Dancing with ink Professor San-Pao Li on Calligraphy

Dr. San-Pao Li, Honorary Emeritus Professor at California State University, Long Beach, spoke at the Irvine Book Club on March 25 on “Dancing with Ink,” sharing insights from his years of studying calligraphy. 

Blending classical learning with life reflection, he led the audience into the depth of Chinese calligraphy and the cultural spirit behind brush and ink.

Through slides of scrolls, reverse-white designs, and varied paper forms, Professor Li showed that calligraphy is not abstract theory, but living art—drawing warm applause from the audience.

He described Chinese calligraphy as a microcosm of culture and the refinement of art : silent poetry, silent dance, painting without images, and music without sound. Its power, he said, lies in its fusion of language, rhythm, emotion, imagination, and self-cultivation.

Bold Strokes, Wild Form

He reminded the audience that calligraphy is not about surface beauty alone, but about inner strength. What he calls guli, or “bone force,” is not outward ruggedness, but the strength, structure, and spirit within each stroke. 

A truly strong hand, he said, stands firm on the page and stays with the viewer.

Professor Li then turned to cursive script, which he sees as the most captivating style. Its beauty, he noted, lies not in wildness, but in discipline. Though it appears free and soaring, it is built on control, rhythm, and inner structure.

To explain its essence, he quoted an ancient phrase : “Let the brush be the form; let the ink shape the image.” Once the brush touches down and moves with the flow, the form begins to emerge; once the ink gathers, the image takes shape.

Mature cursive, he said, is never careless. It is the result of discipline so fully absorbed that freedom still holds its form, and motion still keeps its frame. That is why cursive reveals a person’s cultivation, vision, and inner steadiness more than any other script.

Using his own work as examples, Professor Li added that he sometimes reverses the text into white-on-black so students can more clearly see the path of each stroke—its opening, turning, movement, and close.

Scenes in Script, Landscapes in Ink

Professor Li spoke of calligraphy not only as brushwork, but as cultural vision and the beauty of language itself. 

He especially admired Qing writer Xu Xiaosong’s line, “Clouds carry bell sounds through the trees; moonlight moves the tower’s shadow across the river,” calling its fourteen characters a rare evocation of four-dimensional space.

In his reading, sound, light, distance, motion, and depth all come alive at once. He marveled that so few words could create such a vivid scene, and urged the audience to help children discover the beauty and expressive power of Chinese.

He also cited Northern Wei writer and geographer Li Daoyuan, whose river writing went far beyond geography to embrace history, legend, landscape, and human feeling. 

For Professor Li, that is the heart of Chinese calligraphy: without cultural depth and imaginative vision, technique alone is never enough.

Quiet Heart, Steady Hand

Professor Li also moved from the outward beauty of calligraphy to its inner discipline. Using the character “dream,” he reflected that life is full of broken dreams, yet life cannot be without dreams. 

Even when dreams are incomplete, he said, one must meet them with an ordinary, steady heart. When the mind is restless, the writing turns unsettled; when the self is too full, the brush loses resonance.

True calligraphy is not just skilled technique, but the quiet settling of body and mind through every lift and turn of the brush.

He also drew on Zhuangzi’s idea of listening—not only with the ears, but with the heart. For writing to come alive, the mind must first grow still; for the brush to carry spirit, the self must become lighter and more open. 

Only then, he said, can one hear the true rhythm of things and let brush and ink become more than technique—a way of conversing with the world and with oneself.

Art Unites, Spirits Shine

Throughout the lecture, Professor Li drew on both his own works and the classical tradition, bringing calligraphy vividly to life. He also displayed several stone pieces inscribed with his writing, earning warm applause.

His “Dancing with Ink” talk was held at the South Coast Chinese Cultural Center. 

At the opening, 93-year-old Professor Teresa Sun introduced Professor Li and his distinguished academic career.

The event also drew several new members, and the lively Q&A added to the energy in the room.

Professor Li showed that calligraphy is more than technique—more than art on paper, it is a discipline of the spirit. From guli to cursive script, from brushwork to landscape and culture, he made clear that great calligraphy lives not only on the page, but in the heart.