• 1 My thanks to Li Xiuxian 李秀贤 and Hu Sudan 胡素丹 who invited me to visit their Calligraphy and Painting (...)
• 2 Wang Xizhi was traditionally referred to as the Sage of calligraphy, shusheng 書聖; his master was We (...)
• 3 The Qianzi wen, composed by Zhou Xingsi 周興嗣 (6^th century), was used as a traditional reading primer (...)

1Calligraphic art was conceived by the Chinese as a technique allowing the acquisition of certain virtues, and the mastery of this art as a proof of eminent qualities. As stated by Yang Xiong 揚雄 (53 BC-18 CE), “Writing is the trace or the drawing of the mind” shu, xinhua ye 書, 心畫也.” We can say that calligraphy had among literati, at least until the Tang 唐 period (7^th-10^th centuries), the functions of a quasi-religious asceticism. The Buddhist monk Zhiyong 智永 (seventh generation after Wang Xizhi 王羲之, 303-361),2 who lived around 581, was renowned for his diligence in calligraphy. He is famous for having locked himself up in a temple for 30 years, and practiced this art every day. It is said that the worn-out brushes he used filled up several huge bamboo buckets, that he buried them, and gave this place the name of tui bi zhong 退筆塚, “Tomb of worn out brushes.” He wrote out 800 copies of the Qianzi wen 千字文 or “Thousand Character Text” in verse, to teach children to write caoshu 草書 (cursive script), by giving both caoshu and kaishu 楷書 (standard characters) forms throughout,³ and many people came over to the temple to ask for his calligraphy.

• 4 Wang Gungwu, Home is Not Here, Singapore: Published under the Ridge Books imprint by NUS Press, Nat (...)
• 5 Wang Gungwu, Home is Not Here, p. 7.
• 6 Fan Jinshi koushu 樊錦詩口述, Gu Chunfang 顧春芳 xuanxie 撰寫, Woxin guichu shi Dunhuang 我心歸處是敦煌 “Dunhuang is (...)

2The tireless copy of famous inscriptions and calligraphy was also intended as a means of assimilating the genius of the writer or of his time. Close to us, historian Wang Gungwu 王賡武 (b. 1930) who grew up in Insulindia wrote in his memoirs that his father encouraged him to practice calligraphy, something he loved to do himself.4 Speaking of his mother he says:5 “Her proudest achievement was to cultivate through much practice a beautiful hand in writing the standard xiaokai 小楷 calligraphy, a skill all the girls in her family were expected to have. She told me often how hard she had practised with an older female cousin and how she became as good as her cousin whose calligraphy everyone admired.” Archaeologist Fan Jinshi 樊錦詩 (b. 1938), who currently serves as Honorary Director of the Dunhuang Academy, wrote in her biography, co-authored with Gu Chunfang 顧春芳, that her father who owned an elegant calligraphy, taught her this art since the time she was a child, and also found models of calligraphy, zitie 字帖, by Ouyang Xun 歐陽詢 (557-641) and Yan Zhenqing 顏真卿 (708-785) to copy. She further states:⁶ “When I was a child, I also liked to imitate my father’s writing, and imperceptibly my characters were similar to his.”

• 7 See Qianshen Bai, “Calligraphy for Negotiating Everyday Life: The Case of Fu Shan (1607-1684),” Asi (...)

3Calligraphy has also been practised by artists, either amateurs or professionals, who had practical and economic motivations behind their art. Instead of giving their calligraphies as mere gifts or in exchange of favors, some literati were constrained to rely on their art “for negotiating everyday life.” Bai Qianshen 白謙慎, from whom we borrow this phrasing,⁷ devoted a study to Fu Shan 傅山 (1607-1684), a Ming loyalist member of the cultural elite who, for having refused to serve the new dynasty was compelled to use his calligraphy in dealing with the problems of everyday life. In laying the emphasis on a more realistic view of this art, Bai Qianshen had in mind to investigate the dimensions of Chinese calligraphy beyond self-expression, and to study the relationship of Fu Shan with his socially diverse public.

• 8 This focus on pragmatic and political calligraphy does not mean that we deny its aesthetic aspect.

4In a similar way, here we intend to explore the part played by calligraphy in a diasporic milieu, and more especially in Java where Chinese communities have a rather long, but quite eventful history. In this context, calligraphy will not be considered as the “art of the elite” produced for self-amusement and expression, but rather as the product of “amateur” artists.⁸ This, in order to uncover the practical motivations of the latter, and the diverse use of their works to assist in establishing and maintaining social links within the diverse strata of Chinese communities, but also with the outside world, and the netherworld. In so doing, we will pay attention to the rather codified language of calligraphy that has been more or less understood by commoners. We will successively review the use of calligraphy during the Qing times, its ups and downs during the 20^th century, and its revival during this century in relation with the new political conjuncture.

• 9 Songshi 宋史 “History of the Song Dynasty,” 248, Waiguo 外國 5, “Sanfoqi guo 三佛齊國,” Ed. Beijing, Zhongh (...)

