The 2nd Hengshan Calligraphy Biennale: Calligraphy in Movement: From Literati’s Desk to People’s Streets
This year’s Hengshan Calligraphy Biennale begins by reflecting on the contemporary tendency to view calligraphy mainly as a visual or formal art. Instead, it returns to the essence of calligraphy as an act of writing, and reexamines its many dimensions between daily life and artistic creation. By weaving together both “professional” and “non-professional” practices, the exhibition moves beyond technique- or style-based appreciation, inviting visitors to understand how calligraphy continues to grow, spread, and sustain its vitality across different contexts.
Through a dialogue between past and present, the exhibition features works ranging from Wang Duo of the Ming dynasty, to Edo-period Japanese monks Hakuin Ekaku, Ryōkan, and Sengai Gibon, and extending to contemporary calligraphers, literati, artists, thinkers, writers, designers, and social advocates. The works span many forms—from traditional hanging scrolls, handscrolls, letters, and poetry drafts, to cross-disciplinary collaborations such as modern dance and film posters, and even calligraphy used as a medium for public engagement—revealing the diverse possibilities of calligraphy today.
More than an exhibition, this Biennale is a cultural experiment. By placing professional and non-professional works, art and everyday writing, the classical and the contemporary side by side, it opens a space to reflect on the many possibilities of writing, and on calligraphy as a profound expression of being human.
00. Introduction
03.Chou Meng-tieh, Dating
01.Wang Duo, Six Sheets of Poetry Drafts
13.Li Ken-cheng, Drifting Exhaust — Harm Awaits Indoors or Out
12.Li Min-yong, Holding Hands
07.Nakamura Fusetsu, Copy of Wansui Tongtian Tie
06.Zeng Xiang, Shared Writings · Pāramitā
11. Shih Chun-chi, 365, Daily Bible Writing
02. Ro Boku, Aspiration
08. Ryōkan, Letter to Abe
04. Xiao-Yu, Copy of the Huashan Temple Stele
15. Chou Yu, The Weeping Dew on a Thousand Grasses











