Calligrapher Li Jhong-chih／書法家 李仲篪
Calligrapher Li Jhong-chih
◎English translation: Wendy Wei Chang
◎Photo by Lin Yu-hong
92 Year-old, Mr. Li Jhon-chih was around 18 or 19 years old when he left his hometown in Hunan, China. During the turbulent years of China's civil war, one of Mr. Li's few possessions which he carried in his backpack was a calligraphy book containing calligraphy scripts of Stele of Cao Cyuan. When he arrived in Taiwan, he decided to settle in Kaohsiung. It has now been 77 years since Mr. Li began practicing calligraphy and still displays remarkable passion for it.
Diligence best describes Mr. Li's attitude and passion for calligraphy. Over the years, he has mastered different styles of scripts. In order to write formal seal scripts, he created a customized version of clerical script strokes. Mr. Li explains that the beauty of calligraphy lies in its balance, delicacy, purity and elegance. Balance, refers to the symmetry of the characters, with every stroke being of same width. Delicacy is the strength of which each stroke is applied, whereas purity exhibits the cleanness in the execution of each character. Elegance is determined by a character's graceful presentation. When Mr. Li does calligraphy, he lifts his hands in the air and then brings them down, creating strokes that are full of strength. The connections between the strokes are rounded and the width and spaces between the strokes are identical. Mr. Li's calligraphy is beautiful and harmonious. He often switches between styles in order to give the characters greater depth in meaning. Mr. Li presents each character's strength and beauty by using different styles and emphasizing the elegance of each character.
Mr. Li explains the secret to creating great calligraphy is by mastering the basic strokes from the very beginning. Then move on to imitating the masters' styles in calligraphy copy-books. He recommends working on the scripts of Stele of Cao Cyuan because of its graceful seal script and Stele of Li Ji because of its neat writing style. Mr. Li believes that as long as people diligently practice, they will undoubtedly develop superb skills and eventually develop their own calligraphy styles.
Over the years, Mr. Li has been devoted to promoting calligraphy and has taught the craft to numerous people. He is worried that people these days depend too much on computers and do not often put pen to paper. Mr. Li believes that if people are not able to write the characters that reflect their culture, the culture will eventually disappear. He hopes people will become more aware of this alarming phenomenon.The history and traditions of calligraphy run deep. As a calligraphy master, Mr. Li has dedicated his life to studying its structure and strokes. Mr. Li's peaceful, modest disposition is an example of how he has internalized this art form.
書法家 李仲篪
◎文／侯雅婷
◎攝影／林裕鈜
「一生懸命」是高齡92歲的書法家李仲篪對書法的熱情和態度，他18～19歲因為戰亂離開故鄉中國湖南，最後輾轉落腳高雄，戰亂顛沛流離之際，背包裏就攢著本「曹全碑」，當問起這帖「曹全碑」究竟有何特別之處？李仲篪表示，「曹全碑」線條很漂亮，是篆書之中最出色的一帖，他對書法的熱情蔚為傳奇。
李仲篪習字77載不輟，內化各種字體，自創以富變化的篆書筆法，來寫字形莊重的隸書，讓他頗為自豪。他說，寫書法講究「勻、靜、清、雅」的美感，勻指的是結構均勻，每筆劃粗細都要平均，靜展現的是種不誇張的內斂力量，清指的是乾乾淨淨，雅指的是字體優雅。觀看李仲篪寫書法，握筆的手懸空，每一個筆劃都藏力於其中，筆劃轉折處始終是圓潤的，筆劃間的粗細和間隔一致，呈現合諧的美感，且心隨念轉，以不同的字體演繹文字，體現文字的力和美，優雅盡現。
李仲篪不吝傳授寫書法的秘笈，他建議初學者先練習基礎筆法，再摹擬字帖，他最推薦「曹全帖」和「禮器」字帖，前者展現飄逸特質，後者字體端整，他表示，只要勤於摹擬字帖，時日一久，定能練出一手好字，進而變化出自己的風格。
李仲篪推廣書法不遺餘力，育才無數；但他對於現代人過度仰賴電腦而不愛寫字感到憂心不已，他說，倘若人們連代表文化的文字都寫不出來，意味著文化的消失，他苦口婆心敲響這文化的警鐘。
書法的深度讓這位書法大師窮其一生細細玩味文字線條和結構，以書法的內斂、優雅，修身養性。
Lai Hui-fang's Passionate Volunteer Work
◎English translation: Tan Shu-chun
◎Photo by Hou Ya-ting
Ms. Lai Hui-fang is originally from Indonesia but has been living in Kaohsiung for 16 years. During her first 7 years in Kaohsiung, she mainly took care of her family and didn't engage socially with others. She didn't speak Chinese. Today she speaks Chinese fluently and is passionate about volunteering for charitable foundations and helping new immigrants and senior citizens. These great transformations in her life have broadened her horizons and enriched her life. She firmly believes that the more you serve others, the happier you become.
