Awakening the art of calligraphy

Nam Dinh has long been famous for its land of mandarins, where there are many scholars and scholars with profound knowledge. Based on the traditional foundation of the land of learning, the art of calligraphy has become a beautiful feature in the cultural and spiritual life of the people. With talent and passion, calligraphy lovers in the province always seek and create works, thereby contributingto educating people towards the values of truth - goodness - beauty.

The teacher gives calligraphy at the Tran Temple Seal Opening Festival in 2024.

Dedicated "teachers"

The art of calligraphy came to Mr. Tran Quoc Hanh, 75 years old this year, on Minh Khai Street ( Nam Dinh City) as a fate. As a student of Le Hong Phong High School (now Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted, Nam Dinh City), every day, after finishing class, he went to the Foreign Language bookstore on Hoang Van Thu Street to buy Chinese books and newspapers to study by himself. With a little knowledge of simplified Chinese characters, he went to the gates of communal houses, pagodas... to look at large characters, puzzles and memorize each stroke of Chinese characters. In 1990, the calligraphy movement developed strongly, creating conditions for art enthusiasts like Mr. Hanh to get closer to formal techniques. The characteristic feature of Mr. Hanh's calligraphy writing style is the running style in his works, the strokes show fast pen force, and have a high level of flight. Mr. Hanh is also one of the few people today who have a fairly extensive knowledge of Nom calligraphy. According to Mr. Hanh, to understand and read Nom script, one must know Chinese characters, grasp the method of Nom script structure, the evolution of Nom script and understand some historical phonetic rules of Vietnamese and Sino-Vietnamese. To have a foundation in Nom script, he studied by himself through dictionaries, through poems by Tu Xuong, Truyen Kieu...

Mr. Dang Kim Ba is one of the "famous" people in Thanh Nam about the art of Han Nom calligraphy. Although he has studied and written Han characters and calligraphy for nearly 30 years, he still spends a few hours every day practicing calligraphy. When writing, he must stand up, his arms must not touch the table, so it requires hard and continuous practice. Many calligraphy works that made his name include: "Chieu Doi Do" by Ly Cong Uan, some poems by Uncle Ho and poems by Tran Dynasty kings. Among them, the most outstanding is the 240-word calligraphy work "Chieu Doi Do" written by Mr. Ba in Le Thu style. Writing Le Thu requires the writer to perform continuous movements, without stopping the pen, and not to make a single mistake because if he makes a mistake, he must rewrite the whole poem. With the desire to promote the art of calligraphy, for many years, Mr. Dang Kim Ba has been invited by the Provincial Museum to introduce the beauty of calligraphy to students at the beginning of spring. According to Mr. Ba, giving calligraphy is also a way to cultivate oneself, because each person who asks for calligraphy, in addition to praying for luck, also wants to ask for the virtue and talent of the person giving the calligraphy to admonish themselves.

In everyone's mind, when mentioning a calligrapher, the image of a scholar is often associated, but Ms. Hoang Thanh is one of the few women in her 60s who has a special passion for calligraphy. Having been a lecturer at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Nam Dinh College of Culture, Arts and Tourism, Ms. Thanh was not too surprised when she first got acquainted with the art of calligraphy. According to Ms. Thanh, painting combined with calligraphy gives viewers a sense of harmony and sophistication, the painting is like a poem, and the poem evokes many scenes. The person holding the pen to write calligraphy is like a painter who often entrusts his soul to high mountains and long rivers, fragrant flowers and strange grasses, flying birds and running animals... The spiritual energy of the land, mountains and rivers, the living souls of all creatures will nourish the body and soul, thereby helping the body to stay healthy. With her flowing brushstrokes, rich in imagery, high aesthetics and artistry, her calligraphy works are highly appreciated by the calligraphy community for their spirit and energy when expressed.

Preserve and promote efficiency

To contribute to promoting the traditional cultural values of calligraphy, the Han Nom Quan Anh Club in Hai Hau district was established in 2009, operating under the Han Nom education model. After nearly 15 years of operation, up to now, the Han Nom class has gathered hundreds of students who love the traditional culture of their ancestors, including the elderly, retired officials, current officials, teachers, workers, farmers, monks, nuns, Buddhists, etc. With the idea of considering the word "sage" as learning etiquette, learning meaning, learning how to cultivate the mind and nurture character, each student takes turns applying the Han Nom knowledge imparted to their work and daily life. Many students are teachers of culture and vocational training; in the process of reading and teaching, they encounter many ancient words and semantics. Thanks to studying Han Nom, they have a deeper understanding of the history and literature of their country and have improved their ability in preparing lesson plans and teaching in class. Learning Han Nom script helps young craftsmen in the fine art carpentry village or the restoration and trading of antiques to be more skillful in their work thanks to understanding Han Nom characters on artifacts; interpreting and shaping ancient architectural works and constructions in the old style. This is the secret for the fine art carpentry village to restore and trade ancient houses and also trade and exchange antiques in Hai Anh in particular and in the whole province in general, to be sought out by "picky" and "savvy" customers nationwide for trading.

In Nam Dinh city, the Nam Dinh Tri Duc Calligraphy Club was established in 2005. After nearly 20 years of operation, the club has attracted dozens of members of all ages and professions; from the elderly, veteran revolutionaries, doctors, painters, teachers, soldiers, civil servants to students. Every year, the club actively participates in organizing calligraphy competitions and exchanges for calligraphy enthusiasts inside and outside the province on holidays and Tet; especially restoring calligraphy activities at: Bai Dinh Pagoda festival (Ninh Binh), Spring flower fair, Tran Temple festival, Phu Day festival (Nam Dinh) and many schools in the province. Club members participating in calligraphy activities are selected by the Executive Committee to ensure knowledge of Han Nom characters and standard calligraphy writing. In the context of the increasing age of calligraphers in the province, in order for the art of calligraphy to continue to be maintained and developed, it is necessary to attract young, confident teachers to develop their talents. In recent years, the appearance of calligraphers aged 40-45 years old to succeed senior teachers is a positive sign. Mr. Trieu Thanh Son (41 years old), Nam Dinh city, found calligraphy through the guidance of his grandfather, self-studying from books and from members of the Nam Dinh Tri Duc Calligraphy Club to improve his skills. With more than 10 years of being attached to the art of calligraphy, up to now, he has memorized and memorized over 200 Chinese characters. Every spring, Mr. Son often writes parallel sentences, words... as gifts for relatives and friends. At the same age as Mr. Son, Mr. Nguyen Quang Nhuong (41 years old) is a teacher in My Loc district who has been attached to his father's elegant hobby for many years. He said: "Sticking with the art of calligraphy is also a way for me to better understand the traditional beauty of my ancestors and partly to train myself in cultivating people."

Calligraphy is not only a hobby but also contains cultural depth, so it requires knowledge and ethics from both the giver and the recipient. The art of calligraphy in our province is increasingly developing, not only stopping at the movement but also contributing to preserving Vietnamese cultural identity.

Article and photos: Viet Du

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