“The Jiazi Society of Calligraphy Members’ Exhibition 2017: Ever Ancient, Ever New” has opened at Kam Pek Community Centre. Organized by The Jiazi Society of Calligraphy and co-organized by Macau Association of Chinese Culture and Art, Macau Chinese Culture Promotion Society and Kam Pek Community Centre, the exhibition showcases 90 Chinese calligraphy works by 90 members.
The Jiazi Society of Calligraphy Members’ Exhibition is held biennially. Following its success at Hong Kong Central Library last month, some of the exhibits are now on display at Kam Pek Community Centre through 7 June, being the third time The Jiazi Society of Calligraphy presents its members’ works in Macau.
The exhibition consists of two parts. One part features the members’ works modelling on the stele inscriptions from the dynasty of Shang to Qing, with focus on the seal script, clerical script and regular script, through which the origin and evolution of Chinese calligraphy are demonstrated. Comprising nearly 60 exhibits of standardized dimensions, this part of the exhibition boasts a wide variety of content without duplication.
The other part presents excerpts from Xi Ci I & II (《易經繫辭上、下傳》) or The Great Treatise I & II said to be written by Confucius as an outline of Yi Jing (《易經》) or Book of Changes, the oldest Chinese classics. According to Xi Ci, Yi Jing is more than just a book of divination, but is also an integral part of Chinese philosophy. With an aim to promote traditional Chinese philosophy through calligraphy, the exhibition had Xi Ci as one of its topics, and invited members to write excerpts selected from it, yet with no limitation on the script type and paper size, demonstrating the members’ solid foundation in Chinese calligraphy and reflecting the spirit of cultural inheritance and innovation.
Dr Ambrose So, Chairman of The Jiazi Society of Calligraphy, said, “The exhibition held in Hong Kong last month presented calligraphy works by more than 100 members, which is unrivalled by the preceding editions. The event also saw a record number of visitors of nearly 8,000 in less than four days, and all of us are deeply motivated. It gives us great pleasure to bring part of the exhibits to Macau, hoping to offer an eye-opening journey of calligraphy to the visitors of the exhibition and to foster the exchange of arts and culture between Hong Kong and Macau.”
Commenting on the exhibition, Dr So said, “Through modelling on the stele inscriptions from past dynasties, visitors are like to be led into a time corridor, in which they will learn more about the origin and evolution of Chinese calligraphy. Another part of the exhibition features excerpts from Xi Ci of Yi Jing, the origin of Chinese philosophy.
“Writing the Chinese classics exemplifies one of the missions of our society, which is to promote traditional Chinese philosophy through calligraphy, and the excerpts selected by the members also reveal their true state of mind as calligraphy is painting of the heart. Brushes and ink transmit cultural inheritance and inspire innovation, and through continued learning and practicing, we have succeeded in putting the theme of ‘Ever Ancient, Ever New’ on paper.”
