If there’s a time and place to learn Chinese calligraphy, it’s here!

Rén Lǎoshī (Teacher Rén) is showing us the way, one brush stroke at a time. Class one: horizontal brush stroke. Class two: vertical brushstroke.

Being immersed in a language that has such a beautiful visual component is pretty cool. This written language is very much design-based, following the rules of symmetry, asymmetry and good aesthetics. And just as there are many font styles, there are many styles of calligraphy.

As you can see from the photos, people of all ages study calligraphy. We’re told it takes a lifetime to master so these youngsters have a leg up! This class is made up of many different skill sets and you guessed it, we’re the beginners. FYI: Pickles received at 100% and four thumbs-up from Rén Lǎoshī at our last class. He’s basically the teacher’s pet. What does 4 thumbs-up look like? Imagine one thumbs-up, and stack 3 more on top.

In addition to calligraphy class, we both continue to learn Mandarin (separately, with different teachers). We focus on learning new vocabulary, pronunciation and speaking, but I recently started to learn to read some Mandarin characters so this calligraphy class is bringing it all together…. one brush stroke at a time.