This week at the Consulate, one of the local Chinese staff complimented my handwriting. She said it was beautiful, then added (incredibly sweetly): “Just like you!”
I’m not sure such glowing praise was warranted, but it led to my friend sharing with me one of China’s ancient idioms:
Zì rú qí rén.
Or, in its more stunning native script:
Translation? “The character is like the person.”
In other words: Someone’s writing, the physical style of their words, is a reflection of the author’s being. Beautiful writing evidences a beautiful psyche; strained writing is the exterior reflection of a tormented interior. Continue reading “Calligraphy & Character”
