Spring couplets (春聯 ) are usually seen on the sides of doors leading to people’s homes or as hanging scrolls in an interior. They used as a New Year’s decoration that expresses happy and hopeful thoughts for the coming year. They are usually written on red paper, the colour of happiness.
Originating from around 600 CE and flourishing during the last thousand year, spring couplets remain an enduring aspect of Chinese culture. Please see more examples on my new page on couplets for Chinese New Year.
To celebrate my 60th Birthday, I worked with an old piece of my Calligraphy teacher, Mr WONG Wai Cheong 黃維琩老師. This piece of Calligraphy is about Jesus Christ – our Redeemer and our good shepherd. I am a practising Catholic but I also study Buddhist sutras respectfully. Buddhist literature is immensely important to Chinese literature and philosophy. The Diamond Sutra (金剛經) emphasizes the practice of non-abiding and non-attachment. It is not about the worship of idols for materialistic things. I admire great Calligraphy work especially the gigantic writings on mountain cliffs. A lot of those writings were about Buddhist literature. People at that time were very courageous and had very strong faith and great dedications. They were also highly gifted and artistic. People today still learn from old masterpieces engraved on rocks.
The text is as follows:
天生良牧步武基督我主是宗天恩共沐傳道東來華人悅服開我心門拯我靈肉
病者以瘳飢者以畜教謹序庠賛參化育愛德流行羣獲天福臺上之鐙人前之燭
More information about Mr Wong can be seen at my website page called ‘Studies of the Calligraphy of Mr WONG Wai Cheong’.
I have added a new page called Diamond Sutra Calligraphy Study, based on a famous stone carving in Tai Shan, China. http://www.patricksiu.wordpress.com