A   Spiritual Feast

Li Wenbin, a son of a famous chef in Sichuan, chose to learn calligraphy instead of following his father's trade. Cooking and calligraphy, though entirely unrelated, have something in common: they are both manual art. With a turner in the hand of a chef and a brush in the hand of a calligrapher, they pay great attention to details— a pinch of spice and a fine brush stroke make all the difference. Indeed, a prestigious chef is good at making delicious dishes with quality ingredients, while a renowned calligrapher is capable of producing amazing works by combining the skills of masters of all times. One presents a feast for our mouth and stomach, while the other offers a spiritual feast for our eyes and minds, good for our health in the sense that they both enhance our culinary taste and aesthetic taste.

Here, Wenbin provides viewers with a feast of works mainly on Buddhist classics. Feel the essence of calligraphy in the dancing brush strokes, and listen to the sutras from the age-old words.

Be quiet, please. Slow down, please. What a great pleasure it would be if one can fully digest a couple of sentences from the sutras.

Inheriting and Exploring

The only way for a calligrapher to succeed is to practice after copybooks, learn from a master, read extensively, observe carefully, and work hard day in and day out, and Wenbin is no exception.

However, unlike others, he happened to have grasped the best opportunity. In 1978, Wenbin, at the age of 12, became a student of famous calligrapher Bai Yunshu. At the start of Chinese Reform and Opening , the resumption of college entrance examination made young people enthusiastic about learning. Teachers of subjects like Chinese, mathematics and English became fully engaged. But calligraphy was not popular. As Mr. Bai was in the prime of his life and was dedicated to teaching Wenbin, a naughty boy then. After four years of learning, Wenbin, at the age of 16, had not only learned well the basics of calligraphy, but also turned out to be gentle and refined, and joined Chengdu Calligraphy Research Association. Among a group of white-haired calligraphers, he was the only “child” member, whom all the teachers kept nothing from and were happy to guide. Therefore, Wenbin learned diligently like a bee busy gathering honey from all kinds of flowers.

Two years before that, no one dared to teach calligraphy in the era of the Gang of Four; two years after that, a good teacher was hard to find in the craze for calligraphy. It seems that Wenbin was born for calligraphy. With all the favorable factors, his diligence paved his way to success.

Watching Wenbin's calligraphy, you can fell his solid competence and persistent exploration. There is exploration in introducing the inscription style to the cursive style, and innovation based on various schools. How refreshing it is!

History always favors those brave explorers.

Soil for Geniuses

Lu Xun once said: “Geniuses are precious, while the soil for them to grow on is more precious.”

Wen Bin, a prestigious calligraphy tutor at Chengdu Youth Palace, has been teaching for over thirty years. With so many outstanding students, he has become a renowned tutor of calligraphy teaching in China. The students need to be patient in the learning of every stroke, while the teacher must be extremely patient in teaching. Patience wears away the years, while the glittering trophies and medals the students won are the best rewards to Wenbin.

Some say that this is the keyboard era, while instantly some refuted that it is the touchscreen era as keyboards are being abandoned. No matter it is “keyboard” or “touchscreen”, please believe:

Writing brush, instead of getting off the historical stage, will take center stage; calligraphy, instead of declining, will thrive! To individuals, calligraphy practices one's breath and patience, beneficial to one's health and temperament; to a nation, it means continuity of culture, commemorating ancient saints, understanding past and present. Such a beneficial cause to both the nation and the people will surely have a brilliant future!

Wenbin, together with his students, are walking on the road to success.

Let us wish that Wenbin will achieve greater success!

(Tan Kai: ex-editor in chief with Science Fiction World, famous writer)