Guided Viewing of 2 exhibitions: “3,000 Years of Chinese Writing” with Dr. Shengyu Wang and “Ink Rhymes Through a Millennium Calligraphy by Cheung Cheuk Wai” with Lam, Wai Lam Kitty at UMAG (Members only)

The HKU Museum Society is delighted to present a guided viewing of 2 exhibitions at UMAG: “3,000 Years of Chinese Writing” with Dr. Shengyu Wang and “Ink Rhymes Through a Millennium Calligraphy by Cheung Cheuk Wai” with Lam, Wai Lam Kitty at UMAG (Members only).

The first exhibition – 3,000 Years of Chinese Writing.

From the oracle bone and bronze inscriptions of the Shang and Zhou dynasties, through the seal and clerical scripts of the Qin and Han, to the calligraphic art of the Wei-Jin period and beyond, the evolution of Chinese script has been closely intertwined with social development.

Featuring highlights from the University Museum and Art Gallery (UMAG), The University of Hong Kong (HKU), the Fung Ping Shan Library at HKU, and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Art Museum, this exhibition presents the origins, media, and functions of Chinese writing.

Speaker

Dr Shengyu Wang is Associate Curator at the University Museum and Art Gallery, University of Hong Kong. She is a China Oxford Scholarship awardee with DPhil and MPhil in Archaeology from the University of Oxford, researching on tomb art in early China. She double-majored in Museology and Chinese Language and Literature in Peking University as an undergraduate.

Shengyu was Associate Curator at the Hong Kong Palace Museum from 2021 to 2025, contributing to the opening exhibitions (2022), and co-leading special exhibitions including Gazing at Sanxingdui: New Archaeological Discoveries in Sichuan (2023–2024). As part of the acquisition team, she collaborated with local donors to build the museum’s early China collection. She was also one of the ten attendees of the 2025 TEFAF Curator Course in Maastricht, the Netherlands. She lectures and publishes on Chinese art and archaeology, and has participated in excavations in China and the UK.

The second exhibition – Ink Rhymes Through a Millennium Calligraphy by Cheung Cheuk Wai.

Calligraphy is the soul of Chinese characters and the lifeblood of Chinese civilization.

From the archaic simplicity of oracle bone inscriptions and bronze inscriptions, to the uniformity of Qin dynasty seal script and the vitality of Han dynasty clerical script; from the disciplined structure of Wei and Jin regular script, to the fluidity of running script and the untamed energy of cursive script—the birth of each script form reflects the spirit of its age.

Calligraphy has never been merely an art of lines. It embodies a vast spectrum of themes: the temperament of the calligrapher, the vibrant energy of living beings, prayers for blessings, the grandeur of mountains and rivers, the profundity of philosophical thought, the faithful transmission of classical verse, and the ideals of statecraft and official loyalty.

For centuries, countless individuals have devoted their lives to its study and practice. What makes calligraphy so compelling is that it is not merely an aesthetic pursuit, but a philosophy—and ultimately, a discipline of life itself. Between lifting the brush and setting it down, every nuance—the weight of the wrist, the speed of the brush tip, the density of the ink—is a true reflection of the inner state of mind.

The display features works by the late Hong Kong calligrapher Cheung Cheuk Wai, covering a wide range of scripts and themes, showcasing the millennia-long history of Chinese characters. It offers a step into the world of brush and ink, to appreciate—between each stroke and each dot—not only Mr. Cheung’s lifelong devotion to calligraphy, but also the beauty of Chinese characters and the profound depth of Chinese culture.

Speaker

Lam, Wai Lam Kitty is a curatorial assistant at the University Museum and Art Gallery (UMAG), the University of Hong Kong. With extensive experience working in various museums including Hong Kong Palace Museum, The Oriental Museum at Durham University, Hong Kong Museum of History and Tianjin Museum. Specializing in museum and artefact studies, her expertise is applied to in-depth research and the interpretation of artefacts for publications and exhibitions.

Image Credit: Courtesy of UMAG