By Annie Wong
In a Western environment where Chinese calligraphy is literally a foreign language, art enthusiasts may believe that calligraphy takes a backseat in artistic importance. But Cubist painter, Pablo Picasso, would disagree, he reportedly said if he was born Chinese he would have been a calligrapher.
Now, BYU students don?t have to be born Chinese to enjoy the Eastern art form.
Nearly 50 years later, Fan Duanran, a world-renowned Chinese calligrapher is teaching at BYU to help students better understand this unique part of the Chinese culture.
?Chinese calligraphy, also called ?shu fa? is regarded as the most abstract and sublime form of art in the Chinese culture,? said Fan in Mandarin. ?It is the foundation of the eastern arts and it greatly reflects Chinese history and the beauty of the language.?
Fan was born in Yunnan, China. He began studying the art of Chinese calligraphy with his father at age 4 and has continued for the last 40 years. His calligraphy has been shown at numerous art exhibitions around the world including: the Hong Kong Convention Center, the National Museum of Tokyo and Oxford University.
In addition to calligraphy, Fan dedicated his life to teaching. He was one of the few professors of calligraphy among the Fine Arts Academies in China and has been teaching at BYU for the past four years.
Paige Clark, a senior from Calgary, Alberta, took Fan?s class and greatly admired his accomplishments in calligraphy.
?Reaching that kind of excellence in art is magnificent,? Clark said. ?Fan is an incredible example and a treasure at BYU. Fan?s respect for his own subject helps the students love the language and culture very much.?
BYU Chinese professor Dana Bourgerie has a similar point of view about his artwork.
?Calligraphy is an important artistic tradition in China,? Bourgerie said. ?A person with good penmanship is highly admired and appreciated in the Chinese educational world.?
In ancient China, calligraphy was used as important criteria for selection of executives to the imperial court. All calligraphy strokes are uncorrectable, requiring careful planning and confident execution.
?To control the concentration of ink, the thickness of the paper, and the flexibility of the brush, requires a person to be serious, patient, calm and peaceful,? Fan said. ?Practicing calligraphy thus helps improve a person?s temperament.?
To Clark, calligraphy is a kind of meditation.
?Learning the stroke order and keeping the correct posture helped me be more focused and patient,? Clark said. ?I learned to better control myself physically and emotionally.?
Clark said because China?s population dominates one-fifth of the world, being able to speak and read the language will soon become a handy skill. She said learning calligraphy is one of the most direct ways for her to understand the Chinese culture.
?The better we understand the language and the culture, the better we are able to associate with the people,? Clark said.
The calligraphy class, CHIN 200R, is available to all BYU students every semester. Language skills are not required.