SCIENTISTS WARN that the dramatic disappearance of handwriting in the modern world will have a negative effect on the human brain—but not in China.
For the Chinese, the art and science of handwriting is alive and well–and not just as a way of communicating information, but as a standard skill that every young person learns—and as an ancient artform that can produce works of undeniably beauty.
“Handwriting engages the brain more deeply, activating wider networks linked to movement, memory, and cognition,” said a report in the European Medical Journal.
Chinese writing has an advantage: it is widely taught and universally respected, so attracts a lot of enthusiasm, even from young people.
There was a record number of entries for Hong Kong’s Golden Pen award this year, a prize that celebrates Chinese calligraphy.
A total of 450 primary and secondary schools from Hong Kong and mainland China participated, with judges receiving more 66,000 entries, nearly 10,000 more than last year.
There has been so much interest from outside the country, that judges opened the gates to overseas entries as well.
“For the first time, the competition also included an overseas division, receiving entries from students in Russia, Singapore, and South Korea, making the Golden Pen Award a global competition,” said Herman Hu Shao-ming, founding President of the Hong Kong Rosamond Foundation, which organized the award alongside the “We Like Hong Kong” group, and with help from the Hong Kong Palace Museum, which hosted the prize giving.
He said he was thrilled with the amount of enthusiasm for Chinese writing, an important part of Chinese culture.
It was also great to see so many young people taking part. “Last year, we even set a Guinness World Record for the ‘Largest Calligraphy Class’,” he added.
Scientific studies show that writing in Chinese elicits a wide range of brain activity. Click the link to go to a scientific study that goes into more detail on the topic.