5Information regarding calligraphers practising their art in Insulindia is scarce, but we know that literati, and merchant literati were among the Chinese migrants who happened to sojourn in Java. Indeed, the sovereigns of Srivijaya and later on of Banten used Chinese interpreters and translators who also acted as secretaries, as stated in Chinese sources.⁹ However, the oldest known records that allude to the practice of calligraphy in Java only date back to the 18^th century. They mention literati who came as private preceptors, and occasionally wrote calligraphies in order to satisfy the demand of their compatriots. The latter, as in their homeland, liked to decorate their homes, offices, sanctuaries, with rather codified inscriptions engraved on wood that fulfill special functions, as we will see below. They were of two main types: pairs of scrolls, duilian 對聯, composed of rhymed antithesis couplets, and wooden horizontal panels, hengbian 橫匾 and hengpi 橫批, composed of four, three, or even two large characters. The hengbian stand on their own, while the hengpi accompany couplets.

• 10 Zhangzhou fuzhi 漳州府志, Ed. of 1878, juan 49, 31ab.
• 11 Wang Dahai 王大海, Haidao yizhi 海島逸志, Yao Nan 姚楠, Wu Langxuan 姚楠 jiaozhu 校注, Xianggang: Xuejin shudian (...)

6Among the literati who sojourned in Java, was Cheng Rijie 程日炌 (1709-1747, Zhangpu 漳浦, prefecture of Zhangzhou 漳州, Fujian), who spent several years in Batavia before 1740, in order to earn enough money to repay the debts of his family. Impressed by Cheng’s calligraphic talents, a rich Chinese merchant of the place proposed to marry his daughter to him, but Cheng declined, because he wanted to return to China, and the merchant became infuriated. ¹⁰Other literati even resided in Batavia. Such was the case of a certain Lian Musheng 連木生 who is said to have employed his time copying books. Towards the end of the 18^th century, he resided in a country house in the district of Luar Batang on the banks of the Holy grave Canal, Shengmu gang 聖墓港, where he separated himself from common pursuits. He also composed poems and was fond of flute and violin.¹¹ Unfortunately, none of these calligraphic works has come to us.

• 12 A short biography of Khouw Kok Tiong is to be found in Liem Thian Joe, Riwajat Semarang 1416-1931, (...)
• 13 W. Franke, in collaboration with C. Salmon & Anthony Siu 蕭國健, with the assistance of Hu Chün-yin 胡雋 (...)

7As regards the calligraphic talents of literati merchants, an evidence is given by Xu Guozhong (Khouw Kok Tiong) 許國忠, a merchant selling products from China who was based in Semarang.¹² Before returning to the motherland for good in 1782, he left behind a legacy of self-effacement: an undated wooden tablet that is still hung above the entrance of a small temple, the Dongbi miao 東壁廟, that was founded at his initiative. ¹³There are two seal imprints, in the inferior left corner, that provide his complete name, and penname Feiren 飛人; a third imprint, in the upper right corner, reads Ebin 峨濱 that may be his place of origin. The text reads:

• 14 Franke, Salmon & Siu, Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Indonesia, II (1), p. 123. The panel used to (...)
• 15 B. Hoetink, “Chineesche Officieren te Batavia onder de Compagnie”, Bijdragen tot de Taal- Land- en (...)
• 16 They read: Wang Zhiqian 王志謙, Ximing 希明. A third seal imprint, in the upper right corner, reads Long (...)

8Until the last decades of the 19^th century, more often than not, the heads of the various Chinese communities in Java were good hands at calligraphy. One evidence is given by an undated wooden tablet from the late 18^th century written by Wang Zhusheng (Ong Soe Seeng) 王珠生, hui 諱 Zhiqian 志謙, style Ximing 希明, that provides a motto for his fellow administrators at the Baguo gongtang 吧國公堂, “Council of the Chinese at Batavia”, a direct administrative body in charge of the civil affairs of the community.¹⁴ Wang was successively appointed lieutenant in 1775, captain in 1790, and he remained in office until his death in 1791. ¹⁵His two seal imprints are engraved in the inferior left corner of the tablet.¹⁶ The text reads:

• 18 We have not yet encountered in Java an artist-collector of Chinese calligraphies, books and works s (...)
• 19 Reproductions in Franke, Salmon & Siu, Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Indonesia. Cemeteries were a (...)
• 20 There are even corpora of the most famous couplets, classified thematically, which contain a sectio (...)

9It is difficult to appraise the real importance of calligraphy in the daily life during the 18^th-19^th centuries, because privately owned calligraphic works have not been well preserved and those still existing are not easily accessible.¹⁸ However, one can get an insight into the taste of the Chinese living in Java for calligraphy, just by looking at the numerous exquisite inscriptions on wood, emanating from local donors, that are or were displayed in public spaces, especially in various sanctuaries and in the defunct Council of the Chinese at Batavia.19 The interior of the richest ones is so decorated with calligraphies that the visitor feels as if he has an open book in front of him. As a matter of fact, up to the present day, Chinese visitors do not fail to read these inscriptions and even to copy them.20

• 21 Franke, Salmon & Siu, Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Indonesia, II (1), p. 313.

