Yale Bulletin and Calendar

February 16, 2001Volume 29, Number 19



The art of calligraphy is so precise that practitioners must even learn how much white space to leave between brushstrokes.



Students learning their letters in weekly calligraphy club

On a recent Saturday afternoon, while many of his classmates were unwinding with friends or exercising at the gym, Yale freshman Dan Wei sat at a long table in the Morse College seminar room painstakingly copying, over and over, the numeral "1."

The fact that this task was no easy feat did not surprise Wei, for what he was putting on paper is the Chinese character for the numeral, and he was writing it with paint and a brush. Although it was his first lesson in Chinese calligraphy, Wei is familiar enough with the ancient art to know that creating even the simplest characters -- such as the single graceful horizontal line of the numeral "1" -- requires an exactness of proportion, scale and slant that can test the patience of the uninitiated.

As the freshman laboriously worked on perfecting his paintbrush stroke, Yale senior E-Ching Ng slowly circled the seminar table checking the work of Wei and the other undergraduates who gathered that day to learn Chinese calligraphy. Traditional Chinese instrumental music played quietly in the background as Ng made her rounds, often commanding, in a mild voice, "Train your eye," or reminding others how to hold their brushes properly.

Every Saturday afternoon during the school term, anywhere from 10 to 20 Yale students gather in the Morse College seminar room for the informal training in calligraphy offered by the Chinese Calligraphy Association. The group was founded by E-Ching Ng and Alice Chen '01 in the spring of 1999 to give Yale students the opportunity to share their interest in ancient Chinese culture. Some members are beginners while others, such as Ng, have practiced the art for many years; only about half are of Chinese descent.

In fact, knowing the Chinese language is not a requirement for learning Chinese calligraphy, say Ng and Chen, who are president and vice president, respectively, of the Chinese Calligraphy Association. The only prerequisites, they say, are the ability to concentrate and an appreciation for the art. During the meetings, however, non-native speakers may pick up some Chinese or Japanese words, as their classmates compare how certain words are spoken in different dialects or discuss particular word meanings.

Ng, who has been studying calligraphy since she was a child, is known among the club's members for her fondness for describing the history and legends surrounding the evolution of calligraphy. The art, she says, dates back at least 3,000 years and was first carved mainly as pictorial inscriptions on bone. Since then, five main kinds of calligraphy have developed, each with its own unique characteristics: seal script (also called official script), clerical script (or slave script), standard script (regular script), semi-cursive script (walking or running script) and cursive script (grass-style script).

Slave script is so named because it was actually developed by a prisoner, explains Ng. As legend has it, a Chinese official was told to write in seal script a proclamation on behalf of an emperor but fell asleep while working on the task, and was imprisoned for not getting the job done. Blaming his failure on the time-consuming nature of the intricate seal script, the prisoned official devised the less formal slave script, which is still popular today. (The logo for the Yale-China Association, notes Ng, is written in slave script.)

Within each of these kinds of scripts, there are "as many styles as there are people," says Ng. When calligraphy students attempt any of the scripts, they must first master the basic strokes of that script: the horizontal stroke, vertical stroke, dot, left diagonal stroke, right diagonal stroke, curving strokes and hook.

In their Saturday meetings, Ng and Chen focus on teaching beginning students these main strokes in standard script. More advanced students are free to select the characters and the scripts they would like to master. In fact, some have developed reputations as "experts" in a particular script or style. But because the art is so intricate and precise -- even putting the proper amount of white space between each stroke is important -- achieving status as a "master" is an impressive, hard-earned honor, say Chen and Ng.

"It takes a long time and a lot of practice to achieve just average proficiency in calligraphy," explains Ng. Despite her many years of study, she says, in her native country of Singapore only very old men who have spent most of their lives practicing the art win the most prestigious calligraphy competitions. Older generations of women had little formal schooling, so only those of recent generations have become practiced at the art. Ng's own talent as a calligrapher has been recognized with prizes in junior competitions in Singapore.

