Vietnamese Calligraphy Class

Ever since calligraphy was introduced to Vietnam by the Chinese as one of the many cultural exchanges that shaped Vietnamese culture, much has changed over history to adapt the art to better express the richness of the Vietnamese language. Its usage was historically confined to scholars and noblemen when the use of Han script was still prevalent, but today, the art has taken rooted itself in both modern vietnamese calligraphy of the chinese characters and its national language, Quoc-ngu that originated from the French rule. 

Despite the many changes, the essence of the art still remains true to the core. The elegance of brush strokes as they define each character is as appealing as art itself. What intrigues even more is how different characters gracefully harmonize to change the meaning of a word. The character that describes women for instance can mean ‘peace’ if the character for roof is placed over it. Seeming abstract in nature, the art follows a rule that is both fascinating and exciting. 

In this Experience, you will learn calligraphy in both Chinese and the Vietnamese Language. Our Host, a skilled artist and a calligraphy master will take you back in time and present an art that is still revered and respected. Dont miss this change to put your own strokes as you learn this ancient art. 

Calligraphy has a long history in Vietnam. It was previously used for Chinese characters and Chu Nom, a local version of Chinese characters. However, most modern Vietnamese calligraphy instead uses the Roman-character based Quoc Ngu, which has proven to be very popular.

Even when the education was restricted to scholars and elites in Vietnam many years ago, calligraphy played an important part in Vietnamese life. On special occasions such as the Lunar New Year, people would go to the village teacher or scholar to ask for a calligraphy hanging (often poetry, folk sayings or even single words) for good luck or as a decoration. People who could not read or write also often commissioned scholars to write prayers which they would burn at temple shrines.