11The three oldest engraved calligraphies still in situ in the Chaojue si (Tiao Kak Sie) 潮覺寺, “Flow of Enlightenment Temple,” of Cirebon (mainly dedicated to Guanyin 觀音) have Buddhist meanings and date back to the two first decades of the 18^th century. The first, dated from winter 1714-15, was donated by Chen Bingyuan 陳秉元 and his brother or cousin (Chen) Bingren 秉仁. It bears the name of one of the 33 forms (nirmaņakâya or huashen 化身) assumed by Boddhisattva Guanyin to propagate Buddhism. The name of the calligrapher, possibly one of the monks attached to the sanctuary, is not stated.21 It reads:

• 23 Franke, Salmon & Siu, Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Indonesia, II (1), p. 192. For more details a (...)

12They are followed by a fourth one, dated Yongzheng ernian 雍正二年 (1724), that was written and donated by a certain Lin Ze 林澤, whose three seal imprints are hardly decipherable. It is located to the west of Semarang, close to the former Chinese quarter (Pecinan Lama), and engraved on a stone tablet fixed above the entrance of the Sanbao dong 三寶洞 (Indonesian name: Gedung Batu). The cave, where Admiral Zheng He 鄭和 (1371-1433, also named Sanbao, or Sam Po 三寶), is said to have rested, is known to be a place where miracles take place.23 It reads:

• 24 See the novel by Luo Maodeng 羅懋登, Sanbao taijian Xiyang ji 三寶太監西洋記 “The Voyage of the eunuch Sanbao (...)

13The text alludes to the tale according to which Zheng He had been sent on a mission to the Western Seas to search for the imperial seal, chuanguo xi 傳國璽, by which emperors received instructions from heaven; but this seal had been taken away by the last Mongol ruler.²⁴ For the visitors who may not have fully understood the allusion to Zheng He, an undated duilian written by another hand, and engraved on each side of the entrance, provides further clarifications, saying:

• 25 It reads :
• 26 It reads: 惡念未除登斯堂何必拈香叩首；善心常在入此地不妨淨手躬身 ­ or No need to enter this sanctuary, to burn incense, and to (...)
• 27 Such as this duilian of 1867 that alludes to the mercy of the Earth God, Fude zhengshen 福德正神, towar (...)
• 28 Such as this couplet in praise of Zehai zhenren 澤海真人 “The Fairy that Favours the Seas” along the co (...)

14Generally speaking, these engraved calligraphies provide an insight into the cultural, religious, and social life of merchants, craftsmen, and notables, especially those living in Jakarta, Cirebon, Semarang, and Surabaya. Some couplets were borrowed from temples in China, or copied from various thematic compendia of duilian, which nowadays are reprinted, and occasionally reproduced online. Such as the couplet in praise of Wenchang 文昌, the God of Literature, which was found in numerous sanctuaries dedicated to him, and was displayed in Surabaya in the Wenchang ci 文昌祠, founded in 1884, and converted into a Wenmiao (Boen Bio) 文廟 or Temple of Literature (dedicated to Confucius) at least in 1899, as a wooden panel indicates.²⁵ Again the couplet donated in 1866 by members of a guild of carpenters of Batavia to advise their fellow members not to enter the sanctuary dedicated to their patron saint Lu Ban 魯班 if their heart is filled with evil thoughts.²⁶ Some other couplets emanate from the donator himself. The donator may express the gratitude of the whole community toward a deity; 27he may dialogue with ancestors, and with local heroes or deities, either by asking for their protection, by expressing his gratitude^, 28or simply by praising their merits.

• 29 Franke, Salmon & Siu, Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Indonesia, III p. 256. The bell was destroyed (...)

16Worthy of note, in 1895, a Chinese lady from Makassar, Mrs. Meng, née Wen 孟文氏, presumably peranakan, donated a cast iron bell engraved with a long and informative inscription, written by Dai Lin 戴麟, a literatus from Quanzhou, to the Tianhou gong 天后宮.²⁹

• 32 Franke, Salmon & Siu, Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Indonesia, II (2), p. 699.

19The text is not dated, but it must have been donated in 1906, for the commemoration of the extension of the Wenmiao and the construction of an adjoining school, the Tjong Hoo Hak Tong 中和學堂, the name of which was changed to Tiong Hoa Hak Tong 中華學堂 the following year, after it was managed by an association called Tiong Hoa Hwe Koan 中華會館. This interpretation is corroborated by the fact that in 1907, Chen Baochen 陳寶堔 (1848-1935), First Class Consulting Expert in the Ministry of Education, who was sent to the Indies, ostensibly to inspect the educational facilities of the Chinese in the colony (but also to promote the sale of shares in a Fujian railway project), donated a couplet that alludes to the emperor panel.32 It reads:

• 34 See Wolfgang Franke, 傅吾康 and Chen Tieh Fan 陳鐵凡 Ed., Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Malaysia / 馬來西亞 (...)

