calligraphy is the ‘Four Treasures of Study’. They are the brush, ink, paper and ink-slabs. The brush is often made from strands of animal fur, bringing the fluidity of the writing to life. The ink can be liquid form, but more traditionally the ink would be a solid block. With the help of water and inkstone, the ink is liquified. The paper, one of the great inventions in Chinese history, is soft and has ink absorbance. The ink slabs made from stone or pottery, helps hold the paper in place when writing and painting until it has been dried. All of these are essentials for Chinese calligraphy.

In our ‘Introduction to China’ module, our teacher Ms Li Yan Fang, provided us with the exciting opportunity to explore Chinese calligraphy in our lesson. In our lesson, we learnt about the history of Chinese calligraphy. We also had the amazing opportunity to do some Chinese calligraphy ourselves. We found Chinese calligraphy to be a calming, relaxing and enjoyable activity. It was an insightful experience of this majestic culture. We really enjoyed Chinese calligraphy and some may continue to explore Chinese calligraphy and art. Below is our class’s Chinese calligraphy work:

Thank you to Ms Li and our course team for providing us with this fantastic opportunity.