Calligraphy for modern times

Instead of simply teaching people how to write pretty characters, Xue acts more like a tutor, guiding his students to enter the cultural world of calligraphy, which was mostly used by well-known writers and historians in ancient times.

"I don't want to be manipulated by the commercialized society," Xue says. "(I don't want to) work as a paid teacher, teaching people how to write calligraphy in a short amount of time with certain techniques. I want to be a guide to a lost aspect of traditional Chinese culture," he says.

Xue's calligraphy classroom is open all day on weekdays, and on certain afternoons on weekends. Students are welcome to drop in at any time and spend a few hours writing.

Every student is required to choose a type of writing font and then pick a poem or an article written in this font before putting ink to paper.

"I hope my students can learn the back story and the feelings from the writers of those poems and articles, then put their understanding of that work into writing calligraphy," Xue says.

Xue writes the characters in the first line as an example, outlines the characters in the second line for students to fill, then leaves the third line blank for students to write by themselves.

"I've gotten used to coming here and spending two hours practicing my calligraphy. It makes me feel comfortable and I have a clearer mind to concentrate on writing," says Josie Jia, a human resources employee who visits Xue's studio every Monday evening after work.