20How this panel from the emperor’s hand was passed on, and handed over to the Wenmiao officials, remains a mystery. Worthy of note, in 1904, Emperor Guangxu had already conferred a similar panel to a newly founded Chinese school in Penang at the initiative of the famous mandarin capitalist Zhang Bishi 張弼士 (1840-1916, also known as Zhang Zhenxun 張振勳).34 This form of dialogue between emperor and subjects residing abroad was, to the best of our knowledge, a novelty.

• 35 Liem Thian Joe, Riwajat Semarang 1416-1931, p. 195.

21When in 1908, Emperor Guangxu passed away, soon followed by Empress Cixi 慈禧, the Chinese in Java organized various memorial ceremonies or zhuidaohui 追悼會. On a photo representing the staging of that held by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Semarang in 1909, one notices a framed calligraphy that reads:35

• 36 Franke, Salmon & Siu, Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Indonesia, II (1), p. 325.

24However, two pairs of couplets in Semarang and in Surabaya deserve our attention. The first displayed in the sanctuary preceding the cave in honour of Sanbao is a very original couplet dated 1916. It was composed and written by Zhang Bingling 章炳麟 (1869-1924), one of “the Three Elders of the Revolution,” and a most prolific revolutionary writer, during a tour he made through Southeast Asia. The text reads:36

• 37 Franke, Salmon & Siu, Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Indonesia, II (1I), p.  699.

26The second one is displayed in the Wenmiao in Surabaya. In 1919, the revolutionary Jiang Baoliao (Tjio Poo liauw) 蔣報料, along with two unknown merchants, Wu Yingzhou 吳瀛洲 and Li Bingyao 李炳耀, donated a pair of tablets inscribed with parallel sentences that give the impression that Tjio was still a pious Confucianist. The text reads:³⁷

• 40 For more details, see C. Salmon, “Confucianists and Revolutionaries in Surabaya (c1880-c1906),” in (...)

27Tjio, presumably, felt the need to publicly reassert his political commitment by alluding to the supremacy of the temple dedicated to Confucius in Surabaya, in order to better obscure his revolutionary activities.40

• 41 Franke, Salmon & Siu, Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Indonesia, III, p. 296.

28Soon after the establishment of the Republic, the new leaders, in the manner of the defunct imperial authorities, relied on calligraphy to reward the merchants of the diaspora who supported them. In Surabaya, where local revolutionaries were very active, such honorary gifts are difficult to trace, but they still exist in Makassar. The ancestral temple of the Tang 湯 family displays two wooden panels given in 1915 by the President of the Republic, zongtong 總統; the first one to Tang Heqing 湯河清 (1845-1910) Captain of Makassar since 1893, and the second one to Tang Longfei 湯龍飛¸ (1872-1942) who succeeded his father as Captain in 1910, and was later appointed Major. The current President of the Republic was Yuan Shikai who, in December of the same year, proclaimed himself emperor. They read:41

• 43 Sin Po weekly, Speciaal - Nummer N° 879, 3 Feb. 1940, n.p.
• 44 Feng Yu Hsiang, “Koempoel saloeroe Kiauwpao 彙集全體僑胞的力量為抗戰服務,” Sin Po weekly, Speciaal - Nummer N° 87 (...)

30Similar gifts, this time emanating from Lin Sen 林森 (1868-1943) President of the Republic from 1931 to 1943, and from no less than eleven eminent political personalities – among whom two generals, Jiang Zhongzheng 蔣中正 (i.e. Jiang Jieshi 蔣介石, 1887-1975), and Li Zongren 李宗仁 (1891-1969) – were presented to the weekly for New Year’s Day 1940, at a time when the Republic, being at war with Japan, needed the support of the Chinese abroad. These calligraphies are reproduced in a special issue of the Sin Po weekly, with Malay translations.⁴³ Worthy of note, they are accompanied in the same issue by a long and manuscript letter by General Feng Yuxiang 馮玉祥 (1882-1948) urging Chinese in the Indies to continue to join forces for the war of resistance to the enemy.44 Here we just quote the text emanating from President Lin Sen:

• 45 Pameran Seni-lukis Lembaga Seniman Yin Hua, 7-14 Djanuari 1956, n.p.; Leo Suryadinata, Prominent In (...)

32Little is known about the calligraphers’ social life before 1965. However, a Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Study Club existed in Jakarta in the 1950s. It was founded by Lee Man Feng 李曼峰 (1913-1988), Liang Ie-Yen, and Ling Yunchao 淩雲超 (or Ling Nanlong 淩南龍, 1914-1985), a calligrapher and industrial born in China, who had learned calligraphy with Li Zhongqian 李仲乾 (b. in 1882), and Chinese painting with Zhang Daqian 張大千 (1889-1983).45

• 46 Franke, Salmon & Siu, Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Indonesia, II (1), p. 326.

