Chinese Calligraphy Workshop

Day 1 – Writing and Time: Chinese Calligraphy

Saturday, October 24, 2026 (09:00–17:00)

Instructor: Lu Dadong

We will begin by exploring how writing materials — brush, ink, and paper — determine rhythm. We will then follow the temporal logic of Chinese calligraphic scripts: the irreversibility of each brushstroke, the synchronization of body and mind, the way speed determines the form of lines, and the permanent preservation of traces across the various forms of Chinese calligraphy: seal script, clerical script, regular or standard script, simplified cursive or “running script,” and cursive script.

We will then explore traditional stone rubbing techniques directly from original inscriptions, understanding the two values of time preservation: that of strokes carved in stone and that of rubbings on paper, including the traces of marks produced by time that create an irreplaceable sense of history. Finally, we will see how traditional inscription practices can be transformed into contemporary artistic expressions.

The concluding section, dedicated to collaborative creation, will give participants hands-on experience of poetic writing in time through practical exercises: writing in the air according to the principle “Speed = Time, Force = Poetic Expression”; single-stroke brush writing, to feel the irreversibility of the gesture; variable-speed writing, using the body as an instrument to record the passing of time; and experiments with water and ink, to explore the interaction between material, movement, and temporal change.

Day 2 – The Body as Brush

Instructor: Chen Liang

Sunday, October 25, 2026 (09:00–17:00)

Bodily practice | Ritual | Construction of brushes from natural materials | Writing experiments | Copying and calligraphic aesthetics

This workshop brings together bodily perception, breathing exercises, ritual experience, and creative practice with natural materials. Starting from the body, participants are invited to rethink the brush not simply as a writing tool, but as a spiritual medium connecting body, nature, memory, and trace.

Throughout the day, participants will enter a slow, attentive ritual state through breathing, walking, meditation, listening, and observation. They will then use natural objects — twigs, feathers, leaf stems, blades of grass, stones, fibres, shell fragments, and other materials — to build their own writing instruments. With these “body brushes” they will practice copying Chinese calligraphy, creative writing, and experimenting with traces.

The workshop privileges process over outcome: participants are encouraged to explore personal forms of writing through the instability of natural materials, the randomness of bodily movement, and the unpredictability of written traces, thus experiencing the sensory power of Chinese writing art.

The day unfolds in successive phases: after an introductory moment focused on the form of Chinese characters and the sensation of the calligraphic stroke, participants observe and select natural materials, then devote themselves to constructing their own brush and testing its mark, pressure, and speed. This is followed by a writing practice phase — copying manuscript scrolls and writing a letter to oneself — and a collective ritual moment in which all participants write together on a single sheet, layering their traces into one shared work, punctuated by breath and the rhythm of footsteps. The workshop closes with a sharing moment: “How my brush writes me.”

At the end, each participant will have made 1–3 personal writing instruments in natural materials, a “trace archive” of their own brush, personal writing/copying works, a collective artwork, and a personal reflection on the relationship between body, nature, and writing.