Inquiries on Ink: Contemporary Practices of Calligraphy in China

In a world where writing by hand is disappearing, Laura Vermeeren studies why calligraphy in China is not just surviving, but evolving in surprising ways.

As handwriting fades in the digital age, calligraphy in China is caught between tradition and reinvention. Ink Studies deconstructs this paradox, determining how calligraphy is not simply an ancient art form, but more so a site of ongoing cultural negotiation. Laura Vermeeren investigates how calligraphy moves through five distinct visual and social fields, shaping and being shaped by its practitioners. While often framed as an act of repetition and tied to centuries of disciplined copying, calligraphy also emerges here as a force of creativity--one that is actively mobilized in contemporary China, whether through state-sponsored initiatives or the aesthetics of modern design.

Uniting contemporary art and media history, Ink Studies provides vital perspectives on how China’s past is continually reimagined in the present, portraying calligraphy’s enduring relevance in an era of rapid technological change.

Laura Vermeeren is assistant professor of cultural heritage and media at the University of Amsterdam.