33A certain time after the end of the Second World War, with the consolidation of the Republic of Indonesia, some communities in Java renovated their temples and decorated them with new calligraphies. This was especially the case for Semarang and Cirebon where the population tried to reaffirm its links with local historical landmarks. In the Cave of Sanbao, to the west of Semarang, repairs were undertaken in the late 1950s. And in 1958, the director of the Indonesian Chinese Federation of Chambers of Commerce donated a pair of wooden tablets to commemorate the first visit by Zheng He in 1405. Its content is rather modern, in the sense that it alludes to the different perception of the Admiral, in Chinese scholarship and popular beliefs. The text reads:46

• 47 Franke, Salmon & Siu, Chinese Epigraphic Materials in Indonesia, II (1), p. 220.

34In Cirebon, the Chaojue si, the oldest Chinese temple of Java still in existence, was repaired in the early 1960s, as a wooden inscription of 1963 indicates. Several wooden tablets were donated during this period, possibly by newcomers from Fujian who regarded Buddhist countries as enchanting lands. These calligraphers, who were learned in Buddhism, signed their works, either with their names or with pseudonyms. Among them, was a certain Zhang Houde 張厚德, native to Zhangzhou 漳州. One of his couplets, dated 1961, reads:⁴⁷

• 48 A few professionals excepted who continued to write epitaphs and various types of couplets used for (...)

35The rather optimistic atmosphere of the early 1960s did not last long. As a result of the events of 1965, the Indonesian government planned a number of measures aimed at cutting off the Indonesian Chinese community from its ancient roots and speeding up its assimilation process. Chinese schools were systematically suppressed, as were publications in Chinese, with the exception of one governmental newspaper in Jakarta. Moreover, Chinese characters were prohibited in public place. This put an end to the use of calligraphy in Chinese sanctuaries. Chinese characters were obliterated everywhere, panels were taken down and relegated to the storerooms, and the texts of many inscriptions covered with paper.48 During the thirty odd years during which Chinese characters were banned, Sino-Indonesian calligraphers were compelled to work secretly in the privacy of their apartments.

• 49 Shangbao 商報 (Jakarta), 2019.05.29, “Rao Yunzhi dang xuan yinni shuyi xiehui diliuren huizhang 饒韻芝當選 (...)

40Li Xiuxian presided the first three sessions. She was succeeded by two other lady calligraphers: Tao Biru 陶璧如, about whom little is known, for the two following sessions and, since 2019, by Rao Yunzhi 饒韻芝.⁴⁹ Rao Yunzhi (born in 1955), equally of Hakka ancestry, comes from a family of artists and received part of her schooling in Taiwan. Her father Rao Xiquan 饒錫全 was a painter, several of her relatives are also involved in calligraphy. The Raos are said to be related to the late historian, painter and calligrapher Jao Tsung-I (Rao Zongyi) 饒宗頤 (1917-2018) native of Chao’an 潮安, Guangdong, who was based in Hong Kong. His memory is kept in the Jao Tsung-I Academy, or Rao Zongyi wenhuaguan 饒宗頤文化館.

• 50 Guoji ribao 國際日報 International Daily News (Jakarta, Jawa Pos Group), 2017.04.20, “黃德昌生平事蹟.”
• 51 Private communication from Li Huizhu.

41Equally during the same year 1998, calligraphers and painters from East Java founded an association named Dongzhuawa shuhua xiehui 東爪哇書畫協會. This initiative was followed by those calligraphers residing in other cities, such as Bandung, where the Wanlong shufa xiehui 萬隆書法家協會 or Bandung Association of Calligraphers, was founded on March 9, 2009 by Huang Dechang 黃德昌 (of Hakka ancestry, born in Bandung in 1947, who had learned calligraphy with his father),⁵⁰ and a few other personalities. Such as Li Huizhu 李惠珠 of Hakka ancestry, born in Bandung in 1941, and currently teaching calligraphy at Maranatha Christian University⁵¹. Similar associations were created in Semarang, and Medan. The first, called Sanbaolong shuhuajia xiehui 三寶瓏書畫家協會, or Semarang Association of Calligraphers, was initiated in 2009 by Fang Fujie 方福捷; the second, called Yixinyuan shuhua xueshe 怡馨苑書畫學社, “Painting and calligraphy Study Group from the Garden of Harmony and Fragrance,” was founded (date unknown) by Kuang Baocheng 鄺保成, presumably of Cantonese ancestry, as chairperson, and Chen Daorong 陳道容 of Hainanese ancestry, as vice chair. All these associations live on membership fees as well as donations.

• 52 “亚细安书法：印度尼西亚书法家协会”, http://icalligraphy.blogspot.com/2016/05 (retrieved on 04/02/2020).
• 53 In 1995, Ruan Yuanchun and his wife founded Phoenix which is a wide format digital printing company (...)

42Given the success of these different societies, some of their members decided to create a national association that would facilitate dialogue with foreign calligraphy counterparts. After a meeting of the main officials, the Yinni shufajia xiehui 印尼書法家協會, Perkumpulan Kaligrafer Indonesia or Indonesia Calligraphers Association, was founded in Bandung on February 27, 2011.52 Li Xiuxian was appointed chair of the first session, Huang Dechang deputy executive chair, and Ruan Yuanchun 阮淵椿 acting chairman. Ruan Yuanchun, Indonesian name Steve Yenadhira, of Hokkien ancestry, was born in Jakarta in 1948, and he has practised calligraphy and Chinese painting since the time he was a child. He is a well-known book artist in Indonesian art world, who has worked in the vanguard of advertising for visual arts for more than twenty years.53 The association is hosted at the headquarters of Yongding huiguan 永定會館.

