GUA MUSANG: The younger generation of the Tionghua community need to learn and preserve the tradition of calligraphy, which is a symbol of Chinese culture, especially in the lead up to the Chinese New Year.
Graphic designer and member of the Kota Bharu Chinese Painting Association, Lee Her Shin, 32, said the skill of writing Chinese calligraphy can only be honed through the process of learning and continuous practice.
Lee started dabbling in calligraphy in 2019 when she wanted to continue the legacy of her late father, and she now recognises the culture of the art as one of the important layers of the festival.
“Young people need to learn this art and start practising so that it doesn’t get lost in the current of modernity by having to be adept at holding a brush, controlling hand movements and knowing the correct hand position when writing or drawing calligraphy with the tip of the brush hair using seven standard strokes.
“Alas, presently, we can see that their awareness of calligraphy is decreasing and only the elderly know how to do calligraphy when the new year season arrives,” she said in Kampung Baru here today.
Speaking further, Lee said calligraphy exercises are usually done using white lined and boxed paper while red paper is used to write wishes, with ink made from ‘lampblack’ - a sooty residue created by burning pine resin which is then mixed with glue.
“The white paper (traditionally, rice paper known as ‘xuan’ paper, is preferred) called ‘Xuanzhi’ has lines and boxes to guide the correct position of Chinese characters for the apprentice who is just starting to learn.
“Red paper or ‘hongzhi’ is used in the Chinese New Year to write a wish for well-being and hope it would prevail throughout the year by displaying it on the front door or wall of the house,” he said.
For veteran calligrapher Wong Weng Chong, 90, he thinks Chinese youth should be encouraged to venture into this treasured visual art.
Wong, who has a lifetime experience of 27 years as a calligrapher, laments that this writing skill which requires patience and deep knowledge of the Chinese language is becoming less appreciated by the younger generation these days.
“They do a lot of activities using technology such as mobile phones and are too restless to find the time to sit still and learn calligraphy.
“Perhaps this group feels that this calligraphy is not interesting so we need to find opportunities to teach and steal moments to fascinate them so they will choose to continue this legacy,” he said.
He said the effort to empower this written form of Chinese that unites the language spoken in China is a difficult task but it has to be done to maintain the 5,000-year-old tradition of the Chinese community. -Bernama
