“When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” So when in China, celebrate Chinese New Year!

This means eating the food, taking part in the festivities, and decorating your place! Usually, my Chinese teacher likes to give us a nifty set of simple decorations in a box set, which is easily ordered off Taobao. But this year, I found a couple of things that give my Chinese New Year celebration a little more meaning.

A few days ago, a local acquaintance reached out to me and asked if I was interested in buying some handwritten calligraphy scrolls. These traditionally come in a couplet or triplet and are to be pasted outside your door, ushering in well wishes for the new year. In this set, the horizontal inscription says “May your family be kind,” while the scroll on the right reads, “The mountains and rivers are beautiful scenery” and the one on the left says “May you have a rich life with happiness.” Incidentally, they were all handwritten by her 12-year-old son!

Now you might recall I myself had brought my 6-year-old son to attempt calligraphy once. It did not end well and we never went back. But I continue to be awed by the focus and patience of this almost-lost art. So I was impressed to discover that this local youth, Lynn, had been studying calligraphy for four years with professionals. In his mother’s words, “I am happy for him because he is doing something he really likes.”

Call me old-school but I like knowing the hand that paints my scrolls, instead of some soulless factory reprint. If you like what you see as well, feel free to scan the QR code below to place an order. Lynn is also happy to customize the scrolls if you have specific well wishes in mind. Prices start from RMB 38 for a set.

Reusable Cloth Red Packets

For a more sustainable touch to your CNY, consider giving your red packets in these stylish cloth hongbao from China-born eco-wrap brand Baluchon, of local beeswax wraps and furoshiki (exquisite Japanese cloth wrap) fame. Aside from being reused year after year, they can also be reused as a cute wallet after CNY because let’s face it, red never goes out of style in China! Prices start from RMB 108. These are also customizable with company logos. Scan the QR code for more options!

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Images: Pexels, courtesy of vendors, Liz & Po

One of the fantasies I harbored in anticipation of moving to China was of my child and I writing calligraphy alongside each other in a pavilion amid a zen-inspiring garden with a pretty little stream babbling beside us. If I’m being totally honest about this fantasy, my American husband is also serving us tea in dainty Chinese teacups and playing the erhu in the background.

Anyhoo, the point of sharing that fantasy was to introduce you to my fascination with Chinese calligraphy. My very first contact was when my parents paid a street artist in Tian Jin to write my name in “Chinese calligraphy”.

My Chinese name written in “Chinese calligraphy”

Yes, obviously that isn’t quite your traditional Chinese calligraphy. The artist took some liberties there. But to my young impressionable mind, it was unlike anything I had ever seen and absolutely stunning!

The next time Chinese calligraphy stirred my soul was its appearance in the award-winning film Hero by Yimou Zhang, where the swordmaster Broken Sword – played by the enigmatic Tony Chiu-Wai Leung – writes the character for 劍 jiàn sword, likening the art of swordplay to calligraphy.

The brush is equally as mighty as the sword

That made such sense to me: The discipline of the training, the power behind the deliberate strokes of the brush and sword, the fluidity in the movements… all of it drew me into the fantasy of Ancient Chinese culture, where Chinese calligraphy is purported to have origins way back in the Shang dynasty (1600-1046 B.C.) when it was inscribed on animal bones.

Today, calligraphy is more akin to Latin, lost and dying, if not already dead to most. But there remains a niche group of calligraphy enthusiasts who wish to keep this art form alive. In downtown Beijing, I came across two calligraphy centers that teach this ancient art to kids as young as 3 years old. Eager to witness the magic of calligraphy firsthand, I brought my kid and a friend’s daughter for a trial class.

Watch expat kids try Chinese calligraphy in the video below!

It would appear that my fantasy of writing Chinese calligraphy with my son will not be coming true any time soon, but I’m still happy to see that the next generation gets a chance to learn and uphold this magnificent tradition. Perhaps your child might wish to try their hand at this ancient Chinese art form? After all, you can always tell them it’s just practice for holding a sword.

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Images: Vivienne Tseng-Rush, screengrab from 2002 “Hero” film