The Chinese Calligraphy in Spring Couplets

Although it is still the depth of winter, the fluttering snow heralds the coming of spring, and I believe spring will arrive as promised. The Spring Festival is approaching, a time that Chinese people hold in the highest regard. During this festive season of reunion, hope, and blessings, adorning our homes with spring couplets and auspicious sayings is customary. Since ancient times, the Chinese nation has had a special affinity for red, which brings us warmth, encouragement, hope, and strength. Writing blessings on red paper with a brush is the sincerest form of good wishes. The vibrant red spring couplets and auspicious sayings add profound meaning to the Spring Festival.

Chinese calligraphy is a living script, with the brush following the hand, infusing every stroke with the thoughts and emotions of the writer. Nowadays, printed spring couplets and auspicious sayings flood the market, but they can only convey the literal meaning. Writing with ink and brush captures the person's essence, as the handwriting reveals the writer's true sentiment, blending genuine wishes into the spring couplets and auspicious sayings. Some people paste the character for "fu" (good fortune) upside down, mistakenly believing it symbolises good fortune entering the home. This is extremely foolish. Understand that the character for "upside down" is not the same as "arrival." Pasting upside down conveys the opposite meaning, and the opposite of good fortune is calamity. Paste them right side up so that everyone who sees them will feel a sense of good fortune in their hearts, and the best wishes will be conveyed. The Chinese characters are the most beautiful and expressive. Please pick up your brush and write without worrying about the quality of your handwriting. Your blessings will be conveyed as long as you have a sincere heart. Festivals are a time to express good wishes, such as "Spring returns to the earth, and good fortune touches the soul," or "Prosperity and happiness greet the new year."

Many poetic lines can be used as couplets and hung in the home for a long time: "Sometimes one must ride the wind and break the waves; one must set one's white sails and cross the vast, roiling sea"; "Time passes in varying shades, and people's hearts find peace in varying distances"; "When guests come on a cold night, tea serves as wine; the bamboo stove boils, and the flames begin to glow red." Buddhist monk's verses are exquisite and meaningful: "Upon waking, there is tea; when hungry, there is rice; one watches the flowing water while sitting and gazing at the clouds"; "A day of leisure makes one a fairy; the six senses in harmony bring peace"; "Entering a cool realm, one's heart becomes joyful"; "To attain a pure land, one must purify one's mind; as one's mind becomes pure, so too does the Buddha's land"; "The bodhisattva's cool moon constantly wanders in ultimate emptiness."

Su Shi wrote a fantastic line: "One whose mind is filled with poetry and books naturally exudes elegance." An elderly calligraphy master adapted it into a couplet: "Ink stains my sleeves as I become intoxicated; my mind filled with poetry and books, I naturally exude elegance." I adapted it into a couplet to gift my disciples: "With brush and ink, I freely traverse past and present; with poetry and books in my heart, my demeanour naturally becomes elegant."

Writing spring couplets and auspicious sayings is a form of blessing, hope, sentiment, and inspiration. It is a heartfelt gift that is given with a brush and ink. As a new year begins, I wish everyone here good fortune and progress in the Year of the Snake.