Taoist Teachings: An Analysis Through Chinese Calligraphy — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Taoist Teachings: An Analysis Through Chinese Calligraphy

Name: Mary England
Major: Graphic Design & Studio Art
Hometown: Colorado Springs, CO
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Course project

Abstract

For this class project, our goal was to select a passage from the book Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, analyze, through cross-cultural comparisons, the Confucianist and Taoist teachings, and offer a personal interpretation of our selection. From this passage we were to also choose kanji or hanzi characters that represented it and design a couplet in the Chinese calligraphy style. The significance of this project can be seen in the unique approach made to understanding the Confucianist and Taoist teachings through calligraphy, and the practice thereof, especially from the point of view of a non-native of Asia. To arrive at the characters chosen, I analyzed passage number 78 from the book Tao Te Ching. The main theme is the overcoming nature and duality of water and how it relates to the contradiction of elements throughout life. The result of this project is a scroll with the couplet I chose done in Chinese calligraphy representing what I think passage 78 means.

Poster file