The Art of Chinese Calligraphy

Female: Yi-zhi Huang hails from a distinguish family of calligraphers in Shanghai China. Yi-zhi is a mathematician by profession but he’s real passion lies in the ancient art of Chinese calligraphy. Yi-zhi’s grandfather was so renowned that his house in shanghai was made into a museum commemorating his works in calligraphy and today thousands of miles away from his home country Yi-zhi still practices still endures striving to perfect this cherished art form. Yi-zhi: I started to do Chinese calligraphy when I was 7 years old. My grandfather was a Chinese calligrapher. He’s a famous so that he’s now these days our old home is a tourist stop. When I was in middle school I start to seriously practice them so every, I think everyday I practice and I got 4 hours so it’s been a lot of time doing that. Female: Although Yi-zhi’s youth was spent in Shanghai which was then the Mecca of artist, he still chose to move to the United States and pursue mathematics. He explains that life back then wasn’t so simple. There was wide spread political unrest and he had to put reason above passion. Yi-zhi: China just came out of the most horrible period of cultural erosion. my family and other people fell that at that time its dangerous to choose major in humanity or art to because people like get into really big trouble because they do these things, like when you are painting. You’re in culture motion because you use the ink. Its black ink and it is against the people interpret this against their communist party. So I choose math and physics. Female: At first glance math and calligraphy do seem like a world apart but Yi-zhi explains that there are a few striking similarities. Yi-zhi: Mathematics is different from art is that in the final step you want to formulate everything logically in reverse. If you only knew logic, you cannot do my flight. Female: Yi-zhi might have been an eager young man had a quest to pursue a new life but he did remember to pack a whole box of paper and brushes. Yi-zhi: After I came here I did do calligraphy but see as I said the main thing is that the environment is completely different. The difference is not to just to that American do not really know much about the Chinese calligraphy, it’s the Chinese around me. They really don’t know much about Chinese calligraphy. Female: A Number of traditional tools are required for the practice of Chinese calligraphy. Yi-zhi displays his collection. Yi-zhi: The first thing is the saturated brush. this brush has specially made by the hair of either sheep or wolf. The special technique to make this brush is to make sure that there will be a sharp end so that if you want to have calligraphy to be very thin you can do that but id you wanted to be very thick you can also make that. Traditionally in Asian time, the ink is like this, it’s ink stuff you can put water ink and then you have to grind this slowly for quite long time. And then the paper, the paper is also very important. This is called the rice paper. It’s different from the usual paper in the way that it will absorb water. So a stamp is like a signature, the calligraphy is black or white and then if you have some red color might will just a change the work completely. Basically if you have these four things you can see in Asian China you can already do calligraphy. Female: Yi-zhi explains that the way a person held a brush was a measure of ones inner strength in the old days a mans character could be read just by looking at his brush strokes. Yi-zhi demonstrates a few beautiful strokes. Yi-zhi: This actually says that this is some place deep in the cloud which is unknown. Female: The art of Chinese calligraphy evolved as an accompaniment to the various spiritual traditions that arouse china. The practice of calligraphy is intended to bring the artist forcefully back to the present moment focusing on the process rather than the final result. Yi-zhi: Chinese character means dragon. Female: Some of Yi-zhi’s masterpieces hang poetically in his office room along with all of his published works in mathematical theorems. For Yi-zhi art and science are just two sides of the same coin. Yi-zhi: I wrote this work when I was graduate, master student in China. I was 23 years old. The first sentence here says that you are so generous that your heart is like a wind in spring so that everything rose when the spring wind that came. Female: Although Yi-zhi has been awarded the number of honors for his impeccable skill. If he leaves the brush each day it’s because the practice of calligraphy helps him reconnects with his culture and spiritual roots back in his beloved country of China.