Chinese Calligraphy 101

While staying at the Fo Guang Shan Temple, I had the opportunity to learn some Chinese calligraphy from a Monk. He started me off with a commercial felt tip pen used specifically for Chinese calligraphy. I was also given a laminated 1-2-3 guide of how to draw characters and the direction of each stroke. My paper had characters printed on it in a very light gray, just enough to see so I could trace them while practicing my strokes writing each character. I found it a bit more challenging than expected. After completing two exercises in about 40 minutes, we took a lunch break. At 2 p.m. we returned so that I could learn how to use a brush with ink to copy the entire “Heart Sutra.” A sutra is discourse in Buddhism and the Heart Sutra is considered to be the main sutra where Buddha explains the basic concepts of Buddhism. Writing the characters took me a little over two hours with only a couple of short breaks. I learned how to hold the brush properly and to create the thick and thin strokes. I also mixed my own ink. The overall experience gave me a new appreciation for both Chinese writing and for those who have perfected it to an art.