Salon teaches calligraphy to younger generationa, expats

 

People interested in calligraphy gather at Yizhan restaurant and bar. Photo provided by Daisy Wenhui

 

By Zhao Hongyi

Two new graduates are running a business to prevent calligraphy from becoming a dead art.

In September, friends Wen Hui and Lei Lei formed Calligraphy Salon, to spread traditional culture to foreigners and the younger Chinese generation.

“We initially invited friends interested in traditional culture, so we could appreciate it together and dicuss it,” Wen said.

Later, members found themselves focusing more and more on calligraphy, so their meetings became a venue to share knowledge on the art and help each other improve their writing skills.

Members meet every Saturday, from 3 to 5 pm, in a courtyard restaurant. “We invite various calligraphers to give lectures about the peculiarities of certain Chinese characters,” Wen said. Guests also discuss the different aspects ocalligraphy, its general styles and the skills involved in mastering it.

“We welcome expats to participate and exchange ideas with native masters and our colleagues,” Wen said, adding that the salon has become a placehere “various new ideas about Chinese characters and calligraphy are emerging.

Each session costs 45 yuan and includes the “the four treasures of the study”: brush, ink, paper and inkstone. The organizerslso provide English interpretation to foreign participants.

By establishing Calligraphy Salon, Wen and Lei inadvertently responded to the government’s call for new graduates to go into business to ease the pressure on he job market, which has become increasingly overcrowded in the past decade.

“Fortunately, we found the courtyard owned by a friend as the permanent venue for our activities,” Wen said.

Calligraphy Salon
Where: Yizhan Restaurant and Bar, 30 Beixinqiao Toutiao, Guijie, Dongcheng District
Email: daisy.wenhui@gmail.com
Cost: 45 yuan per session