Ms. Lai Hui-fang life-changing moment came when her child began elementary school. Lai was contacted by the local charity Fong Lin Guan Yin Foundation, which provides care to immigrants and seniors who live alone. The foundation provided her daughter with extracurricular tutoring. At first, Lai would accompany her daughter to tutoring sessions and would prepare refreshments for them. A short time later she was assigned a new task of visiting local seniors. This marked the beginning of her volunteering career. Now, she spends one day a week visiting four seniors that live near her home. Lai enjoys the work she does with the senior citizens and the great kindness and appreciation they show her by sharing delicious food. They make her feel as if she is a part of their family. Lai also wants her children to be positively influenced by her volunteer work, so she always brings her daughters along with her when she does community service. She has noticed the positive impact it has had on her children. They have become more considerate and more interactive with their family.
Lai appreciates Kaohsiung City Government New Immigrants Family Service Center for these opportunities. She feels the organization has given her a sense of belonging to a big family that enjoys serving others and finds great sisterhood with fellow immigrants. They help each other and give each other advice. When they get together they prepare food from their motherland and play Indonesian instruments together. On October 2014, Kaohsiung City Government established the new immigrant affairs office, which is located on the second floor of the Immigrants Family Service Center. Although there are other immigrant service centers closer to her home, Lai still prefers to take the 45 minute motorcycle journey to get to this service center. She feels at home there. Over the last three years, Lai has been a passionate advocate of volunteer work and has encouraged fellow immigrants to embrace volunteer work and broaden their horizons. She is a living example of how serving others will surely enhance your life.
熱血志工 賴慧芳
◎文、攝影／侯雅婷
印尼籍賴慧芳定居高雄16年，懷抱熱情，勤於學習更樂於付出，正面積極的態度讓她的高雄生活猶如倒吃甘蔗一般，從不懂中文到說得一口標準、流利的中文；從害怕踏出住家到投入志工工作，開擴視野，也累積生命厚度，體會到為他人服務越多，越快樂！
賴慧芳來高雄以家為重心的生活持續很長一段時間，直到第7年，孩子上小學，當地關懷新住民和獨居老人的慈善機構「鳳林觀音慈善會」主動聯繫她，提供小朋友免費課外輔導，這個轉捩點意外開啟她的志工生涯，賴慧芳從在旁觀察孩子們上課情況到幫忙準備點心，再被委以訪視獨居長輩的重任，迄今，她固定每週1天探訪住家附近4位長輩，賴慧芳說長輩們都將她當成孫女般疼愛，偶爾有好吃的東西，還特意留著與她分享。每回探訪，她刻意帶著孩子一同前往，發揮身教的影響力，她觀察孩子變體貼，會主動跟父母親噓寒問暖。
賴慧芳感性的說，高雄市新移民家庭服務中心讓她有如家一般的歸屬感，她說，只要有任何問題，在這裡都會獲得回應，且與這裏的印尼姐妹相處融洽，一起分享印尼的家鄉點心，也一起練習演奏印尼樂器，去(2014)年10月新移民家庭服務中心樓上成立高雄新移民事務專案辦公室，她開心多了一處服務姐妹的地方。每回來到新移民服務中心，騎車需花45分鐘車程，她說她知道服務中心有其他據點，但習慣到這裡了，3年多來，不改其志，鼓勵姐妹們儘早參與外面的活動，開拓生活圈，愛屋及屋的一片赤誠，讓自己和姐妹的生命發光發亮。