• 54 The Dongmeng shufajia xiehui 東盟書法家協會 or South East Asia Calligraphers’ Association (SEACA) had been (...)
• 55 Guoji ribao International Daily News, 24/06/2016, “Ruan Yuanchun cujin yinni shufa wenhua pengbo fa (...)
• 56 Among which: France, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Korea, Japan, Phil (...)
• 57 Hu Sudan’s husband, You Jizhi 游繼志 (Indonesian name Budi Yuwono), of Yongding ancestry, is the owner (...)

43This pyramid structure was further reinforced with the creation in Jakarta of two international associations: the first, called Dongmeng – Zhongguo shuhuajia lianhe zonghui 東盟–中國書畫家聯合總會 or ASEAN-China Federation of Calligraphers and Painters,54 was founded, on November 11, 2013, under the leadership of Ruan Yuanchun;55 the second, called Shijie haiwai huaren shufajia xiehui 世界海外華人書法家協會 or Overseas Chinese Calligraphers Association (OCCA), bringing together calligraphers from around the world was founded on December 19, 2015. At that time, the OCCA regrouped calligraphers belonging to 33 countries.56 Hu Sudan 胡素丹 has been appointed Counseling chairperson, Ruan yuanchun Chair, and Li Xiuxian Vice chair. Worthy of note, Hu Sudan, the youngest of the three, was born in Jakarta, where she received her Chinese education from her Hakka mother.57

• 58 https://regional.kompas.com/read/2008/09/17/17314278/voc.galangan.selenggarakan.pameran.kaligrafi.c (...)

44Calligraphy and painting exhibitions took place in Java even before the foundation of the Indonesia Calligraphers Association. This very fact shows enough the importance of calligraphy as a means to renew social links. For instance, the Perhimpunan Pengusaha Indonesia Tionghoa or Chinese Indonesian Entrepreneurs Association and the 中國書畫國際交流中心 or China Calligraphy and Painting International Center – founded the previous year in Shenzhen 深圳 – initiated an exhibition presenting 120 pieces of art (70 from China and 50 from Indonesia) that took place in VOC Galangan (Jakarta) from 20 to 24 September 2008. According to a report published in Kompas⁵⁸ among the Indonesian calligraphers who exposed works were “Steve Yenadhira [Ruan Yuanchun], Abidin Tane, Darwin H., Pai Cien Nan [白建南], and Chaeng Sui Lung.” Three other exhibitions were held in 2009, 2010, and 2011, at the initiative of Fang Fujie, and with the financial support of the Sino-Indonesian community; they were aimed at presenting calligraphic works from Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung and Medan.

• 59 http://www.xhgmw.com/html/huodong/2014/0811/17760.html (retrieved on 06.02.2020).

46– 2011, shortly after the establishment of Yinni shufajia xiehui, several members of the association went to Guangzhou in order to participate in the creation by 100 artists from the whole world of a long calligraphic scroll, 100 meters long, to commemorate the centenary of the 1911 Revolution. The scroll entitled “Jinian xinhai geming bainian haineiwai bairen baimi shufa changjuan 紀念辛亥革命百年海內外百人百米書法長卷” is kept in the Memorial Hall of the Revolution of 1911 or Guangzhou huanghuagang jinianguan 廣州黃花崗紀念館. 59

• 60 http://ecul-web.wsbgt.com/Culture/Detail?newId=50665; https://indonesia.sinchew.com.my/node/29360 ( (...)

47– 2012, several Indonesian calligraphers went to Guangzhou again in order to take part in the 2012 Dragon Year International Dragon Painting and Calligraphy Exhibition or Longnian guoji shuhua dazhan 龍年國際書畫大展, organized at the initiative of the Zhongguo wenhua yishu yanjiu zhongxin 中國文化藝術研究中心 or Chinese Culture and Art Research Center and the Guangdongsheng qiaolian 廣東省僑聯, or Guangdong Overseas Chinese Federation. The same year the Indonesia Calligraphers Association in conjunction with the Divine Art Gallery and the Chinese Culture and Art Research Center organized a similar exhibition in Jakarta.⁶⁰

• 61 Richard Ren, 12/22/2014, “2014 Zhongguo-dongmeng wenhua jiaoliunian shuhua dazhan zai yajiada he gu (...)

48– 2014, the Zhongguo – dongmeng wenhua jiaoliunian shuhua dazhan 中國–東盟文化交流年書畫大展 or China-ASEAN Cultural Exchange Year Calligraphy and Painting Exhibition took place successively in Jakarta on December 6, 2014, and in Guangzhou on December 17, 2014.61

• 62 http://world.people.com.cn/n/2015/0418/c157278-26866472.html (retrieved on 07/02/2020).

