Cultural Heritage on the Tip of a Brush

At the recently-closed 65th National Student Calligraphy Exhibition held in the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum， the calligraphy works of Fang Yuhe， a 16-year-old Chinese girl who attended the exhibition as a member of the calligraphy delegation from the Shanghai Wu Changshuo Arts Research Association， was awarded for her excellent works.

Interestingly， as a girl who has adhered to the traditional Chinese calligraphy culture for more than a decade， Fang is a student from the Shanghai Foreign Language School （SFLS）， which is affiliated with the Shanghai International Studies University （SISU）， a well-known international high school.

In school， Fang established the Calligraphy Club and introduced the history of the art to other students in English.

In an exclusive interview with CBF， Fangs mother said that she did not make Fang take an interest in calligraphy. The reason why Fang insists on practicing calligraphy for so long is “mainly because she likes to，” added Fangs mother.

Fang Yuhe is not only the epitome of calligraphy in her school， but she is also a morally， intellectually and physically excellent student， with her academic performance being among the best at school.

She organizes and hosts the Speech Club and the Calligraphy Club and attends a voluntary teaching activity， “Xing Jia，” which is organized by the Shanghai Disabled Persons Federation （DPF） as a volunteer.

Mouthpiece of Calligraphy

According to Fang， during the 2016 Chinese New Year， the year of the monkey， she wrote Spring Festival couplets for a lot of friends as gifts.

“Every offset of Spring Festival couplets contains different content as I that they can discover their unique colors in these Spring Festival couplets，” said Fang.

For elders， for example， Fang wrote a pair of Spring Festival couplets with a blessing of peace and longevity or a celebration of discarding the old and bringing in the new， while Fangs classmates received a pair of Spring Festival couplets with a blessing of gaining a title or obtaining a higher position.

Fangs calligraphy works are not only well-circulated among relatives and friends， but also outside of China.

From November 30 to December 12 of last year， Zhao Junning， vice president of the Shanghai Foreign Language School that is affiliated with the Shanghai International Studies University， led a group of ten students from the international division， including Fang， on a trip to visit the West Hartford Public Schools in Connecticutas well as the ones in Boston and New York for a 13-day academic activity.endprint

In an exchange with the West Hartford Public Schools， two of Fangs calligraphy works were given as gifts. “This enables people to learn about Chinese culture abroad and carry forth the many traditions，” said Fang， with a proud tone.

In her school， Fang is the mouthpiece of the art of calligraphy. Last year， with the encouragement of her teacher， Fang founded the Calligraphy Club. It is well known that founding a calligraphy club in the legendary high school is quite challenging.

The Shanghai Foreign Language School， which is affilated with the Shanghai International Studies University， is also the alma mater of Yang Jiechi and Wang Yaguang， Chinas former Foreign Minister and Vice Minister， respectively.

In the legendary high school， most of the students can bypass the university entrance exam and be directly admitted to top universities at home and abroad.

“Since a lot of students plan to go abroad， I hope they can carry forward the Chinese traditional culture after they go to another country，” said Fang.

She admitted that calligraphy is a boring art， saying that there are only two color choices， black and white， and that it requires lots of practice.

However， she found a fun way to introduce students to the calligraphy. “Calligraphy has its own history. I introduce the students to calligraphy style development during all the dynasties in Chinese history as well as anecdotes about some well-known calligraphers. I hope this method can help them find their favorite calligraphers and understand more about calligraphy，” said Fang.

According to Fang， she always introduces the art in English and presents her PPT in Chinese traditional characters.

Fang said： “I hope more and more students learn traditional characters. In contrast， introducing the calligraphy in English is more difficult as it is difficult to translate some professional terms. I often have to refer to the dictionary for English translations of different and various styles of handwrit-ing. However， dictionaries sometimes lack standard translations for strokes and the basic elements of Chinese characters， such as rightward stroke， downward stroke， right-falling stroke， left-falling stroke and so on. So， it is more difficult to explain the characters and their meanings.”

Fang has a plan to go to the UK for her studies after graduating from the high school. “Compared to the United States， the UK is more conservative giving me an impression of gentleness. I will visit the Confucius institute in the country if the opportunity arises，” she said.endprint

Recently， the Confucius Institute at the University of Hull， which is the 26th Confucius Institute established within the country， held its inauguration ceremony in the UK.

According to the official website of Hanban/ Confucius Institute Headquarters， as a public institution affiliated with the Chinese Ministry of Education， the institute is committed to providing Chinese language and cultural teaching resources and services worldwide. The university also goes all out in meeting the demands of foreign Chinese learners and contributing to the development of multiculturalism and the building of a harmonious world.

Fang said she really wants to visit this institute， which has achieved fruitful results in carrying forward the Chinese culture.

Love， Perseverance and Earnestness

Fangs love affair with calligraphy dates back to 12 years ago， when she was at the age of 4.

Fangs mom said： “Fang was in preschool at that time， and because her dad and I were too busy at work to bring her home after preschool， we decided to let her enroll in some interest-oriented classes.”

As a studious child， Fang was actively enrolled in various interest-oriented classes， such as ceramic art， dancing， piano， paper-cutting， English， abacus， chess， painting， and so on.

Over the past decade， she has insisted on practicing calligraphy and painting. Her efforts have paid off as she has won many awards at home and abroad.

According to her mother， Fang is an earnest girl. In her first year of high school， Fang set up a speech club called the Junior Toastmaster Club with classmates whose original intentions were to promote English.

All-around Talent

In school， Fang is not only the mouthpiece of calligraphy， but also a morally， intellectually and physically excellent student.

In reference to the free and relaxed atmosphere of the high school， Fangs mother considers it as a mixed blessing. She said： “Every time I attend the parents meeting， Fangs foreigner teachers always laud her. But what I wanted to know was where she needed to improve. That may be one of the cultural differences between Chinese and foreign education. However， seeing that she has become more considerate， more involved， and more organized， I feel assured.”

It is worth mentioning that the girl is also enthusiastic when it comes to public welfare activities. She keeps attending a voluntary teaching activity called “Xing Jia，” which is organized by the Shanghai Disabled Persons Federation as a volunteer.

In the volunteer activity， Fang serves as a tutor， giving lessons to children of a disabled parent. Fang now takes charge of teaching a fifth grade student. She gives the student a lesson fortnightly， mainly in order to improve his composition.

With the help of Fang， the student got high marks for his composition on his/her recent exam， making Fang proud.endprint