2016 Calligraphy Writing Festival at Temple of Literature

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(Cinet)- Hanoi Cultural Department will organize the 2016 Calligraphy Writing Festival at the Literature Lake in Hanoi's Temple of Literature from February 02-15.
Writing calligraphy is popular for local people during Tet. The festival aims to welcome the New Year as well as promote the Vietnamese tradition.
Calligraphy is considered an art that is appealing to all ages. In addition to senior calligraphers, many young ones with a passion for the art are qualified to write at the festival.
Calligraphy Street is one of the most interesting activities during Tet holiday in Vietnam. The competition consists of two fields of calligraphy: Chinese – Nom calligraphy and Vietnamese literally national language script. 50 topics of examination mainly revolves around spring, moral education, quotations... Calligraphers have to write within 15 minutes. The letters should look like a word picture. These words are correct as in dictionary, not modified, but readable.
The organisers - senior calligraphers and researchers of Nom calligraphy and Vietnamese romanised language script - evaluated the qualification of calligraphers through a test that took place earlier this month.
The Calligraphy Writing Festival 2016 will attract nearly 140 calligraphers from Hanoi and other provinces.

An activity at the calligraphy writting festival. Photo:Internet

At the festival, one or two calligraphers will be seated in each booth in traditional clothes, and they will write and sell images of auspicious words to customers wishing for health, prosperity and good luck throughout the new year.
Along with the calligraphy writing activities, an exhibition with the theme "While drinking water, remember its source" will showcase nearly 100 art works by famous calligraphers. After the festival, the best ones will receive awards.
These calligraphers will write from 8.30am to 8pm during the festival, except for February 7 – the Lunar New Year's Eve – at which time they will write until 2am the following day.
This is the second time the festival will be held at the Literature Lake instead of along the sidewalks outside the Temple in order to ensure order along the street and maintain the beauty of the monument.
Street for calligraphers is upgraded into Calligraphy Writing Festival. Along with activities of writing and asking for letters, the Calligraphy Writing Festival also holds an public exhibition of about 70 calligraphies with themes of cheering striving spirit, learning spirit over Vietnamese generations. The festival in Hanoi not just has new things, but also expands in the scope of themes to meet increasingly calligraphic demand of local people and tourists. To ensure order and safety, Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Dong Da District administration have presented many solutions. It is planned that the parking area will be arranged in Giam Garden, pavement of Van Mieu Street and other suitable places in the neighborhood.