09/04: Chinese Calligraphy
Prof. Qianshen Bai of Boston University delivered a talk at the Harn Museum on calligraphy, seals and the scholar-officials of the Qing era.
Prof. Guolong Lai says the talk was innovative "...because the conventional wisdom in the field was that Mao and other, like the emperors of the Qing and other dynasties, emulated the traditional literati's taste and skills of calligraphy. He looked at instead the practice of using seals on calligraphy, and argued convincingly that modern calligraphy at least those practiced and promoted by the communist leaders are very different from the traditional calligraphy."
After the talk, Prof. Bai did a demonstration of his own calligraphy technique.
Prof. Guolong Lai says the talk was innovative "...because the conventional wisdom in the field was that Mao and other, like the emperors of the Qing and other dynasties, emulated the traditional literati's taste and skills of calligraphy. He looked at instead the practice of using seals on calligraphy, and argued convincingly that modern calligraphy at least those practiced and promoted by the communist leaders are very different from the traditional calligraphy."
After the talk, Prof. Bai did a demonstration of his own calligraphy technique.
