Chinese cousins aged 3 and 8 go viral for their impressive calligraphy skills

July 19, 2022

A series of videos showing two young boys in China demonstrating their calligraphy skills has gone viral on Chinese social media.

Gao Yubo, 3, and Gao Yuxuan, 8, are cousins from Qiqihar of Heilongjiang province of northern China who have both taken a liking to the art of calligraphy. According to Yubo’s mother, surnamed Miao, the boys were influenced after watching their parents — who are both calligraphers — practice and began to mimic them.

“The youngsters learned how to write calligraphy by mimicking us adults because both Yuxuan’s parents and my husband and I are calligraphers,” Miao told Sohu Video. “To them, it might feel like playing a game.”

A video uploaded to Weibo on Wednesday shows the boys gracefully and swiftly practicing their calligraphy skills. Yubo is even seen guiding a large calligraphy brush with ease. The video has garnered over 780,000 views and 4,600 likes since this writing.

According to Yubo’s mother, on some occasions the 3-year-old will wake up in the middle of the night to practice his calligraphy before heading back to bed.

“He once got up at midnight to use the bathroom and then decided to practice calligraphy,” Miao recalled. “He then went directly to pick up the brush and began writing, and told us that he would go to sleep after finishing writing a character.”

Yubo’s mother explained that her son first learned to hold a calligraphy brush when he was a year old, and “can now write hundred of Chinese characters.” Rather than pressuring the 3-year-old to practice calligraphy, Miao stated that she and her husband allow Yubo to practice on his own accord.

Weibo users were impressed by the boys’ skills and praised their passion for calligraphy.

“My family could only count to 10 when they were three years old,” one user wrote.

“This little boy is really the reincarnation of a calligrapher,” another user commented.

Featured Image via Weibo

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