Chinese Calligraphy

Preface

Gu qin, chess, calligraphy and painting, also known as the “four arts,” are symbols of personal cultural cultivation with which most scholars and literati are connected with in ancient China. Calligraphy of Chinese characters was once a compulsory subject for Chinese scholars. During the process of writing, one quietly learns about life’s morals. As such, calligraphy has developed as an independent school of art. Calligraphy possesses its own aesthetic rules. The level of cultivation of the calligrapher is reflected in the level of art in his calligraphy

In line with the University’s pursuit of whole person development education, promoting humanities and arts outside the classroom is among the projects CityU Library has strived to develop recently. In this semester, we have proudly received the support of Dr Sze Chi-ching to initiate and promote students’ understanding of and interest in calligraphy. We shall display his fine works of calligraphy in the Library and CityU Gallery, allowing students to grasp basic knowledge about calligraphy and, thus, begin to approach the appreciation of calligraphy. Besides adopting the usual “Resource-Based Learning Approach” design as the strategy for this learning activity, we will also make use of a rich variety of resources. In particular we have arranged over twenty workshops for copying model calligraphy, at which teachers from the Chinese Civilisation Centre can give instructions. Other learning activities include thematic exhibitions, a thematic webpage, an information booklet, a learning assessment, a multi-media display, a thematic lecture, etc, hoping that all of us can understand Chinese calligraphy of various levels from different angles. Once the door of calligraphy appreciation is open, it is hoped that this art subject will become our lifelong learning pursuit. We look forward to seeing stronger interest in calligraphy from our students after this activity.

It is our wish that we can make good use of the Library space and that the rich collection will enhance students’ contact with and understanding of Chinese calligraphy, a gem of Chinese civilization. Recently, a Western scholar visited the calligraphy exhibition on works by the famous calligrapher Dung Yan-zhi. He said that through her calligraphy, he was enlightened about the rich tradition of Chinese literature and philosophy. He believed that there is a need for both the East and the West to pay strong attention to Chinese calligraphy education because Chinese calligraphy learning is a simultaneous training of students’ concentration power. We can gradually discover that calligraphy, this art with a long history, is indeed closely related to our lives and is immersed in our daily life.

Prof. Steve Ching
University Librarian



		Preface Gu qin, chess, calligraphy and painting, also known as the “four arts,” are symbols of personal cultural cultivation with which most scholars and literati are connected with in ancient China. Calligraphy of Chinese characters was once a compulsory subject for Chinese scholars. During the process of writing, one quietly learns about life’s morals. As such, calligraphy has developed as an independent school of art. Calligraphy possesses its own aesthetic rules. The level of cultivation of the calligrapher is reflected in the level of art in his calligraphy In line with the University’s pursuit of whole person development education, promoting humanities and arts outside the classroom is among the projects CityU Library has strived to develop recently. In this semester, we have proudly received the support of Dr Sze Chi-ching to initiate and promote students’ understanding of and interest in calligraphy. We shall display his fine works of calligraphy in the Library and CityU Gallery, allowing students to grasp basic knowledge about calligraphy and, thus, begin to approach the appreciation of calligraphy. Besides adopting the usual “Resource-Based Learning Approach” design as the strategy for this learning activity, we will also make use of a rich variety of resources. In particular we have arranged over twenty workshops for copying model calligraphy, at which teachers from the Chinese Civilisation Centre can give instructions. Other learning activities include thematic exhibitions, a thematic webpage, an information booklet, a learning assessment, a multi-media display, a thematic lecture, etc, hoping that all of us can understand Chinese calligraphy of various levels from different angles. Once the door of calligraphy appreciation is open, it is hoped that this art subject will become our lifelong learning pursuit. We look forward to seeing stronger interest in calligraphy from our students after this activity. It is our wish that we can make good use of the Library space and that the rich collection will enhance students’ contact with and understanding of Chinese calligraphy, a gem of Chinese civilization. Recently, a Western scholar visited the calligraphy exhibition on works by the famous calligrapher Dung Yan-zhi. He said that through her calligraphy, he was enlightened about the rich tradition of Chinese literature and philosophy. He believed that there is a need for both the East and the West to pay strong attention to Chinese calligraphy education because Chinese calligraphy learning is a simultaneous training of students’ concentration power. We can gradually discover that calligraphy, this art with a long history, is indeed closely related to our lives and is immersed in our daily life. Prof. Steve Ching University Librarian