KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 — The Malay saying ‘tak kenal maka tak cinta’ (you need to know it to appreciate it) pretty much explains the polemics on the effort to introduce the art of khat or calligraphy in the school curriculum.
Those who understand and appreciate the beautiful art of writing would consider calligraphy as a beauty of heritage of different communities in the world, including the Malays and the Chinese who have celebrated their distinctive art of calligraphy for centuries.
Bernama had the opportunity to meet two calligraphers, one Malay and the other Chinese, to appreciate the similarities and differences of both worlds of calligraphy.
Chinese calligrapher Yap Poh Yen, 25, said the two art forms are of unique tradition with their respective community identities that should be cherished and preserved.
The Klang-born Yap believes that youngsters should be exposed to this art of writing so that it will not be lost forever.
“We should preserve and spread the culture to the youngsters so they get involved in this art and continue to preserve it so that it won’t be lost,” she told Bernama.
Yap, who has been studying Chinese calligraphy since she was eight years old under Kerk Won Hoo, a well-known Chinese painting and calligraphy expert in Malaysia, also believes that both the arts of khat and Chinese calligraphy would encourage the creativity of the writer or artist.
She said Chinese calligraphy features 12 zodiac animals of the Chinese lunar calendar, as well as the nature and words of wisdom that provide lessons in life for readers.
“For instance, the calligraphy quotes for Chinese New Year would bring positive vibes, fortune to people, a blessing for families in their hope for good business for the entire year,” she said.
Meanwhile, Persatuan Seni Khat Kebangsaan chairman Dr Abdul Rahman Hamzah said the similarities between both calligraphy arts are in delivering positive messages for the public as well as displaying creative writings.
“Khat usually contains verses from the Quran as well as other words of wisdom. This happens in any civilisation including the calligraphy of the Chinese community,” he explained.
He is also a senior lecturer of the Academy of Islamic Civilisation, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in Skudai, Johor.
Abdul Rahman, who has been practising khat writing for more than 30 years, also acknowledged that both arts trained their practitioners to be patient while working and in controlling their emotions to produce beautiful writings.
“It trains us to be calm and patient. This beautiful calligraphy drawing and writing activities are a type of meditation,” he told Bernama.
The diploma in Art of Khat holder from the Tahsin Al-Khutut Madrasah in Cairo, Egypt said he felt a sense of satisfaction when practising khat with the brush, ink and colour on a painting canvas.
“When we use the brush and ink to colour the painting canvas, it would bring a sense of relief in which we pour our feelings to create the khat. The same is true with Chinese calligraphy,” he said.
Abdul Rahman added that despite the similarities, the major differences between the two arts would be their tools and the writing strokes.
“Chinese calligraphy uses a soft brush; as it is immersed in the ink, the brush will expand and the size of the writing strokes will follow according to the movement of the tip of the brush.
“Meanwhile, khat uses a pen with a fixed width of its tip which, for instance, could be five millimetres, so throughout the writing, the width of the strokes would be the same,” he said.
Another difference is that Chinese calligraphy is written from top to bottom, while in khat, the characters are written from right to left, he explained.
Khat writing will be taught as part of the Bahasa Melayu curriculum for Year Four pupils in both Sekolah Kebangsaan and Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan.
Some quarters who oppose it perhaps fail to see that the move would ensure that the art of khat would not be lost forever and that it would indirectly be seen as recognition for other forms of calligraphy too, including Chinese calligraphy. — Bernama
