Malik Mazlan's Journey Into Chinese Calligraphy

Although Singapore prides itself on its multi-cultural society, it is an uncommon sight to see one learning the art of a foreign culture. Not that it’s frowned upon on, it’s just an unconventional thing. And this was what intrigued us when we first met Malik, an aspiring calligrapher who is Malay.

Calligraphy is one of the highest forms of Chinese art. In studying Chinese calligraphy, one must learn about the origins of Chinese language and how the characters were originally written or drawn.  Apart from those who were brought up immersed in the culture, the significance of calligraphy and a full understanding of its delicate forms can be difficult to comprehend.

For most Chinese, calligraphy is not an easy skill to pick up even with an understanding of the meaning behind the words. Imagine the difficulty for a Malay, who did not grow up with a Chinese background! Following his journey through this "foreign" art form, our short documentary looked into why and how Malik started learning Chinese calligraphy, the roadblocks in his quest of learning and his hopes and fears going forward.

Through Malik’s own words, we learnt how he first got exposed to calligraphy and what spurred him on to continue despite numerous obstacles in his way. He relayed his experiences from his initial baby steps in learning the Chinese language, to him being able to create fusion pieces between Jawi script (traditional Malay writing) and Chinese calligraphy styles today.

Through the making of this short documentary, we’ve gained much insight and learnt a few words of wisdom from the man himself.

“When someone like Ahmad or Muthu wants to do it, don't stop him, don't judge him, let him do whatever he wants; encourage him.”

Perhaps Malik’s story can serve as inspiration for us all: that cultural boundaries are not insurmountable obstacles, but they can be doors to new and exciting worlds for us to explore, as long as we possess a respectful and inquisitive spirit.

As a Chinese proverb, 魚躍龍門 (yu yue long men; fish leaps over the dragon gate), says, anyone can leap over boundaries and reach new heights as long as they try. While Malik humbly tells us that he feels he has not reached the “dragon gate” of the calligraphy world, we believe that he is well on his way to becoming an expert in his own right.

Stay tuned to our next blog post where we will talk about the process of our documentary production! Stalk us at our Facebook if you're keen to find out more about us.

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