Students Learn the Art of Chinese Calligraphy
More than 20 students and faculty members have an amazing opportunity to learn Chinese calligraphy this semester.
Over the span of five weeks, Dr. Fu-Tyan Lin is teaching the after school group not only how to read and write in Chinese, but the history and meaning behind the symbols.
The group has learned how to compare different Chinese characters, sayings, expressions, and numbers. During the third session, the class learned how to write their names with black ink and long brushes on grid rice paper.
The Chinese calligraphy classes were made possible with a grant from the Home and School Association to encourage projects that effectively wed interdisciplinary and multicultural activities within the Academy. With these classes, the worlds of Chinese language and culture, calligraphy, drawing, and studio art all combine to present a unique experience for the students.
Known in the Chinese community as the calligraphy master, Dr. Lin is a member of the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA). “Originally, I was not an expert,” Dr. Lin said. “After I came to the United States, I helped the Chinese community by demonstrating calligraphy during festivals for many years. I wrote Chinese names using calligraphy for people.”
Dr. Lin received his bachelor degree in physics and teaching from the National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei, Taiwan in 1962. He came to the U.S. in 1969 for his graduate studies. He received his M.S. in physics in 1971, and a Ph.D. in polymer science in 1979 from the University of Akron in Ohio. In 1980, Dr. Lin became the director of the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) lab and served as a research assistant professor in the Chemistry Department at the University of Pittsburgh. He was promoted to the research associate professor in November 1986, and after 25 years of service, he retired from Pitt in 2005.
Dr. Lin is a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS), Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh (SSP), and the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh (SACP), and is a committee member of PITTCON.
