TAIPEI, Taiwan—One at a time the students layed their works out before Teacher Tu, waiting for what he would say. “Your ‘le’ [a Chinese character] is too spread out, the top and bottom don’t harmonise. This one’s better,” he said, pointing to the character below le, with a long, rolled up paper, “but still not that good... Be careful now, you’ve made this mistake many times, and I’ve reminded you a lot already. You'll do better now.” The student, a university professor and decades-long practitioner of Chinese calligraphy, was squatting besides his works, nodding at his teacher’s remarks. He rolled up his works and scrambled out of the way for the next person.
“Writing calligraphy,” Tu said, sighing, “you have to cultivate your heart. Only this way will what you write match with what you have inside.” He looked at the students one by one: “You simply must have this kind of internal determination.”
Tu Chungkao is one of Taiwan’s most celebrated calligraphers, having been awarded the prestigious Wu Sanlian and Zhongshan prizes in 1982. He started calligraphy at around 20, after a brief foray into Chinese painting. As a painter, whenever it came to writing his name at the end of the piece, Tu always thought his looked terrible. Before long he decided he would focus on calligraphy for a while, to get to a respectable standard. He has been writing since, and for decades been holding exhibitions around Taiwan, while his works are sold across the world.
The distinguished group of teachers had all come to Tu’s apartment for a one in three month meeting. There, they would receive advice and schooling from the master, and engage in a discussion in one or another obscure aspect of calligraphy. Numbering 13, with only one female, they were mostly professors or artists from around Taiwan. For example, a professor of art theory, a professor of history, and the leading calligrapher at Taiwan’s prestigious National Palace Museum. They have all been students of Tu for decades.
“Writing calligraphy,” Tu said, sighing, “you have to cultivate your heart. Only this way will what you write match with what you have inside.” He looked at the students one by one: “You simply must have this kind of internal determination.”
Tu Chungkao is one of Taiwan’s most celebrated calligraphers, having been awarded the prestigious Wu Sanlian and Zhongshan prizes in 1982. He started calligraphy at around 20, after a brief foray into Chinese painting. As a painter, whenever it came to writing his name at the end of the piece, Tu always thought his looked terrible. Before long he decided he would focus on calligraphy for a while, to get to a respectable standard. He has been writing since, and for decades been holding exhibitions around Taiwan, while his works are sold across the world.
The distinguished group of teachers had all come to Tu’s apartment for a one in three month meeting. There, they would receive advice and schooling from the master, and engage in a discussion in one or another obscure aspect of calligraphy. Numbering 13, with only one female, they were mostly professors or artists from around Taiwan. For example, a professor of art theory, a professor of history, and the leading calligrapher at Taiwan’s prestigious National Palace Museum. They have all been students of Tu for decades.
