2025 Ngan Siu Mui, Practical Calligraphy Teaching and Learning Methods Sharing calligraphy conference, TOCC Taishan City, China

China Taishan Overseas Chinese Innovation Center ~ Sino-Canadian Sharing and Exchange Forum ~ November 25, 2025
[Building bridges between Chinese and Canadian cultures ~ Jean-Yves Pelletier]

Organizers and sponsors

Taishan Overseas Friendship Association
Taishan Overseas Chinese Innovation Center, China

2025 [Bridge between China and Canada - Teacher Ngan Siu Mui's Practical Calligraphy Teaching and Learning Method Exchange and Sharing Event], TOCC — [Building bridges between Chinese and Canadian cultures ~ Jean-Yves Pelletier]

This book introduces Chinese calligraphy through
《A Beginner's Guide to Calligraphy: An Interdisciplinary Introduction》
《A Cross-Art Dialogue: Chinese Calligraphy and Argentine Tango》

This booklet is published with the support of the Taishan Overseas Friendship Association and the Taishan Overseas Chinese Innovation Center,
intended as material for exchange and sharing events.
The content documents the unique methods and insights of Jean-Yves Pelletier in learning Chinese calligraphy.
At sixty years old, this Western mathematics professor, who does not know Chinese characters, resolutely stepped into the world of Chinese calligraphy.
Not only did he overcome language and cultural barriers, but he also reinterpreted the inner logic of calligraphy through his rich life experience and academic cultivation...
Jean-Yves practices calligraphy not out of curiosity or a desire to follow trends, but rather as a profound form of personal cultivation.
He has studied Argentine tango and the piano for over thirty years as hobbies and has personally participated in shipbuilding and construction projects.
In all his pursuits, he approaches them with deep focus and hands-on dedication.
It is this profound and extensive accumulation of life experiences that enables him to naturally integrate the rigor of mathematics,
the fluidity of dance, the rhythm of music, and the mechanics of engineering into his understanding of calligraphy.

Read the whole book and Jean-Yves Pelletier's calligraphy works ▹ ⮚ [Click Here]

In the eyes of Jean-Yves Pelletier, calligraphy is no longer merely a form of writing
but an art that "evolves from discipline into freedom".

Rooted in traditional Chinese calligraphic theory and drawing from Ngan Siu Mui’s nearly four decades of overseas teaching experience
as well as Pelletier’s own journey in studying and understanding calligraphy, this [Practical Calligraphy Teaching and Learning Method Exchange Event]
unfolds a two-stage progressive path for art enthusiasts to grasp the essence of calligraphy learning and teaching:

Approachable beginner level:
Here, the veil of mystery surrounding this art is gently lifted. Chinese calligraphy is a humble encounter — using only the simplest tools of brush, water, ink, and paper,
it channels the breath and rhythm of the body through straightforward mathematical logic, principles of Mechanic balance, and everyday common sense
to create lines that are both pre-designed and spontaneously realized.
Abstract spiritual realm:
Only after mastering the fundamental techniques of calligraphy, to the point where they become instinctive,
can one vividly and dynamically "evolves from discipline into freedom."

Taishan Overseas Chinese Innovation Center, China
[Bridge between China and Canada
- Teacher Ngan Siu Mui's Practical Calligraphy Teaching and Learning Method Exchange and Sharing Event]

Organizations in Attendance:
Taishan Overseas Friendship Association;
Taishan Overseas Chinese Innovation Center;
Taishan Federation of Literary and Art Circles;
Taishan Municipal Museum
Key Officials in Attendance:
Li Baiyun, President of Taishan Overseas Friendship Association;
Huang Chunyan, Chairperson of Taishan Federation of Literary and Art Circles;
Zeng Xiaoxian, Secretary-General of Taishan Overseas Friendship Association;
Ye Yufang, Librarian of Taishan Museum
Distinguished Guests: Members of the Taishan Federation of Literary and Art Circles

The calligraphy works of Jean-Yves Pelletier, a mathematics professor from Quebec, Canada
exhibited in the Taishan Overseas Chinese Innovation Center

Nine calligraphy works by Jean-Yves Pelletier, encompassing the four major calligraphic styles
of seal script, clerical script, cursive script, and running script, hang on the wall, attracting much attention.
Ngan Siu Mui shared the challenges of teaching Chinese calligraphy to art enthusiasts from diverse ethnic backgrounds in Canada,
navigating Cultural Shock and Moving Beyond Traditional Pedagogical Constraints.

Calligraphy Techniques ~ How to Experience the Sensation of Whole-Body Force Application

Calligraphy Techniques ~ The Ink Traces of the Centered Point

Using the tip of a brush fully saturated with thick ink, Ngan Siu Mui "dipped" it with a bit of water to write the characters [觀天之道] (Observing the Way of Heaven)
Where the centered point of the brush moved, water flew down from it, revealing faint ink traces from the centered point.
This centered-point technique prevented the ink from the brush hair flowing uncontrollably onto the art paper.

