Chinese characters have been part of Chinese culture and history for thousands of years. These characters are used in Chinese speaking communities as the official writing system of communication. Because of their long history, Chinese characters have evolved over time and are seen today in five major styles of calligraphy writing: seal script (篆书), clerical script (隶书), cursive script (草书), semi-cursive script (行书), and regular script (楷书). Each style of script was formed in a different dynasty and has its own unique characteristics.
As a way of helping students interact more with the Chinese language, the Confucius Institute at Rhodes University (CIRU) teaches its second-year students about the different types of calligraphy. In her classes, Ms Hanyang Zou teaches students the basics of writing the clerical script which matured in the Han dynasty. Ms. Zou shared that the clerical script is easy to learn because of the flexibility of the brushstrokes.
In one of the calligraphy classes, students shared that they had to learn how to hold the brush and adjust the pressure that they applied to the paper: “When you write the first few characters, it’s awkward but then you start to see what the brush is doing and how it changes,” Fadzai Jimu commented. Since the students had been interacting with Chinese characters in their regular Chinese classes, they said that the calligraphy classes created a stronger appreciation for characters because of how therapeutic the writing process felt.
“Practicing Chinese calligraphy is relaxing and requires a lot of patience, which I hope they can learn while appreciating Chinese characters,” Ms Zou conveyed.
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Ms Hanyang Zou teaches calligraphy to her students