China's Ministry of Education has now introduced compulsory calligraphy classes in primary school. It has announced that students in grades three to six in all schools must attend one calligraphy class each week. It also mandated that calligraphy should be an elective subject in middle school.

 

　　Zhou Heyang has more.

 

　　The announcement by the Ministry of Education has received mixed responses from schools. Some have put special emphasis on calligraphy education and come up with the resources to ensure such classes are offered. The Education Department of Haidian District in Beijing has allocated professional calligraphy teachers to respective schools in its jurisdiction.

 

　　Qi Han, vice principal at Beijing Jingshan School's Yuanyang branch, says calligraphy is not just about writing beautiful Chinese characters by hand, but a important life skill.

 

　　"The fundamental skill of handwriting exerts a huge impact on a person's life. Practicing calligraphy helps to shape a child's habit of persistence and patience and aesthetic taste. It is the root of Chinese culture which we should pass on."

 

　　But many schools have encountered difficulties in implementing calligraphy classes in primary schools. A lack of qualified or competent teachers is the main concern. Principal Wang at a primary school in Beijing says:

 

　　"The problem is we have Chinese language and literature teachers substituting for calligraphy teachers. They may not have practiced calligraphy themselves, so they are not qualified to teach it. They may use the class time to teach Chinese instead, since calligraphy is not tested, after all. Things would be a lot better if we had professional calligraphy teachers holding the classes."

 

　　To solve this problem, Zhang Xin, a professor of Chinese Calligraphy at Shanghai Normal University, suggests making calligraphy a required course in normal universities, so teachers at least have a basic understanding of the skill.

 

　　Lack of money is another problem. Not all schools have sufficient funds to hire specialized teacher even if they could find one. Buying writing brushes and ink for all students also cost money.

 

　　Even in today's digital age, handwriting with brushes is not obsolete. Chinese calligraphy is more than just a method of communication; it embodies Chinese traditional culture and fosters a kind of self-refinement via practice. However, education authorities need to introduce practical policies to implement calligraphy classes in all primary schools; otherwise, the goals are nothing more than lofty words.

 

　　For CRI, I'm Zhou Heyang.