50– 2015, a special calligraphy exhibition took place in Jakarta to commemorate the 60^th anniversary of the Bandung Conference. It exhibited a hundred pieces of works emanating from 80 calligraphers coming from Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines.⁶²

• 63 “谢锋大使出席 ‘翰墨千岛’ 中印尼书法交流展 2016/02/26,” id.china-embassy.org/ (retrieved on 07/02/2020).

51– 2016, the Indonesia Calligraphers Association along with Shanghai shufa xiehui laonian weiyuanhui 上海書法家協會老年委員會, or Shanghai Calligraphers Association Senior Committee, organized in Jakarta an exhibition entitled “Hanmo qiandao qing 翰墨千島情 or Affectionate Calligraphic Expression for the Thousand Islands.”⁶³

• 64 “印尼舉辦紀念亞非會議60周年全國書畫作品”; http://world.people.com.cn/n/2015/0418/c157278-26866472.html (retrieved on (...)

52– 2017 the first OCCA Calligraphy exhibition, that was entitled “Yidai yilu 一帶一路 or One Belt One Road” took place in Jakarta. It exhibited calligraphic works from 39 countries.64

• 65 “Yun 韻” means rhyme, harmony, refined…
• 66 The “Yun” Artified Community Art Center was inaugurated on 18/01/2019. “The opening Yun Artified’s (...)
• 67 https://kknews.cc/culture/8pze46l.html (retrieved on 07/11/2019).

53– 2019 the Indonesia Calligraphy Association organized the 3^rd Indonesian-Malaysian Calligraphy Exchange Exhibition entitled Yefeng moyun 椰風墨韻 that may be understood as “Wind in the Coconut Palms and Calligraphic Rhymes” or “Atmosphere of Coconut Palms and Calligraphy.” The exhibition was held on 18/01/2019, for the inauguration of the “Yun” Artified Community Art Center or “Yun” Meishuguan 《韻》美術館65 newly founded by Rao Yunzhi66 at Jl. Katamaran 3, N° 33-35, Kapuk Muara, Kec. Penjaringan.67

• 68 Qi Gong or Qigong (1912-2005) was born in Beijing into a Manchu family. His father and grandfather (...)
• 69 https://news.sina.cn/2019-07-19/detail-ihytcitm3078302.d.html (retrieved 15/11/2019); https://news. (...)
• 70 http://www.guojiribao.com/shtml/gjrb/20190703/1487691.shtml (retrieved on 07/12/2019).

54– Six months later (from 12 to 14 July 2019), with the assistance of the Qi Gong shuyuan 啟功書院, or Qi Gong Academy,68 from Beijing Shifan daxue 北京師範大學 or Beijing Normal University, Rao Yunzhi organized a second exhibition entitled Sichou hanfeng 絲綢翰風 or Silk Road Calligraphy, aimed at presenting 130 master pieces emanating from 100 professors of calligraphy coming from the PRC. After the inauguration speeches, the participants were requested to compose one calligraphic piece each, which they presented to the Art Center. And to close the exhibition, the director of the Qi Gong shuyuan, Wang Ke 汪珂, and several other professors gave lectures on the art of calligraphy and its history.69 It was certainly an unprecedented event. For Indonesian calligraphers, it was a rare occasion to make up for the time lost during these thirty odd years during which the use of Chinese writing had been prohibited; for their Chinese counterparts, it was an opportunity to reinforce the cultural dialogue with calligraphers abroad.⁷⁰

• 71 In this study we do not include the calligraphy institutes founded by foreign agencies.
• 72 漁家莊藝術部落書畫展開幕, http://old.shangbaoindonesia.com/?p=5085 (retrieved on12/12/2019).
• 73 The name of this academy refers to the Chinese set phrase yanwen xing yuan 言文行遠, that may be render (...)
• 74 http://old.shangbaoindonesia.com/?p=33226 (retrieved on 11/11/2019).
• 75 The first exhibition organized by ICAA was held at the National Museum Indonesia (18-25 October 201 (...)
• 76 https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2019/02/08/nonprofit-yun-artified-community-art-center-aims-to- (...)

