Lafayette College’s Chinese department made a splash in Pardee Hall this Wednesday with its annual Chinese calligraphy and painting workshop.

The event taught students the basics of Chinese language calligraphy and was open to all, regardless of familiarity with the language.

“For people who’re learning Chinese, I’m sure they will see what they learn from the class and use it while doing this calligraphy,” said Yenchen Liau, a teaching assistant and one of the primary organizers of the event. “For people who are not learning Chinese, I think it’s also a really interesting experience for them to see the cultural traditions of the ancient Chinese.”

The event began by providing participants a brush, a bowl of water and a water-wash calligraphy cloth, a special type of cloth that can be written on with water, fading over time and allowing characters to be practiced over and over again with only one cloth.

Participants could practice calligraphy with help from the teachers, first on the calligraphy cloth, then with ink on rice paper and finally, writing on bookmarks they got to keep.

“I think the most difficult part was actually drawing the specific symbols — love, specifically, had a lot of complex lines and strokes I had to do in a specific way,” Diogo Delcarman ‘27 said.

The event also featured some artistry beyond calligraphy.

“We think about how to make this event more attractive to students, both learning Chinese and not learning Chinese,” Liau said. “So we add ink painting.”

Students took to the paper with flowers, bamboo and dragons.

“I realized that Chinese is not such a popular language nowadays, especially for American students, but I would say it’s a really beautiful language,” Liau said. “I think my role is to encourage more students to learn Chinese and learn the beautiful language and culture of it.”

She said her favorite character is that for love, 愛, pronounced “ài.”

The event filled a classroom with almost two dozen students excited to immerse themselves in Chinese culture and have a unique experience.

“Coming here with my friends after having class all day was really fun,” Justin Morales ‘26 said. “It was a little bit hard to get used to, but once I got the strokes correct, it was really nice.”

Anna Glassic ‘29 drew the symbol for hero, 英雄, because she “thought it looked cool.” 

“I saw a flyer, had no plans, ‘Oh yeah, I’ll go,’” she said.

“I drew the moon, peace and courage,” Delcarmen said. “I’ve always found the moon so mesmerizing and beautiful. Peace is something that I’m always looking for in life, and courage, that’s just something I’m always looking for in my life.”