Deep in the high-ceilinged corridors of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei, calligraphers craft messages on behalf of the nation’s leaders as they seek to keep the traditional art alive.
The president and vice president appoint personal scribes who create everything from small notes to large scrolls, delivering congratulations and condolences to residents.
Yang Shu-wan (楊淑婉), 59, is President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) calligrapher, selected after applying for the position in 2016 when Tsai came to power.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
Her workshop is hung with large swathes of red and white sheets, freshly decorated with traditional Chinese ink strokes and drying over metal racks.
“The style of characters should mirror the personality and I want to show the frank and unpretentious side of the president,” Yang said.
She met Tsai a number of times and spoke with her shortly after the leader took office, when she praised how beautifully Yang wrote her name, she said.
“I also think she is personable and I want to show that other side of her through the calligraphy, using a script that is spirited and vivacious,” Yang said.
Yang’s brush set varies from thick to fine tips, enabling her to make bold or delicate marks on paper spread across a large wooden table, working with unwavering concentration.
Members of the public apply for messages to mark birthdays from 80 or older, wedding anniversaries from 50 years and deaths of loved ones aged 70 or older.
Temples and schools also ask for calligraphy tributes from the president, which are all sent free of charge, to commemorate anniversaries and achievements.
More than 11,000 such messages were issued by the Presidential Office last year.
Like most Taiwanese students, Yang practiced calligraphy when she was at school, but did not take it up seriously until 20 years ago, when she was a stay-at-home mother.
Through practicing rigorously for hours a day, she began to win competitions and teach the art.
Yang said that one of her most memorable messages on behalf of Tsai, who is an animal lover, was a tribute to a golden retriever named Cherry that toured schools to promote animal protection before dying of an illness.
She said her work gives her inner calm and balance, and helps accumulate good karma.
“I have written condolences for a person who passed away at 112 years old and to congratulate a couple celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary,” she said.
“I have come to realize that there is no constant in life and we should cherish every moment,” she said.
Yang sees calligraphy as one of the nation’s most important cultural assets and teaches the art to students as young as five.
Her views are echoed by Susan Huang (黃素貞), the official calligrapher of Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), who said the art helps cultivate patience and persistence in children.
The retired mathematics teacher, now 72, met Chen at the Catholic church they both attend.
She said her characters are “balanced and calm” to reflect what she describes as Chen’s gentle nature and that she writes them as if they were for her own family, seeing herself as a bridge between the government and the people.
“It gives me a great sense of accomplishment,” Huang said. “I hope when people receive the messages I write, they will feel pleased or comforted.”
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS