~《Bridge of Communication Between Chinese and Canadian Cultures ~ Jean-Yves Pelletier》~
Preface, Ngan Siu Mui 2025

Looking around the world, there are quite a few Chinese who have achieved remarkable accomplishments in the field of Western art. However, there are very few Westerners who have truly mastered the techniques of Chinese calligraphy. To this day, calligraphy has yet to become a globally shared artistic language.

Having lived abroad for nearly forty years dedicated to the art of Chinese calligraphy and painting, I have always taken it as my mission to promote the art of calligraphy. Most of my students are foreigners, and traditional teaching methods often leave them feeling bored. To help these art enthusiasts who do not understand Chinese characters, as well as the younger generation of Chinese descent, appreciate the subtleties of calligraphy and guide them to practice diligently rather than rush into creating their own works, I have put in great effort. Fortunately, teaching and learning go hand in hand. Faced with numerous questions, I gradually learned to use everyday phenomena to explain the connection between calligraphy techniques and human movement, making abstract principles feel more relatable and tangible.

Among Asian students, there are often those who are eager for quick results, believing they can achieve proficiency within just a few months or regarding calligraphy as a simple skill that can be mastered without guidance. In contrast, foreign students tend to be more humble and diligent — most Asian students are primarily focused on achieving neatness in character forms, which allows them to make quicker progress in the early stages. On the other hand, foreign students frequently ask questions and continuously explore creative ideas, often demonstrating stronger comprehension in their perception of form and understanding of abstract concepts.

This booklet shares the insights of my eldest disciple and close friend, Jean-Yves Pelletier, a Western mathematics professor who, in his sixties and with no prior knowledge of Chinese characters, resolutely ventured into the realm of Chinese calligraphy. Not only has he transcended linguistic and cultural barriers, but he has also reinterpreted the inner logic of calligraphy through his unique life experiences and academic cultivation. I have given him the Chinese name 【柏钟义】. The character 【柏】is derived from the initial sound of his surname, symbolizing resilience and enduring vitality, much like an evergreen cypress tree. 【钟义】phonetically echoes his given name while embodying the virtue of upholding righteousness (钟于正义). As the Qing dynasty scholar Liu Xizai (刘熙载) noted in 《An Overview of Art》(艺概): "The character of the brush and the spirit of the ink are both rooted in the temperament of the person." For Jean-Yves, learning calligraphy is neither a pursuit of novelty nor an affectation of refinement — it is a profound practice of life. In his spare time, he has studied Argentine tango and piano for over thirty years and has even personally participated in shipbuilding and construction projects. In all his endeavors, he approaches them with calm focus and bodily engagement. It is precisely this breadth of life experience that enables him to naturally integrate the rigor of mathematics, the dynamism of dance, the rhythm of music, and the mechanics of engineering into his understanding of calligraphy.

"Mathematicians, like painters or poets, are creators of patterns. If their patterns are more enduring, it is because they are made of ideas." This quote by the British mathematician Godfrey Harold Hardy (1877–1947) aptly captures the essence of Jean-Yves's exploration of calligraphy. He excels at interpreting the principles of character composition through spatial division and geometric balance, and he uses mechanical models to explain the rhythm of the brush’s rise and fall.

With nearly four decades of overseas teaching experience and inspired by Mr. Pelletier's philosophy, I have authored 《A Beginner's Guide to Calligraphy: An Interdisciplinary Introduction》and《A Cross-Art Dialogue: Chinese Calligraphy and Argentine Tango》These works aim to reinterpret traditional calligraphic theories in accessible language, integrating intuitive mathematical, mechanical principles, and everyday knowledge. Through this approach, I seek to chart a more comprehensible and attainable path for learning calligraphy.