Ng has such an avid interest in calligraphy that she wrote her Yale admissions essay on the subject, and had expected to study with Zhang Chong-he, a former teacher of the art at the University. When she arrived to

discover that Chong-he had retired, Ng decided to start a class on her own. Chen, who was Ng's suitemate during their sophomore year, shared her interest, and was particularly keen on developing her talent in the related art of Chinese painting.

Chen says that practicing calligraphy, which she also studied briefly as a child, has helped her improve her Chinese painting, and also serves as a break from her busy weekday schedule. She is majoring in molecular, cellular and developmental biology, plays violin for and manages the Yale Bach Society, sings in the Yale Russian Chorus and serves as a freshmen counselor in Welch Hall.

"It's very relaxing for me to spend a few hours every Saturday working on my calligraphy or painting," says Chen. While Chinese artists traditionally achieve a certain level of proficiency in calligraphy before they paint, Chen has found painting to be an easier art form than calligraphy, which she says is "less forgiving." Several of Chen's Chinese paintings are currently on view in the Yale-China Association's exhibit "Pursuing the Brushstroke," which features about 30 works of art -- both paintings and calligraphy -- by both novice and more advanced members of the Chinese Calligraphy Association. Among these is Chen's painting of a plum tree, which is complemented by a Tang dynasty love poem written in calligraphy by Ng. Ng, who is working toward a joint B.A./M.A. in English, also contributed Chinese translations of a selection from "Hamlet" and Carl Sandburg's poem "Grass."

Ng and Chen deliberately keep the 90-minute weekly calligraphy meetings as informal as possible, so that students can join at any time, and can come and go as they please. Furthermore, students are able to work at their own pace, are free to try out Chinese painting or Japanese calligraphy in addition to Chinese calligraphy, and can attend meetings as often as they wish.

Club members range from junior Xin Dong, who was raised in China and studied the art there in elementary school, to Pamela Katz, a sophomore majoring in history who has mastered enough Chinese characters in the past year to contribute a Chinese proverb to the "Pursuing the Brushstroke" exhibition. Freshman Jennifer Wong, who studied calligraphy as a youngster in Chinese school in California and finds that practicing the art helps in her elementary Chinese course, joined the course with her roommate, Carrie Cunningham. The two collaborated on a piece for "Pursuing the Brushstroke" describing the closeness of friends.

Since intense concentration is required for the art, calligraphy is "not the most social activity," admits Ng. However, as they have pursued its study together, many members of the group have become good friends. They interrupt long periods of silence during meetings with conversation about each other's work and progress, and also make a point of celebrating particular Chinese holidays, such as the Chinese New Year, with special music for the occasion.

"We do have fun," comments Chen, noting that many of the club members stay on to work on their calligraphy projects in the Morse seminar room long after the meeting has officially ended.

"Sometimes we really become focused on what we are doing, enjoying that meditative state that calligraphy can put you in," says Chen. "For most of us who get involved with it, calligraphy becomes a passion."

The works by members of the Chinese Calligraphy Association will be on view in the Bierwirth Room at the Yale-China Association, 442 Temple St., through April 28. Further information on the exhibit and calligraphy class can be found at the Chinese Calligraphy Association's website at www.yale.edu/calligraphy.

-- By Susan Gonzalez


T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

New scholarship seeks to boost diversity in EPH

Exhibit celebrates 'Paul Mellon Bequest'

Columnist condemns 'infotainment' trend

Producer calls for more ethics in filmmaking

Students learning their letters in weekly calligraphy club

Yale SOM launches student-managed venture capital fund

NFL commissioner to discuss future of pro sports

New society advocates use of ecological concepts in industry

Senior Ben Trachtenberg wins prestigious Mitchell Scholarship

Liman Colloquium will examine law enforcement practices

Students will test skills in 'ultimate mind sport' with Yale sponsorship

Solnit will explore the 'Bioethics of Children's Rights'

Economist William Nordhaus to discuss dilemmas raised by 'global public goods'

Yale Dramat to present Brecht masterpiece

Dance troupes to unite in benefit performance

Garten to discuss his new book, 'The Mind of the C.E.O.'



Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News|Bulletin Board

Yale Scoreboard|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Production Schedule

Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs Home|News Releases| E-Mail Us|Yale Home Page