The Art of Commitment 承諾的藝術

Mark was looking with some uncertainty at the "horse" on the card. The first part of his name in Chinese is "Ma" which means "horse," so he knows how to write that character...or at least he thought he did.

"Honey, look at the legs on this horse," he said, handing the card to Ping. "They seem to go the wrong direction. Are they supposed to go forward or backward?"

Ping's "Ma"

Ping looked it over and explained that it's like handwriting. For example, the letter "a" can be written longhand several different ways, all of which are right. We chatted for a bit on how distinctive Chinese characters are, with their varying thickness and little flicks or hard stops at the ends of some strokes. In calligraphy, all of this reveals the personality and character of the writer.

Mark's "Ma"

"I'm thinking about how Chinese calligraphy and philosophy have affected Chinese artists," said Ping. "Calligraphy and ink painting use many of the same tools, and both are done in one shot. It's a philosophy of commitment."

Once the ink touches the paper, that's it. While it all looks very deft, a lot of thought has gone into the composition, the method and the desired outcome. The artist had to plan where that cliff was going to be and how everything else fit around it. The artist had to know what must be painted first, how much ink should be on the brush, and how hard to press each time.

Mark noted how artists who make it look easy have had years of experience. From many, many paintings, they have learned what it takes to get the strokes right where they want them. "And they still have to manage whatever happens when the stroke actually lands on the surface."

Ping agreed. It's going to be whatever it's going to be. They have to work with it. Their skill and experience determines how they handle the serendipity.

The Chinese highly value the discipline and the commitment required to make a good ink painting. They appreciate the years of toil that allow the great painters to load their brushes and sweep them across the surface just so. They admire the results, knowing that each stroke of the brush took skill and deep courage. There was no turning back once that commitment was made. Make your mark. Stand by it. Learn to make better ones. Try again.

We do what we do, and the consequences of those actions will be what they will be. May we commit to doing our best. May we learn from every stroke so we can place them with purpose and skill to create a thing of beauty and character.