Chinese Calligraphy is an art form which witnesses the evolution of Chinese culture. Every single Chinese character has its meaning and its representation of style which shows a calligrapher's personality and sense of appreciation. It is, moreover, a part of creative experience and enterprise that we should include in the development of the creative industry and pass on to our next generations.

"Chinese Calligraphy is a way to express our mind and it has a close relationship with our lives," said Choi Chun Heng, who was the first prize winner of the Macao Chinese Calligraphy Competition in 1989. Retired in 1991, he is now enjoying his life teaching Chinese Calligraphy and holding individual exhibitions.

History of Chinese Calligraphy

There is no precise date for the origin of Chinese Calligraphy, but it came after the invention of the Chinese language. It is an ancient art and has evolved during the development of Chinese civilization. There are roughly five types of calligraphy. They are seal script, clerical script, regular script, running script and cursive hand. Today, we mostly use the regular script and the running script.

The view of life

"Chinese characters are composed of the structure of dashes and strokes. Practicing calligraphy is a way of promoting moral excellence, "said Choi. An aesthetic feeling is then generated when we know well how to control the amount of ink taken in the brush, pressure, inclination, and direction given to the brush. Finally, the final shape is influenced by the speed of the writer's moves and turns. The arrangement of strokes gives the "spirit" to the characters. Practicing calligraphy, therefore, is basically the appreciation of beauty and style.

Chinese Calligraphy is recognized once we start learning writing. It is the basic requirement to attempt a good hand-writing. Shapes of every character deliver our inner manner and thinking. We write to communicate every day and having good hand writing improves the interaction with others.

The view of art

"Chinese Calligraphy is being inspirited by lives and it should be above lives," Choi emphasized. Starting from ancient times, the idea of Chinese Calligraphy is highly regarded as a form of art, personal virtue, ethics, and natural, styling and emotional expressions. They are the composition of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism teachings. "Therefore, the basic morality of Chinese Calligraphy is to express our inner beauty, to uphold the goodness of nature and to esteem the creativity of hand-writing," Choi added.

The presentation of Chinese Calligraphy tends to change from time to time and it is regarded as a visual art. From now on, we should consider it to possess the same value as other forms of visual art. Thus, the style of expression will not be bounded only to the traditional art.

Chinese Calligraphy in Macao

Chinese Calligraphy is a form of visual art and it is entering its contemporary period. The development of this traditional culture, Chinese Calligraphy, is greatly influenced by its own foundation, social environment and the condition of mass media. Chinese Calligraphy has room to be promoted in Macao, but, there are new challenges coming up with it, said Choi.

"I'm glad that the Macao government has paid great attention to the creative industry now, but somehow, they are neglecting the existence and importance of Chinese Calligraphy," said Choi. The culture of calligraphy will be lost with the advent of computers and smart phones. People do not write any more. In the past, there was at least one class of Chinese Calligraphy a week during our primary and secondary school. However, it has been cancelled time after time. In order to keep on promoting Chinese Calligraphy, education in it should start when we are small.