57A great number of private calligraphy academies have been initiated, or perhaps revived, in the main cities of Java, and in Medan. One of the oldest, if not the oldest, is certainly the Indonesia Calligraphy and Painting Institute, Yinni shuhua xueyuan 印尼書畫學院, that was founded in Jakarta in 1998 by Li Xiuxian and Hu Sudan. It is hosted on the fourth floor of the Yongding huiguan, and provides collective courses every Saturday morning. When I visited this institute in January 2019, there were four or five teachers for about thirty students whose age ranged from about 7 to more than 70. At the end of the course, teachers and students shared a lunch together. It is difficult to figure the real number of these academies in Jakarta alone, because they do not seem to advertise in the press.71 However, journalists occasionally allude to such institutions in relation with calligraphy exhibitions, such as for the one organized in 2011 by the Yujiazhuang yishu buluo 漁家莊藝術部落, or Group of Artists of the Fisher Village, headed by Yang Meng 楊猛;72 they also make presentations of these institutes when they open, such as the Wenyuan shuhuayuan 文遠書畫苑73 when it was created in 2012, and the “Yun” Artified Community Art Center in 2019. Some fifty people attended the inauguration ceremony of the Wenyuan shuhuayuan newly founded by Ouyang Wenzhi 歐陽文植 at Jl. Merpati 1, N° 80, Kav. Polri Jelambar. Among them were the chairs of various calligraphy and painting associations, such as Li Xiuxian, Ruan Yuanchun, and the late Hu Yuanjing ­胡原菁, the latter being the chair of another association named Zhonghua shuhua xiehui 中華書畫協會 or Association of Chinese Calligraphy and Painting.74 As for the inauguration ceremony of the Yun Artified Community Art Center, a non-profit institution, initiated by Rao Yunzhi (who is also the founder of the non-profit organization Indonesia-China Art Association or ICAA),⁷⁵ it was attended by more than one hundred guests coming from any corner of Indonesia and from China, Malaysia and Singapore. This last institution is composed of a museum that hosts various exhibitions of painting and calligraphy, and of a non-commercial art center that holds regular workshops for the public, varying from oil painting, Chinese calligraphy to Chinese ink painting, and sculptures.⁷⁶

• 77 http://dy.163.com/v2/article/detail/EDAC86150520GBCO.html (retrieved on 07/12/2019).

58The calligraphers have also worked very hard to ensure that the meaning of calligraphy may be understood by the non-Chinese Indonesians. Some of them give once a week courses free of charge, like Li Huizhu in Bandung, who teaches in the Yayasan Dana Sosial Priyangan, or Boliangan fuli jijinhui 渤良安富利基金會, for any Indonesian interested in this form of art, even if he or she has not yet learned Chinese.⁷⁷ Moreover they do their best to make Chinese calligraphy enter public celebrations, as the two following examples show.

• 78 https://www.tribunnews.com/metropolitan/2018/03/03/hadiah-kaligrafi-tionghoa-mengandung-arti-untuk- (...)

59At the occasion of the Festival Pecinan that took place in Pancoran (Jakarta) on March 3, 2018, Ruan Yuanchun presented Governor DKI Jakarta Anies Baswedan, and Vice-Governor Sandiaga Uno with a pair of scrolls containing a special message dedicated to them, in the shape of an old adage, that reads:⁷⁸

• 79 http://icalligraphy.blogspot.com/2018/08/2018_22.html (retrieved on 20/11/2019). The red color havi (...)

60In the same way, but at the national level, they managed to introduce calligraphy for the commemoration of the 2018 National Day on August 17, and the 18^th session of Asian Games that took place the following day. For this purpose, on August 16, they held in Jakarta at the Nelayan International Exhibition Hall, an international exhibition called in Indonesian Pameran Kaligrafi Merayakan HUT RI dan Asian Games Jakarta, or Calligraphy Exhibition Celebrating Republic of Indonesia Anniversary, and Jakarta Asian Games, and in Chinese: Mohai hongfan 墨海紅帆, or Red Sails on a Sea of Ink.⁷⁹ This Chinese title was conceived by Hu Sudan and is reproduced on the official invitation card (P. 17).

• 80 http://icalligraphy.blogspot.com/2018/08/2018_22.html (retrieved on20/11/2019). It takes its origin (...)
• 81 The commentary reads: 殊途同歸 是我國國徽之神鷹雙爪下之白色飾帶上，用古印尼文書寫的格言。根據印尼歷史記載，這是七百多年前的博學士 木丹都拉爾所寫的故事，結論蘊含著多義的統一， (...)

61She also contributed a piece of calligraphy that reads zhenxing yinni 振興印尼, or To Achieve Prosperity to Indonesia, that expressed the wishes of the whole Indonesian community. Ruan Yuanchun, on his side, wrote a calligraphy in four characters that reads shutu tonggui 殊途同歸 or To Reach the same Goal by Different Routes, which is an old Chinese adage. 80Here it alludes to the Indonesian device Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, or Unity in Diversity (inscribed on the scroll gripped by the Garuda’s claws), that takes its origin from a 14^th century poem in old Javanese written by Mpu Tantular, as Ruan Yuanchun explains in his commentary.81 (P. 18)

• 82 Some of these placards dating from the 17^th and 18^th centuries still exist.

63This study focuses almost entirely on the use of pragmatic and political calligraphy among Chinese communities of Java over a little more than three centuries. It leads us to the conclusion that, as in China, calligraphy has been the most influential popular form of culture, and the most common means of social, religious, and political dialogue. This raises the question of the literacy of the migrants and their descendants. If we consider that, at least since the late 17^th century, the various heads ruling local Chinese communities issued regulations on placards written in Chinese,82 one may assume that a sufficient number of the urban male population was composed of medium-literates. The calligraphic inscriptions from 18th century-merchants discussed here, show that calligraphy was part of the curriculum of many merchants, even those born locally such Wang Zhusheng (Ong Soe Seeng). Since the end of the 19^th century, and even more after the establishment of the Republic, serious efforts were made to develop education by the creation of modern Chinese schools for boys as well as for girls.