Tong Yangtze 董阳孜 (b. 1942)

Tong, whose body of work is heavily inspired by the classic Chinese text Tao Te Ching, and the writings of Confucius and Mencius, learned calligraphy from her father, who taught her to master the styles of the Wei and Tang dynasties. 

Her powerful calligraphy uses a cursive script, or caoshu, that borders on abstraction but still allows the viewer to recognise some words and a dialogue between content and style to flourish. Variations in the width and character of Tong’s strokes create the effect of movement, and contribute to an overall experience of meaning and visual effect. Even the titles of her works, when written in calligraphy, are both visually beautiful and profound in content.

Tong has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the National Taiwan Normal University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Massachusetts, where she studied oil painting and ceramics. Her calligraphy works grace the pillars of the reception hall of Hong Kong’s M+ museum, and from November 2024 to April 2025, two of her monumental scrolls graced the Great Hall of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, as featured in The New York Times.

Tong currently lives and works in Taiwan.