A large number of students and faculty, including Art History Professors Leo Costello, Farshid Emami, and Denva Gallant, attended the public lecture “Sini-Islamic Calligraphy: Arabic Calligraphy in Chinese Tradition” yesterday to learn calligraphy from renowned Arabic calligrapher Haji Noor Deen Mi Guangjiang 米广江 who traveled to Rice to lead a fun hands-on workshop.
The lecture contextualized Sini-Islamic Calligraphy in history, unveiling its historical context and emphasizing its emergence during periods of vibrant cross-cultural exchange between China and the Islamic world. With profound expertise in both Chinese and Arabic calligraphy and training under luminaries such as Abbas Baghdadi, Mi Guangjiang's work, collected by prestigious institutions like the British Museum, reflects the rich history of Chinese Muslims practicing Sini-Islamic Calligraphy.
Many thanks to all the guests who attended and especially to Xinyu Liang, Art History PhD candidate, for organizing the wonderful event co-sponsored by the Departments of Art History and Transnational Asian Studies.
