School: Yangming Junior High School
    Changhua City, , Taiwan,R.O.C

10 students, ages 14-15 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on February 3, 2021. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2018

Classes and Teachers: Tzu-Wei, Yeh / You-Wei, Liao / Chien-ching, Chen

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.ymsc.chc.edu.tw/

1. Description of Our Community

Chinese calligraphy is the quintessence of Chinese culture. The Chinese characters are composed of dots and lines. Writing with a soft brush can especially show the characteristics of various fonts in different periods, which convey the beauty of lines, symmetry, principle, style, and artistic concept, representing thousands of years of history; therefore, calligraphy is indisputably the 'legacy of intangible culture'. In the historical township, Lukang, Changhua, there are many famous calligraphers especially, and every household is posted with spring couplets, making the town filled with scholastic atmosphere. 'Yuyuxuan Calligraphy Society' is located in Changhua City. The founder, Huang Wen-Chiung, is a Lukang native, who was deeply influenced by her family and started to learn calligraphy at a young age from Nien Wen-Yi, a famous calligraphy teacher in Lukang. Later, she won the High Distinction Award in the National Calligraphy Competition and then got theteaching certificate. Afterwards, she began teaching calligraphy in many elementary and middle schools and has been striving to promote Chinese calligraphy culture.

2. Summary of Our Project

Our project includes the following parts: 1. Introduction to the evolution and aesthetics of Chinese calligraphy fonts; 2. Conduct interview with calligrapher, Huang Wen-Chiung; 3. Visiting exhibitions of famous calligraphers; 4. Teacher Huang Wen-Chiung’s contribution to Chinese calligraphy promotion; 5. Discuss current status and outlook for calligraphy in Taiwan.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:more than 50%

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:4-6

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:more than 6

E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):

There are three computer labs, and each classroom in our school has a computer connected to the Internet through an academic network. We usually go to the computer labs to search for information, organize materials, and create web pages during class time or lunch break. On holidays, we use ADSL at home to work on this project.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

1. The computer skills of the team members were not sufficient enough, especially in the part of the web page production due to difficulty in understanding of parameters and programming. 2. Our members are in different grades and classes, so it was difficult to arrange a time for meetings except for holidays. 3. As there is so many relevant information about calligraphy, how to gather and condense appropriate materials for the project became quite challenging. 4. To acquire enough valid questionnaire, we spent excessive hours making sure people were filling in the questionnaire on the Internet, and calling 220 primary and secondary schools for interviews via telephone. 5. Being very nervous during the interview, particularly when the teacher asked us to do calligraphy right on the spot, of which most of us have no prior experience. Just to hold the brush properly was difficult enough for many of us.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

In recent years, computer, communication, and consumer electronics products have been popular, and fewer and fewer people have the patience to do calligraphy. As politics and modern technology have started jeopardizing this millennium culture, it is regrettable to see the continuous decline of calligraphy culture; what a massive impact it would be if we were to lose our own cultural characteristics. Chinese calligraphy teacher, Ms. Huang Wen-Chiung, is dedicated to promoting calligraphy in schools, women’s associations, community colleges, hospitals, religious places, etc., and also conducts cultural exchanges in the United States, Japan, and South Korea. Through this website, we hope to encourage more people to understand and appreciate the beauty of Chinese calligraphy and Teacher Huang Wen-Chiung’s enthusiasm in the promotion of calligraphy.

6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?

A. Interviewing, questionnaire design, recording, material organization and report writing are related to “language arts”. B. Calculation and analysis of the data collected from the questionnaires and of the information obtained from telephone interviews with the primary and secondary schools in Changhua in regards to the execution of calligraphy classes are correlated to “mathematics and statistics” C. Complying with the legal requirements of intellectual property rights, applied information, and network technology are parts of “information education”. D. Understanding the meanings and value of “Chinese calligraphy” in traditional culture, the characteristics of various fonts, and how calligraphy enlightens our perspectives regarding philosophy and aesthetics of life are associated with “aesthetics and philosophy”. E. Participating in various group activities and learning to communicate and cooperate with others effectivelyare concerned with “comprehensive activity education”.

1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?

We used computer software, such as 1. PhotoCap; 2. Word 2013; 3. 7-Zip; 4. OpenOffice.org Writer; 5. PhotoImpact; and 6. Macromedia Dreamweaver, to create the website, fill in data and feedback, edit photos, analyze statistics, and to conduct image, words, Web page editing and processing. We also used G-mail and smartphones as well as establishinggroup chat in Line for communication and contact. Digital cameras and voice recorders were used, too, to film and record the interviews.

2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.

To smoothly carry out our research and the questionnaire survey, we have been the ambassador for the project from both the tangible and intangible perspectives.In order to highlight the subject matters, we needed to carry out an in-depth interview, produce relevant audio and video recordings, design and implement questionnaire survey, do phone calls and conduct telephone interviews, and experience personally on how to do calligraphy. We aimed to arouse people's memory for the traditions and to value the ancient Chinese culture in hope to encourage better understandings of the thousands-year quintessence through the website. We would also like to make aware of the spirit of a teacher who has dedicated nearly 30 years to Chinese calligraphy and the issues brought forth by her, which require us to reflect.

3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?

my places in Changhua County, including schools, women’s associations, community colleges, hospitals, religious places, etc. She also joins many calligraphy societies to promote calligraphy writing and appreciation and provide guidance on how to enhance the aesthetics of life with calligraphy.

4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?

Our questionnaire and telephone surveys are completed by having people filling out the form or answering the questions over the phone.This has made all the people involved in the survey helpers and volunteers of our research project. It is the same with those who participated in the calligraphy exhibition or experienced the fun of writing calligraphy and posting the spring couplets on the doors of their homes.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

We discovered the beauty of Chinese characters, and the characteristics of various fonts such as seal script, clerical script, regular script, running script, and cursive script. We were touched by Ms. Huang Wen-Chiung’s respect to the Chinese culture and appreciated her effort in pr Through the Cyberfair activities, we were amazed by many things. For instance, some team members are always able to come up with the best solution in no time while some quiet ones surprisingly managed to overcome their introverted personality and bravely faced their interviewees just to complete their missions during the telephone interviews. omoting the Chinese calligraphy with the aesthetics of life. The experience made us realize the decline of this traditional culture in Taiwan, and we sincerely hope that the research can bring attention to this thousands-year culture and help people find serenity through the process. Taiwan is the only country in the world that still uses traditional Chinese character; therefore, it logically should have made us more advantageous in maintaining the Chinese calligraphy culture. Ironically, it is just the opposite. We feel that the government ought to implement calligraphy education in the primary and secondary schools and include weekly calligraphy classes in the curriculum, so as to let students be acquainted with calligraphy writing as well as to enhance the social harmony. We aimed to provide different aspects through the website and to inspire a better understanding of Chinese calligraphy and acknowledge Ms Huang Wen-Chiung's passion for calligraphy.