Cool presents from Dun Huang

Hidi went on a trip to Dun Huang and she brought us back some very cool presents. First up, our names in a form of traditional calligraphy on a piece of local wood –  carved by a father and son team. The more skilled and experienced father tackles the abstract and unusual characters.

Secondly, these classic writing exercise books with checked paper – the type commonly used by students learning to write. These aren’t so common in Shanghai nowadays, but the books will bring back strong memories for older Chinese people who will recall arduously copying out characters by rote.

Both artefacts link to scribing, the past and memory. As more young Chinese learn to write type using a computer, send SMS messages with pinyin, use OMLG to express themselves and neglect the art of writing – it’s lovely to receive gifts that evoke such a rich analog past. I say that as a digital evangelist with a love for analog.Thanks Hidi.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 at 11:37 pm. It is filed under China, Culture, Text and tagged with featured, travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.