70% of calligraphers fail the exam: It's not just about the characters.

We shouldn't blame the elders when the trend of "the nouveau riche trying to act sophisticated" is causing values ​​to risk becoming distorted.

It's no surprise that the tragic numbers are so high: up to 70% of calligraphers failed the examination to be allowed to write in Ho Van (Temple of Literature - National University, Hanoi) during the upcoming Lunar New Year of the Goat. That chaotic calligraphy market has been the most profound prediction of the current situation for many years.

I've heard many people skilled in calligraphy say that the practice of requesting and giving calligraphy has become "commercialized." It not only fails to demonstrate a society that values ​​literacy, but also breaks down established customs and rules, trivializing them...

The calligraphers' skills test at Ho Van on the morning of January 31. Photo: VnExpress

In our country, strangely enough, there was a time when the elders who valued literacy could only lament the period when education was disregarded: "The old scholar still sits there / No one passing by notices / Yellow leaves fall on the paper / Outside, a fine rain is falling." That was a time when people craved more than monetary and material values; or, in a childishly exaggerated way, the movement to turn village courtyards into cooperative rice storage areas, and the rampant destruction of temples and pagodas.

Words fade into the shadows in the image of the lonely, "old-fashioned" scholar: "The red paper is sadly faded / The ink remains stagnant in the inkwell"; words are silent in the long, flowing verses of esteemed scholars of noble character.

But then, all of a sudden, when money started flowing freely, people began thinking about "etiquette." The rich wanted to show off a bit, in line with the policy of considering culture as a driving force, in accordance with the call to preserve the pillars of culture... And so, a flurry of movements emerged: "improving the writing system," "restoring temples and pagodas," "spending money to print poetry"... Everyone wanted, after having a full meal, to have a nice outfit to wear to look "elegant."

But unfortunately, culture cannot simply be achieved by loudly proclaiming slogans, displaying banners and posters everywhere to fulfill a policy or direction...

One term, "lack," shifts to "abundance." It teeters precariously at either end of the cognitive balance, never reaching the equilibrium needed to establish a standard for cultural identity...

A scholar's exam paper. Photo: VnExpress

Returning to the atmosphere of Ho Van during the upcoming Lunar New Year, I've noticed that in recent years, the love of calligraphy and the elegant tradition of requesting calligraphy during the spring festival has been greatly distorted. People rush to get their calligraphy, lining up to buy a few characters without knowing their meaning or beauty (!). Those who write them just haphazardly scribble a few worm-like characters to satisfy their "customers."

With such a weak "demand," the "supply" will inevitably be in a rudimentary, hasty form; there's no need for a wealth of literary skill and "handwriting as elegant as a dragon dancing and a phoenix flying...". We shouldn't blame the elders when the trend of "the nouveau riche trying to act sophisticated" is causing values ​​to risk becoming distorted.

Even more worrying is that it can easily infect the manner and attitude of those working in cultural affairs, those who bear the heavy responsibility of charting a course for cultural preservation. It's even more difficult than writing a few characters like the old calligraphers did.

According to VOV