Li Yansheng, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference: Bonus points can be applied to college entrance examination essays written with brushes. He suggested that the Ministry of Education should implement a bonus point policy for students who write essays with brushes in the college entrance examination, so as to stimulate the enthusiasm of young people to learn calligraphy culture, encourage young people to inherit the millennium calligraphy culture, and improve the cultural quality of the entire nation. ("Xi'an Daily" on March 12)
I am also a calligraphy enthusiast. As long as there are no special circumstances, I will "doodle" a few strokes every day to enjoy it. Therefore, I fully understand Commissioner Li Yansheng’s sentiments of advocating for the art of calligraphy. However, I really disagree with his suggestion of trying to "inherit the thousand-year calligraphy culture" by "writing with a brush to get extra points for college entrance examination essays."
Calligraphy is an art, and art is generally higher than life. Especially with the development of the times and the acceleration of the pace of life, brush calligraphy has become increasingly decoupled from practical Chinese character writing. We cannot require every student to learn calligraphy, just as we cannot require everyone to learn diving or symphony. We are no longer in the age of imperial examinations where people are judged based on their writing. Writing calligraphy is just a personal hobby. We can promote and encourage this, but we should never use "extraordinary measures" to impose personal preferences on others. This adds to the burden on already overburdened students. In recent years, the traditional art of calligraphy has indeed shown signs of decline, which is very sad. People who love this art and even government departments need to take appropriate measures to save it. But if it is necessary to use the college entrance examination baton to "guide", it is clearly overkill.
The basic requirements for writing college entrance examination essays should be clear and neat. There is no need to place excessive demands on its "artistic quality", and there is no need to emphasize the difference between "brush" and "fountain pen" writing tools - Pen calligraphy is also an art when done well. Didn't the late Mr. Qi Gong, a great calligrapher, once have a poem that says, "The pen doesn't matter whether it's steel or hair, and the wrist doesn't matter whether it's low or high." In addition, the time for the college entrance examination is limited, and the writing speed of the brush is generally not as fast as that of the hard pen. After all, there are only a handful of people like the great calligrapher Zhao Mengfu who can use the brush as fast as flying and can write thousands of words. We cannot extend the time for students who use the brush. Well, this is not fair to other candidates.
Art belongs to art, and practical things belong to practicality. "Extra points for writing college entrance examination essays with brushes" lacks the most basic operability, which is too wishful thinking - not only is it difficult to realize the "inheritance of calligraphy for thousands of years" The good wishes of "culture" may actually make people laugh at generosity.