Nearly 3,000 people set world record for largest calligraphy lesson

2,793 people gathered yesterday to break the Guinness World Record for the largest Chinese calligraphy lesson by writing the Chinese character for longevity together at the same time.

In order to be officially recognized, the world records accreditation body deployed a team to oversee the entire process. Once the time started, the writing progressed under the supervision of the Guinness World Records team.

The event was organized not only for the sake of setting a new record for the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, but also, more importantly, it was held as part of celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China and the 20th anniversary of Macau Special Administrative Region. This was the reason the Chinese character for longevity was picked for the event.

The event was co-hosted by the International Association of Calligraphy Painting and Artwork Macao and Calligraphic Education Association of Macau. Before the record was broken, the organizers showcased about half a dozen robotic arms that had been programmed to write Chinese calligraphy.

Event organizer Lun Weng U said, “I am very grateful for all of the support. It was exceptionally memorable as many art experts were among the participants.”

Meanwhile, participating students felt remarkably excited to be there. Many of them have been practicing so as to perfect their calligraphy and ensure the record is set.

Joyce Lun, managing director of the International Association of Calligraphy Painting and Artwork Macao, said, “The event was not only arranged to celebrate the ‘Double Anniversary,’ but also to showcase the technological progress our country has achieved in all these years. Now, we have robotic arms that can write, paint and even play chess.”

As introduced by the organizers, the event marked a crucial day in the history and development of Chinese calligraphy. It is also the first instance in which technology and calligraphy were presented together. They hope that the event will help promote traditional Chinese culture.