Silence in Asian Calligraphy
Thursday, 2 May 2019, 10 – 11am 
A workshop led by Prof Jiang Ning (TCD)and Mr Chang Zhan (TCD) as part of Trinity Week 2019.
Register here.
Chinese characters were originally based on pictures and some can still be described as pictographs. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that Chinese calligraphy is closely associated with art.
Over the centuries characters developed: they became stylized, to the extent that in some cases the early pictorial representation has been lost. Also, simple characters were combined together to create ideographs and phonograms. Consequently, Chinese characters will often refer both to sound and as well as to sense or meaning.
Writing Chinese characters induces a sense of calmness, as you find yourself immersed in concentration on your brushstrokes, and on the differences in the effects of your strokes caused by the natural tensions throughout your entire body, the pressure of the brush on the paper, and the ink slowly diminishing on your brush.
Prof Ning Jiang from the Centre for Asian Studies, based in the School of Linguistic, Speech and Communication Sciences, researches the Applied Linguistics of Chinese, with a particular focus on Chinese character writing, strategy use and translation. Ms Jiang coordinates the MPhil in Chinese Studies.
Mr Chang Zhang is a Mandarin Language instructor and PhD researcher at Trinity Centre for Asian Studies. He performs regular and semi-cursive scripts of Yen Chen-Ching style. He read traditional Chinese calligraphy with his grandfather, who is a calligraphy artist and ceramist in China.
Campus Location: Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Institute
Accessibility: Yes
Room: Galbraith Seminar Room
Event Category: Arts and Culture, Conferences, Lectures and Seminars, Public, Special events, Student events
Type of Event: One-time event
Audience: Undergrad, Postgrad, Alumni, Faculty & Staff, Public
Cost: Free (but registration is required)
