Chinese Calligraphy

I've been wanting to study Chinese calligraphy for a while, as I have long admired Chinese script, especially when it is handwritten with a brush. Many people in Taiwan, when they find out I am studying Chinese language (and especially when they see my messy handwriting), ask me if I have studied shufa (calligraphy, 書法). I always say that I would like to, but I know it takes devotion and time, and I don't want to rush it, since I am already busy with many other things, not least of which is studying Chinese.

At school, I saw a poster for a calligraphy class, just two sessions in the month of July, and I thought, "This might be my chance to finally study shufa." However, after my initial excitement, I realized that I'm already too busy. In Taipei, the direction everyone needs to move in is doing less. Everyone is trying to be a superachiever, raising kids, working hard, and getting their EMBA at NCCU on the side. And then when you ask them what their hobbies are, they say: "SLEEP!" The pace of life has rubbed off on me.

So, with the detachment of a Japanese Zen monk (or so I would like to think), I said, it's not the right time. It's like when you need to meet a friend later and the mind says, "We could still do laundry...." and, like a good parent, you say, "Sorry, kiddo, we can do that tomorrow. We still have two pairs of clean underwear to go, anyway...."

Then, one day after class a few weeks ago, I walked through the library, and there's the shufa teacher and her student, my friend Marcos, apparently the only one who signed up. I see the ink, the brushes, the kind, middle-aged teacher, and my eyes light up. She smiles at me and invites me to join. I am in a "rush"--I need to go work out, then I have to study and teach, but I know that this moment is the right moment to learn shufa. Again, yuan fen (緣分; synchronicity, resonance) strikes again, and I follow it.

There is probably a hexagram in the I Ching (易經) that says: "Drop What You are Doing" and it looks like it's the one I am getting in this moment. Time to learn shufa.

Like her elementary school students, we start the class with the task of filling a sheet of paper with black ink. Just getting the feel for the brush and the ink. I am left-handed and the teacher says, "You are now going to use your right hand." And so, I am learning shufa, really, from scratch, not even as advanced as those Taiwanese elementary students, who already know how to write.

From "painting" a sheet black, we move onto dots. And by the time I finish practicing my dots, class is over, and I'm looking forward to going home and practicing more dots.

A friend takes me to the office supply shop near school, and we buy a simple brush, or maobi (毛筆), ink, and some paper so I can practice at home. Conveniently, during this time, my laptop breaks down and while it is getting repaired, I use my evening time to practice my shufa. In case any of you haven't had your laptop break down, I highly recommend it. Especially if you usually find yourself emailing or using MSN most evenings, you'll find yourself not only going to sleep earlier (and sleeping more peacefully because you haven't been sitting motionlessly staring at a screen for two hours), but you might even find yourself doing beautiful things like practicing shufa, writing poems, or practicing your violin.

Last week, I take my second class, and we have moved onto straight lines. My teacher starts me on the famous character yong (永), which means "the amount of time it will take most foreigners to learn fluent Chinese".

Just kidding, you know me, I like to laugh, yong actually means "eternal" (so actually I am only half-joking this time), and the reason why it is special is because it is the one character that contains all eight essential strokes (畫筆; see cool diagram above).

When my Taiwanese friends ask me how its going, I tell them lately I've been taking a shufa class, and they all tell me that they took a shufa class as a kid (actually, most every kid in Taiwan does). They usually tell me that their shufa is terrible, but then there a few who tell me their shufa is awesome.

In Starbucks, I bring special "water paper" that allows me to practice shufa using water instead of ink. The water goes on "black" and disappears in about ten seconds. It's better than bringing ink and paper into Starbucks, and I don't have to clean the brush afterwards.

One of the employees walks up to me and stares at my supplies. She says that she took shufa when she was a kid. I can tell she wants to give it a go. "Can you show me?" I ask her. "Sure," she says, and her eyes light up. She sits down and writes her name. She is really good.

Unfortunately, her boss walks in and sees her writing, and fires her on the spot. Just kidding. It's time for her to get back to work, and she thanks me for giving her the opportunity to do shufa again.

And I need to go now, too. It's Sunday afternoon, and I still have some time to practice my brushstrokes.