Strokes of genius and a cultural revolution

A teacher had four students, an American, a European, an African and a Chinese. He asked them to write an essay on the topic "What is your personal opinion of the world food shortage?" "What is the world?" asked the American student. "What is a shortage?" asked the European. "What is food?" asked the African. Then the Chinese student asked: "What is a personal opinion?"

This rather dodgy old joke perhaps betrays our image of the Chinese as brainwashed and repressed. Yet there is an ancient tradition within China that has celebrated individuality and expressiveness for many centuries: shufa , or calligraphy.