Heihe University to teach calligraphy in Russia

Genuine calligraphy masters from the Heihe University, China have tried to teach Blagoveshchensk students the secrets of the ancient art. During their master-class, everyone could try their hand in this traditional national art of the Celestial Empire.

Of course, calligraphy was not the only Chinese art that illuminated the Far-East State Agricultural University of the city of Blagoveshchensk. Traditional Chinese painting, the Chinese Paper Cutting, or Jianzhi, also entertained excited audience. One of the students, Larisa Kuznetsova spoiled her paper butterfly but a Chinese master who has a three-thousand-items collection of these cut insects cheered her up by presenting one of his chefs d’oeuvre.

«We’ve already been visited by Korean masters who taught us to make kites, but we’ve never experienced anything of the sort. It’s a great thrill, those show-and-tell sessions spiced with bits of history and practical advice», Larisa says.

Indeed, every image or hieroglyph has a story of its own, for the Chinese masters attribute and convey a certain meaning, emotion, and character through each sign, writing with sharp-pointed rigid brushes on rice paper or on silk with a special ink. Every work is signed by means of an author’s red seal. These writing utensils also referred to as the Four Treasures of the Study can cost up to several thousand yuans.

According to Liuba Zhang Yang, Russian language teacher in the Heihe University, not every Chinese is a calligraphy master, and money is not the only obstacle, «A lot of students take up calligraphy courses, but after many years of training only the talented few manage to achieve success. Calligraphy requires much effort and diligence.»

Apart from the master-class, the Chinese students showed a vivid album of the Beijing Opera masks and sang their traditional songs.

Heihe University to teach calligraphy in Russia