A Cross-Art Dialogue: Chinese Calligraphy and Argentine Tango ~ Admiring Calligraphy works of Jean-Yves Pelletier

With nearly forty years of experience teaching calligraphy and painting overseas,
Ngan Siu Mui emphasized not underestimating foreign students who do not know Chinese characters.
Their ability to learn calligraphy can far exceeded our expectations.

Chu Suiliang's regular script is remarkably varied, masterfully employing the brush point, with clear traces of brush movement evident throughout.
Mi Fu boasted of his ability to "release the brush tip from all eight directions." His running script combines a variety of brushwork techniques,
incorporating many ingenious and seldom-used skills. In the spontaneity of his unrestrained writing, he captured an elusive brilliance that cannot be replicated.
General comments: Neither of these two calligraphy styles is suitable for beginners.
Bat-Sheva Grimberq began studying calligraphy under Ngan Siu Mui in July 2025. This lady, who does not know Chinese characters, is engaged in the practice of copying models.
She overcame the challenges posed by the intricate variations in Chu Suiliang's regular script and the "eight-direction brush-tip" technique in Mi Fu's running script,
all while finding great joy in the process.

Calligraphy Model-Copying Works by Ngan Siu Mui's Foreign Student, Mrs. Bat Sheva Grimberq

Learning Chu Suiliang's regular script and Mi Fu's running script is exceptionally challenging,
yet Bat Sheva Grimberg quickly mastered the brush pressure and ink flow in her brushwork.
Chinese calligraphy, also known as the [Mind Painting], requires Bat-Sheva to grasp its artistic essence through mindful contemplation
rather than pursuing rigid and stable formal design.

Teacher Ngan Siu Mui's Practical Calligraphy Teaching and Learning Method Exchange and Sharing Event
~ Group Photo of the Participants

Ink Rhythms Connect Overseas Chinese Hearts Across Seas - Culture Builds Bridges
~ Ngan Siu Mui Returns to Her Hometown to Forge Cultural Bonds Between China and Canada

A Chinese-Canadian calligrapher and painter, returned to her ancestral hometown of Taishan, Guangdong,
to conduct a series of calligraphy cultural exchange activities.
Using brush and ink as a medium, she built a cultural bridge between Taishan and the local community in Canada
as well as overseas Chinese, injecting vitality into the cultural interactions between the two regions,
demonstrating the cross-border cohesion and appeal of Chinese culture...
During her visit, Ngan Siu Mui visited landmarks such as the Taishan Overseas Chinese Culture Museum,
Miaobian Overseas Chinese School, and Tingjiang Academy to trace the cultural heritage of the hometown of overseas Chinese.
She also held a calligraphy teaching and sharing session at the Taishan Overseas Chinese Innovation Center,
where she shared her overseas teaching experiences.
Particularly notable were the 9 calligraphy works on display by her late foreign student,
Canadian mathematics professor Jean-Yves Pelletier.
Jean-Yves Pelletier began learning under her guidance at the age of 60 and devoted 25 years to persistent practice.
Despite not knowing Chinese, he deeply grasped the essence of calligraphy,
becoming a vivid testament to the fusion of Chinese and Western cultures.
This event not only showcased the rich cultural heritage of Taishan as a hometown for overseas Chinese
but also promoted the feedback of overseas cultural achievements to the hometown.

WeChat Official Account - Guangchen Eastward Flight
~ An over Seventy-Year-Old Foreigner Who Doesn't Know Chinese Writes Such Beautiful Chinese Calligraphy

An over seventy-year-old foreigner who does not know Chinese has actually produced such beautiful Chinese calligraphy,
all handwritten by an elderly Westerner who cannot read Chinese characters.
Canadian Jean-Yves Pelletier, whose Chinese name is Bai Zhongyi (柏鍾義), is a mathematics professor.
He began learning Chinese calligraphy from overseas Chinese calligrapher and painter Ngan Siu Mui
at the age of 60 and continued practicing for 25 years...
Mrs. Ngan held a calligraphy exchange and sharing session at the Taishan Overseas Chinese Innovation Center,
where she shared her experiences and interesting stories of teaching calligraphy to foreigners.
The venue displayed nine calligraphy works by Jean-Yves Pelletier, who passed away in March this year.
This exhibition served as the best tribute to the memory of the departed.

China Taishan Overseas Chinese Innovation Center ~ Sino-Canadian Sharing and Exchange Forum ~ November 25, 2025 [Building bridges between Chinese and Canadian cultures ~ Jean-Yves Pelletier]

Organizers and sponsors

This book introduces Chinese calligraphy through 《A Beginner's Guide to Calligraphy: An Interdisciplinary Introduction》 《A Cross-Art Dialogue: Chinese Calligraphy and Argentine Tango》

In the eyes of Jean-Yves Pelletier, calligraphy is no longer merely a form of writing but an art that "evolves from discipline into freedom".

Taishan Overseas Chinese Innovation Center, China [Bridge between China and Canada - Teacher Ngan Siu Mui's Practical Calligraphy Teaching and Learning Method Exchange and Sharing Event]

The calligraphy works of Jean-Yves Pelletier, a mathematics professor from Quebec, Canada exhibited in the Taishan Overseas Chinese Innovation Center