My Views on Calligraphy
In this computer era, We have little chance to take a pen to write for most jobs are done on the computer. However, our fingers are much more flexible than before. Calligraphy has become a word that can be rarely heard in our life for a long time. People seems to be busy each single day, hour and minute - busy with their jobs, their life, their lovers and their pets. Once in a while, they have time, they will surf the internet, hit the bars... people could not just sit down and practice calligraphy any more. I am not complaining or criticising here for myself was also included in people I talked. I am writing my blogs now - on the computer with a keyboard, not a pen or writing brush.
To be frank, I can not see any practical value of calligraphy even before the computer was invented, but it has many other functions. As far as I can see, calligraphy can foster you an interest at least - the interest that can makes you more perseverant, mature and rational. When we practice calligraphy, we need to be quiet and concentrated - this can cultivate the morality, just as the saying goes, "a light heart lives long". To write calligraphy well, we need to be perseverant and persistant - this can also cultivate the temperament. As a result, we'll have a rich spiritual life. In this case, calligraphy, as a interest, we cannot give it up in any time, while the fact that less people care about calligraphy shows that the interest of contemporary people has shifted.
I formerly thought that calligraphy only exists in China, but I found that it also exsits in alphabetical languages. Even I don't know foreign calligraphy at all, I still enjoy it very much. Good calligraphies can bring pleasure to both your eyes and heart, because they are no longer a cluster of words or characters but a beautiful picture.
I like calligraphy but I didn't practice it too much before. However, I'm thinking of change. I hope more people can join me. As a Chinese, I want to bring Chinese calligraphy to more foreigners. I still hope that foreigners who know calligraphy can tell us more about their "art". As an art that can bring people pleasure and benefits, calligraphy should not have national boundaries - it should be shared by the whole world.
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calligraphy
http://www.societyofscribes.org/
http://www.skyren-art.com/art/index.php/en.html