Among 50 calligraphers participating in the Spring Calligraphy Festival held in the Temple of Literature in Hanoi is a Frenchman who is the first foreign expat to take part in the fest as a calligrapher. The man, named Jean Sébastien Grill, has learned Vietnamese for seven years. With the love for Vietnamese culture, Grill has studied calligraphy from Vietnamese calligrapher Kieu Quoc Khanh. He even chose ‘Truong Giang’ as his Vietnamese name. After several years of practice, he bravely joins the Spring Calligraphy Festival this year as a calligrapher with 49 Vietnamese ones, including his calligraphy tutor. For him, taking part in the festival is a way to contribute to promoting Vietnamese culture to European tourists. He wants to introduce a peaceful and developing Vietnam imbued with cultural identity to other foreigners. On the opening day of the Spring Calligraphy Festival on Sunday, Grill wore ao the (a Vietnamese traditional outfit) and khan dong (a Vietnamese … [Read more...] about First foreign calligrapher joins Vietnam’s Spring Calligraphy Festival