⚠️ Notice

This post is a draft translation from the Chinese version which have not yet been thoroughly proofread.

Some people believe that Chinese calligraphy (hereinafter referred to as calligraphy) should be included in the compulsory education system, just like in Japan. Currently in Hong Kong, the Education Bureau has not made any regulations regarding calligraphy education, and most schools treat it as an extracurricular activity rather than part of the unified curriculum. Does this situation seem to be similar in other parts of Greater China?

My personal opinion

It’s true that fewer and fewer people are using pens these days. Many modern people, when asked to pick up a pen, easily forget how to write characters or have illegible handwriting. However, modern people rarely receive systematic guidance on “proper penmanship” in compulsory education, so many are forced to just get by. Consider the ancient imperial examination system: the standards for “proper handwriting” were extremely high (although literacy rates were low then), and illegible handwriting was immediately considered a disqualification. However, from another perspective, modern people really rarely need to use a calligraphy brush frequently. After all, writing in an extremely physically demanding and unergonomic way for extended periods can lead to negative impacts to health (perhaps I’m saying this because I ended up failing to learn the correct way to write with a calligraphy brush?).

Therefore, my view is that it’s necessary to strengthen education in pen calligraphy, but not necessarily brush calligraphy.

Personal experience

My experience in the Hong Kong education system was somewhat irrational, but I don’t know if it qualifies as “strange” (because perhaps my situation is actually the norm, just a distorted norm). Although there was no calligraphy lessons in primary school (and I never attended extra calligraphy classes), something a bit strange was that every now and then everyone would be asked to write something and hand it in, and most of the time I just did a perfunctory job. By secondary school, I had basically never touched a brush pen again, only having some experience with Chinese painting in visual art lessons in junior high. However, my calligraphy foundation was so weak that I couldn’t even write my own name properly with a brush (I mean, the kind that’s barely legible).