The Hongkongers keeping Chinese and Western calligraphy alive

It used to be that every educated person could write in a fair hand. Computer keyboards and touch screens have since made regular use of a pen something of an anachronism for many young people, let alone good penmanship.

So it's a revelation to watch 20-year-old Li Suen-wai write out, character by character, a work by Liang dynasty poet Wu Jun with unfaltering meticulousness and concentration onto a piece of grid paper by hand. His , or regular script, is immaculate: written with a gel pen, the well-spaced, straight strokes and tear-shaped dots are all executed with just the right degree of pressure.

Li has practised hard-nib Chinese calligraphy for four years under the guidance of Lui Chiu-wing, a master Chinese calligrapher and fervent advocate of the art, at his school in Prince Edward.

"Chinese calligraphy is one of the four accomplishments required of a traditional scholar. It is a part of our heritage. Its disappearance would be a cultural tragedy," says Lui, who also heads the Hard Pen Calligraphists' Association and Professional Chinese Calligraphers Association in Hong Kong, and acts as the judge at several penmanship contests.

He believes hard-nib calligraphy remains relevant in the technological age because homework and public exams still require writing and a neat hand has a good impression on the reader.

"As the popular Chinese saying goes, one's handwriting reflects one's character," says Lui. "Most of my students are selected as class representatives at their primary schools because teachers associate good handwriting with discipline and responsibility."