At the opening of the calligraphy tour, Professor Li San-Pao and his wife personally welcomed guests at the gallery entrance.
Many distinguished guests came to offer their congratulations, filling the venue to capacity.
Dancing with Ink, Dr. Li San-Pao’s calligraphy tour, opened at the Culture Center of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles to a packed audience.
Arts, academic, and community leaders—along with two former non-Asian students—gathered to experience a powerful cultural dialogue through flowing ink and a monumental scroll.
East–West · Passing Light
Co-presented by the The Southern California Foundation for the Preservation of Chinese Literature and History INC. Endowment , the South Coast Chinese Cultural Center, the Chinese Art Society of America, and the Windwind Association, Dancing with Ink : The Calligraphy Tour of Dr. Li San-Pao opened January 24 at the COCEC.
The two-day exhibition presents forty calligraphy works from the past two decades, highlighted by a monumental cursive-script Li Sao scroll—2,474 characters spanning 67 feet.
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The opening was hosted by Chinese American cartoonist Stella Chi, who introduced Dr. Li’s cross-cultural teaching journey.
Since arriving in the U.S. in 1967, Dr. Li founded Dickinson College’s first Chinese language program and later taught at Harvard, UC Berkeley, and California State University, Long Beach.
For decades, he has devoted his work to Chinese intellectual history, cultural studies, and calligraphy—bridging Chinese culture with the Western world.
Ink as Bridge · Culture Echoes
After retiring in 2006, Dr. Li turned fully to calligraphy.
To reach broader audiences, he spent two years curating nearly 100 works into the bilingual volume “Dancing With Ink”, with all exhibited pieces accompanied by Chinese–English explanations.
Dr. Li said calligraphy is “silent poetry and voiceless music”—a cultural essence elevated through art.
More than technique, it carries emotion, memory, and life experience, offering both inner stillness and a living path into Chinese culture meant to be shared.
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Flowing Ink · Stirred Hearts
Jenni Li shared that her father sees Chinese calligraphy not as a technique, but as a living tradition—where philosophy, history, aesthetics, and inner cultivation converge.
Each stroke reflects the mind; each drop of ink carries a life’s echo.
She invited visitors to pause before the bold “Dancing with Ink” work and the full Li Sao scroll, noting that the title captures her father’s way of life : letting the heart move with the brush.
She hoped audiences would meet ink as art, culture as dialogue, and themselves in quiet reflection.
The opening drew two of Dr. Li’s former non-Asian students from California State University, Long Beach—Jeffrey Winters and Andrew Scott (Chinese names are assigned by Dr. Li)—who returned with family and signed their Chinese names.
Host Stella Chi presented Dr. Li with a hand-drawn portrait inscribed “Cultural Ambassador,” creating a touching highlight of the event.
Art to Heal · Ink to Connect
May Chen , President of the Southern California Foundation for the Preservation of Chinese Literature and History INC. Endowment , said the exhibition responds to an anxious era by preserving culture through ink and nurturing the human spirit through art.
Wenny H. Chang, founding president of the Windwind Association, noted that Dr. Li San-Pao’s calligraphy balances solidity and void, motion and stillness—reflecting both historical depth and a scholar’s lifelong cultivation.
Karen Chen, Vice President of the Global Federation of Chinese Business Women, added that through calligraphy, Dr. Li leaves a legacy that can be understood and passed on, guiding more people toward Chinese culture and a sense of inner calm.
Following its COCEC showing, the tour will continue April 4–5 at the South Coast Chinese Cultural Center in Irvine.
Orange County residents are welcome to attend.
Address : 9 Truman, Irvine, CA 92620