Calligraphy Theorist and Cultural Scholar Ye Ming Promotes Chinese Calligraphy Education in Texas
USA News June 17, 2025
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Calligraphy Theorist and Cultural Scholar Ye Ming Promotes Chinese Calligraphy Education in Texas
— Traditional Culture Course and Youth Calligraphy Challenge Successfully Conclude
On June 15, 2025, a comprehensive Chinese Calligraphy Cultural Course and Youth Calligraphy Challenge, organized by the Texas-based educational institution "LongXueTianXia," successfully concluded. The program featured lectures, hands-on training, and live competitions. Calligraphy theorist, artist, and cultural communication scholar Ye Ming (pen name: Yehenara Yulin) was invited to serve as the lead instructor and final-round judge. The course and competition drew wide attention, boosting enthusiasm for calligraphy among youth and injecting new vitality into the promotion of Chinese culture in the United States.
Multiple Roles, Deep Cultural Foundation
Ye Ming, who has been actively involved in grassroots cultural exchange centered on calligraphy in the U.S., is one of the rare artists today combining strong theoretical insight with practical skill. Influenced by his family's cultural heritage from an early age, he specializes in a variety of scripts including regular, clerical, semi-cursive, and cursive styles. He has also focused on the artistic revitalization of ancient scripts such as Manchu and Jurchen, making him one of the few artists proficient in both Chinese and Manchu calligraphy. His academic perspective centers on the integration of writing, culture, and identity, emphasizing the role of calligraphy as a medium of cultural transmission and identity formation.
As a cultural scholar, Ye Ming has authored several influential works, including "The True Stories of the Twelve Empresses of the Qing Dynasty" and "Historical Figures of the Great Qing," which present Qing Dynasty history in an accessible yet scholarly manner. His work is well-received among both Chinese and English-speaking readers. He also holds various artistic leadership positions, such as Vice President of the Royal Academy of Calligraphy and Painting, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Calligraphy and Painting, Deputy Secretary-General of the Manchu Studies Committee, and Secretary-General of the Manchu Calligraphy Association. These roles reflect his deep involvement in cultural communication and artistic promotion.
Teaching Course: Beyond Technique, a Cultural Awakening
In the Texas program, Ye Ming provided systematic instruction for students of various ages under the theme "Calligraphy as Culture." The curriculum included traditional brushwork techniques, historical context, the evolution of characters, and the fundamentals of cultural identity.
Through the concept of "Writing as Self-Cultivation," Ye led students from basic pen exercises to the exploration of character structure and the philosophical core of Chinese tradition. He emphasized, "Chinese calligraphy is not merely a technical art—it is a practice of inner cultivation, a dialogue with our ancestors, our time, and ourselves."
A special module, "Manchu Script Experience," was included to introduce students to the structure and evolution of the Manchu script. This served to underscore the unity and diversity of Chinese culture and offered initial exposure to the multicultural heritage embedded within Chinese civilization.
Fair Judging, Encouraging Diverse Expression
Following the course, the Youth Calligraphy Challenge took place, with Ye Ming serving as final-round judge alongside local educational experts. The competition attracted over a hundred submissions from across Texas and neighboring states, covering regular, semi-cursive, and cursive styles. Participants included both students of Chinese descent and non-Chinese youth interested in Chinese culture.
Ye Ming stressed the principle of "Understanding before Imitation" in his judging, emphasizing that submissions should not only demonstrate technical accuracy but also reflect the students’ comprehension of calligraphy's cultural spirit and personal expression. He stated, "We are not simply looking for replicas of ancient masters, but for works that convey a student’s unique aesthetic and emotion."
The competition concluded with several awards. Ye Ming personally inscribed phrases such as "Wen Xin" (Heart of Literature), "Zhi Yuan" (Lofty Aspirations), and "Heng Xi Bu Chuo" (Perseverance Without Cease) for the winners, offering words of encouragement: "Every stroke is your response to culture and your introduction to the world."
Ongoing Commitment to Cultural Communication
This event is part of Ye Ming’s ongoing cultural outreach initiatives. He has previously held calligraphy exhibitions and lectures in various cities across mainland China and Macau and has taught occasional calligraphy courses at Tsinghua University’s Academy of Arts and Design. His goal has been to integrate traditional calligraphy into modern art education.
Internationally, Ye continues to support Chinese language education programs and promotes the localization of calligraphy in youth humanistic education frameworks. He advocates for cultural exchange over one-way dissemination, stating, "Calligraphy is not merely about writing characters—it is a quiet language of mutual understanding."
Ye also supports the development of hybrid online-offline calligraphy education platforms, aiming to incorporate calligraphy into the humanistic curriculum for overseas youth and to foster the organic integration of character learning with identity building.
Future Vision: Multilingual and Multicultural Calligraphy Outreach
Currently, Ye Ming is preparing a bilingual essay collection titled "Calligraphy and Cultural Identity" and is planning to launch a series of short video lectures, public talks, and art exhibitions. These programs will target schools, cultural institutions, and youth audiences across North America. His vision is to help young learners not only "write Chinese characters" but also "understand Chinese characters," thereby nurturing cultural confidence in a globally diverse context.
As he stated in his closing address: "Beneath each brushstroke lies not just the shape of a character, but the warmth of a culture. As long as future generations continue to pick up the brush and write with a calm heart, our culture will keep growing—alive and evolving."
