Chinese calligraphy class explores beauty in writing

Jingjie Zhang’s arm is poised over her kitchen table, shoulder and elbow just so, as she sets a brush across a large sheet of paper. As she moves her pen down the page, she paints Chinese characters in thick, black ink.

When Zhang’s students pick up a pen in her Chinese calligraphy class, taught for the first time this fall as a Weston Recreation program, they are using a far less practiced hand. The children write each character stroke by stroke, gradually building to more complex images.

“My goal is to get those kids to love this culture and learn how to write for themselves in the future,” Zhang said. “I don’t want them to lose this culture, especially when they are originally from China. They have this kind of culture in their blood.”

The students, who range from kindergartners to fourth graders, come from a variety of backgrounds. According to Zhang, many parents bring their children to learn about their culture or to become more patient.

Zhang began learning calligraphy at age 6 when living in China. Her mother signed her up for classes, thinking it would help improve her grades.

“If you write beautifully, you will have a better score on your paper or your test,” Zhang said.

As she studied the art of Chinese writing, she learned different scripts – essentially different styles – of calligraphy. Seal script is good for training, according to Zhang, because it teaches students how to hold the pen and make uniform strokes. Her favorite is the running script, which is a semi-cursive style that is more relaxed and fluid than others.

Practicing calligraphy is a way to relax, she said.

“When you are upset, it is a very good way to do some artwork and keep your peace,” Zhang said.

Once Zhang mastered different scripts, she started to learn stamp carving to add flair to her work or sign her name. She uses a knife to carve characters into the bottom of blank stone seals.

Zhang has been teaching for two years. Outside her calligraphy course, she also teaches Chinese and skiing.

In her calligraphy class, she hopes students will get the foundation they need to be able to master Chinese writing. In addition to the art of calligraphy, the class introduces students to the way written Chinese works. She believes that learning English and Chinese is like learning two different thinking styles because the languages are constructed differently.

“For Chinese, you learn one stroke by one stroke, and you combine those strokes into one character. You combine those characters into words,” she said. “They are a totally different thinking style.”

She also said that her students learn to become more patient from sitting down and learning the strokes that go into each character.

“It’s good for me to bring this beautiful culture here,” she said. “They all have better patience for writing now.”

Zhang’s class will be a part of Weston’s Recreation Department’s winter programming. Information on the courses offered can be found on the town’s website.