[Commlist] New Book: Ink Studies: Everyday Practices of Calligraphy in Contemporary China

*New Book: /Ink Studies: Everyday Practices of Calligraphy in 
Contemporary China/ (NUS Press, 2025)*

This publication may be of interest to Communication and Media Studies 
scholars working on visual culture, media practices, digital media, 
cultural heritage, China, and creativity studies. The book examines 
calligraphy as a contemporary media practice shaped by  technologies, 
public space, and cultural politics, and it speaks to broader 
discussions of mediation, embodied practice, and visual communication.

*Publication details*
Laura Vermeeren
/Ink Studies: Everyday Practices of Calligraphy in Contemporary China/
NUS Press, 2025
Link: https://nuspress.nus.edu.sg/products/ink-studies 
<https://nuspress.nus.edu.sg/products/ink-studies>

**

*Book Description*
/Ink Studies/ explores contemporary practices of calligraphy in China, 
situating them in both a precarious and dynamic position. While 
handwritten communication has declined due to digitization, calligraphy 
is experiencing a revival partly driven by governmental directives that 
frame creativity as a resource for cultural and economic development.

The book analyses five visual cultural fields—calligraphy education, 
water calligraphy, contemporary calligraphic art, digital calligraphy, 
and calligraphic font design—treating representations of the 
calligraphic sign as active agents that elicit embodied, moral, and 
aesthetic responses. Challenging the notion of calligraphy as a static 
art rooted solely in copying, it argues for its creative potential 
across formal, popular, and digital contexts.

**
Table of Contents

List of Interviews
List of Images
Acknowledgements
Preface
Introduction
Calligraphy Education: Disciplining Conduct
Water Calligraphy: The Ephemeral Everyday
Contemporary Calligraphy: Leaving Characters?
Calligraphy and the Digital: Remediated Calligraphic Community
Creative Calligraphic Fonts: The Skin of Culture
Coda
Notes
Bibliography
Index

**

*Endorsement*
“Vermeeren’s volume is the long-awaited ‘missing course’ for 
understanding Chinese calligraphy beyond conventionalized narratives. 
Focusing on new forms of shufa practice in everyday lives of Chinese 
people, it offers rich and gratifying food for thought on creativity, 
modernity, and the value of art in cultural politics and broader human 
experiences.” — Yu Li, Loyola Marymount University**

For further information, please contact: (l.vermeeren /at/ uva.nl)

:

---------------
The COMMLIST
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier. Please use it responsibly and wisely.
--
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://commlist.org/
--
Before sending a posting request, please always read the guidelines at http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ commlist.org)
URL: http://nicocarpentier.net
---------------