The long history of Chinese culture, including its development, spread and influence, is reflected in Chinese characters. On the one hand, Chinese characters are symbols that carry and spread Chinese stories and philosophies. On the other hand, they contain the aesthetic elements of the Chinese style.

Chinese scholar Yu Dan, author of a best-selling book on Confucianism in China and dean of the Beijing Institute of Culture Innovation and Communication, invested a lot of time and effort in promoting traditional Chinese culture to the world. In order to arouse global interest in Chinese characters, Yu initiated “The Beauty of Chinese Characters” Global Youth Design Contest in 2015. The first session was launched at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, attracting 1,250 entries from 16 countries and regions around the world.

This September, the finalists for the second session of the contest were announced in Beijing. Yu shares with China Daily Website her understanding of the beauty of Chinese characters, her mission with this contest that combines Chinese characters and design, and different understanding of Chinese characters from foreign designers’ perspectives.

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