An Unexpected Calligraphy Journey: From Han Dynasty to Hannah

Luyao Zheng: Siyu, I’m so glad you joined us at the Chinese New Year Gala in Topeka! What was it like setting up your calligraphy booth?

Siyu Chen: Thanks for having me, Luyao! Honestly, when I first walked in, it felt like stepping into a burst of colors, sounds, and energy. But once I started setting up my booth, it felt like everything slowed down—the strokes of my brush brought this calm focus, like I was in my own little world.

Siyu Chen (left)

Luyao: That sounds beautiful. For people who might not know much about it, what makes Chinese calligraphy so special?

Siyu: Oh, it’s so much more than just writing! Chinese calligraphy is an art form. The characters are ideograms, which means they express meaning through their shapes. The strokes—dots, lines, curves—they’re all part of a visual language. Compared to phonetic alphabets, Chinese characters are way more visual and expressive. Plus, there’s a whole aesthetic system behind it, from the brush techniques to how the characters are structured. It’s endless how you can mix things up and create different styles.

Luyao: That’s fascinating. Did anything unexpected happen while you were demonstrating?

Siyu: Oh, for sure! There was this little boy running around, super noisy and full of energy. But the second I started my first demo, he just stopped—completely froze. His eyes went wide, and he just watched my brush moving across the paper like it was magic. It was wild seeing him go from bouncing off the walls to standing there, totally mesmerized.

Luyao: Wow, that’s such a powerful image. How did everyone else react, especially those who don’t speak or read Chinese?

Siyu: That’s what amazed me the most! Even though most people couldn’t read the characters, they really connected with the art. It was like they felt the rhythm of the brush—how fast or slow I moved, the flow of the lines. There’s a saying that Chinese calligraphy is "a poem without words, a dance without movement; a painting without images, and music without sound." And honestly, you could see that people were feeling it, even without understanding the language.

Luyao: I love that. I know you did some special pieces that night—can you share a few stories?

Siyu: Absolutely. One memorable piece was for the mayor. I wrote '迎欢' (ying huan), which means "welcome," in the traditional right-to-left style. Even though he didn’t know what it said at first, you could tell he felt the warmth and the gesture behind it.

Siyu is creating the calligraphy

Then Jeff Fogg from ThisIsTopeka.com stopped by. He wanted to see how "Topeka" would look in Chinese. I wrote '卡皮托' (ka pi tuo), which phonetically sounds like "Topeka."

The calligraphy for ‘Topeka’ is displayed in the center, with Jeff Fogg standing on the far left and Luyao Zheng on the far right.

But one of the sweetest moments was with Daisy. She’s this adorable little girl with the brightest eyes—and she’s the daughter of one of your classmates from the Emerge Cohort, right? I wrote '花菊' (hua ju) for her, which means "daisy flower." When I handed it to her, her smile just lit up the whole room.

Daisy's name in Chinese calligraphy

Luyao: Oh! I just remembered this hilarious moment with another blonde girl named Hannah. She asked you to write her name in Chinese, so you wrote '娜汉' (na han). I turned to Hannah and said, 'You know '汉' isn’t just a sound, right? It’s actually the name of one of China’s greatest dynasties—the Han Dynasty!' Her dad and I joked that she now had this imperial vibe to her name, like she was linked to ancient Chinese royalty.

‘Han’ (汉), a Chinese dynasty, is also part of Hannah's name.

Siyu: Lol! She absolutely loved it, and we all had a good laugh!

Luyao: That’s such a fun story—and I still laugh thinking about it! Were there any other memorable pieces?

Siyu: Definitely. I also wrote '蛇祥' (she xiang), which means "lucky snake," for someone—since it’s the Year of the Snake. But honestly, every piece I did felt special because it wasn’t just about translating words. It was about sharing a piece of tradition and emotion through the art.

The full phrase is '祥蛇纳福', and this calligraphy features only the first part.

Luyao: Speaking of art, have you come across any interesting stories about famous artists and calligraphy?

Siyu: Oh, yes! There’s this story about Picasso. Back in 1956, when he was in his 60s, he invited Zhang Daqian, a famous Chinese artist, to visit him in Paris. Picasso knew about Zhang’s work and asked him to demonstrate. Zhang took out a brush and wrote his name in Chinese calligraphy. Picasso watched and was completely blown away. He said, “I don’t understand why you Chinese come to Paris to study art.”

Picasso practiced calligraphy.

Imagine that—one of the world’s greatest artists, in awe of Chinese calligraphy! Picasso even said, “If I had lived in China, I would have been a calligrapher, not a painter.” You can actually see the influence of calligraphy’s asymmetry in some of Picasso’s work.

In one of Picasso's paintings, the Chinese character '兑' (dui), meaning "add water," was incorporated alongside a cup and kettle.

Luyao: That’s such a fascinating story! Do you have any other fun calligraphy facts?

Siyu: Definitely! Here’s a quirky one—did you know that a lot of ancient calligraphy was literally eaten? I’m talking about Oracle Bone Script, or '甲骨文.' It’s one of the earliest forms of Chinese writing, carved onto turtle shells and animal bones. But for centuries, people didn’t know how valuable they were. Instead, they ground them up and used them as traditional Chinese medicine, calling them "dragon bones." It wasn’t until 1899 that Oracle Bone Script was recognized for its historical importance. A scholar named Wang Yirong spotted the inscriptions on a piece of "medicine" and became the first to collect and study them. Can you imagine? For hundreds of years, people were literally swallowing history!

An image of Oracle Bone Calligraphy (jiǎ gǔ wén).

Luyao: That’s wild—and kind of hilarious! For people who want to try calligraphy, what do they need to get started?

Siyu: The basics are pretty simple: a brush, ink, and Chinese paper. Over time, Chinese calligraphy has developed into five main styles: regular script (kaishu), running script (xingshu), cursive script (caoshu), clerical script (lishu), and seal script (zhuanshu). Each one has its own vibe and flow.

Luyao: By the end of the night, your booth had a big crowd! How did that feel?

Siyu: It was amazing. Some people were just watching, others asked questions, and a few even gave the brush a try. It was incredible to see how something as simple as ink on paper could bring people together and create these connections that go beyond language. It’s a night I’ll never forget.

'欢迎' in Chinese calligraphy, meaning "welcome."

Luyao: Thank you for sharing all this, Siyu. It was such a joy having you at the gala—you brought something truly special to the event!

Siyu: Thank you, Luyao! I had such a great time, and I’m so grateful for the chance to share calligraphy with everyone.