My Thursday Favourites #2 Contest! || My Favourite Subject /s in School : Chinese Calligraphy

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!

It is time for another @marblely’s My Thursday Favourite contest. This week theme would be My Favourite Subject/s in school.

In my primary school year, my favourite subject would be Chinese Calligraphy. Chinese Calligraphy can consider as a unique artistic form of Chinese culture. Mastering the technique of using ink to write Chinese Calligraphy is not easy, it required dedication and passions. Although today, Chinese Calligraphy is no longer common in our society but it still famous in China where it serves as a channel for traditional Chinese art and culture.

The traditional tool used for Calligraphy were paper, brush, ink and ink slab. But in our generation, they have simplified the ink, where it was a readymade ink in a bottle. We no longer required to grind the ink. I do believe in china, they still used the proper traditional way. Where they grind the ink by using ink slab each time they plan to write.

The type of paper we used in primary school is a normal paper with small boxes in a piece of thin paper which able to absorb the ink. It was not an ordinary A4 paper. The correct and traditional paper known as “xuan paper” (Rice Paper) which has best strength of ink absorption.

Chinese Calligraphy Tools

We used low material brush in school because the traditional brush was made from animal hair which is soft and flexible. And the price also expensive. They do have different size of brush, the small brush for small letter and big brush for big letter. But in school, the brush we used was multipurpose :P

The normal brush and Ink I used in school similar with below image.

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It not easy to learn Chinese Calligraphy, we need to know when to press and raise the brush while writing. I still remember my Chinese Calligraphy teacher always knocked my hand if my position of holding the brush incorrect. There are seven standard strokes in Chinese Calligraphy. It consists of horizontal line, dot, Sweeping downward stroke, the sharp curve.

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In primary school, we first learnt by follow the sample of word in the practice book. It similar as below, the purpose was to let us familiar with all the strokes and how to position our writing hand.

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Then slowly, my teacher would give us a blank paper without any sample anymore. He gave us some topic to write. I still remember how he taught us and how messy it was with all the inks. The smell of the ink was not pleasant. Sometimes because of my carefulness, my whole school bag full of ink and scolded by my mother just because I didn’t close the ink bottle well.

I love the way how the teacher taught us, he used a fun way to encourage us. But he also a stern teacher. I still remember when I lazy with his homework, I just wrote it in normal Chinese font, I would get a big “ egg” then asked to do it again with more exercise.

I have discontinued Chinese Calligraphy in secondary school because it does not listed as a subject in my school. But i still miss it very much.

Maybe one day when I retire I should pick up Chinese Calligraphy again.

Thank you for dropping by my page and have a nice day!!

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