ABSTRACT
To understand the role of handwriting in the construction of the Chinese personhood, it is useful to evoke a metaphor Yen suggests: the writing of Chinese characters, to the Chinese people, is like "a secondary face." "One's personhood resembles one's handwriting, and one's handwriting resembles one's personhood." Chinese people tend to expect the inner traits of a person to align with the qualities seen in her handwriting, and vice versa. The concept of piin describes not only the moral quality of a person, but also the quality of calligraphy works. Appreciating works of calligraphy inherently requires identifying oneself with the moral values of the calligrapher and therefore says much about one's own moral preferences. The calligraphy brush is light in weight, but maneuvering of the brush should preferably make it appear a very heavy instrument. Yan Zhenqlng s calligraphy works in the regular script are some of the most popular options calligraphy students choose to use as models.
