Writing & Women Calligraphers in East Asia

Workshop convened by Hui-Wen Lu *03 and Cheng-hua Wang

East Asian calligraphy encompasses a vast and rich tradition. With profound discourses on ideology, diverse artistic styles, and outstanding calligraphers, it stands out as a unique art form, deeply intertwined with its social and cultural environments. Women, however, are conspicuously underrepresented in historical accounts related to and dealing with East Asian calligraphy. This workshop aims to explore the circumstances and stories about women within it.

We begin with a series of questions: Is the history of East Asian calligraphy, in its terminology as well as institutions, truly as male-dominated as it appears? How did women navigate the traditional framework of calligraphy to learn and create in this art form? In what ways have their contributions been recorded and evaluated? How did they manage to find or establish their own position within the artistic and cultural domains of calligraphy? Finally, in what ways is calligraphy gendered in East Asia?

Scholars specializing in China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan studies will present their research on women and writing/calligraphy in East Asia. The topics include case studies as well as broader reflections on gendered writing in East Asia and their wider implications for the field. The program also includes an artist’s narrative on the story of her creative journey in the modern world.

In-person by invitation; Zoom is open to all