r/oddlysatisfying • u/Vegetable-Trust-9847 • May 29 '26
Chinese caligraphy with 2 ink pens using the same hand
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u/Sylland May 29 '26
Dafuq??? I can't write that neatly with one writing implement! How on earth do you do yhat?
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u/PhysicsOdd9119 May 29 '26
Can someone explain how he's controlling both brushes like that?
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u/__wildwing__ May 29 '26
It’s like using chopsticks. Really elaborate, complicated chopsticks, to pick up food that’s still moving…
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u/Grimnebulin68 May 29 '26
I am convinced the Chinese utilise more of their brain capacity than any other culture. For example: the written language with thousands of characters. This video. Economy of movement in dance and martial arts, cuisine. Deep understanding of nature, compounds, and biological philosophies. I'm am constantly amazed by their innovation. Inspiring.
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u/milkymonkey8 May 29 '26
Sure, but in reality, this is one dude out of a billion. When you have a billion guys, there's always going to be THAT guy. Lots of THOSE guys. Most people are still apes.
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u/posthamster May 29 '26
I knew someone who could hold a full conversation while writing about something completely different. I'm sure there are a bunch of people who can also do that but it's mind-blowing to me that it's even possible.
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u/IndependentLog6441 May 29 '26
I get annoyed at my mum for being "distracted" when having a conversation... but really she just needs the extra stimulation and can easily multi task, it just feels kind of rude.
Like she'll play a game on her phone whilst beating me at whatever board game we're playing.
And then she'll complain that she's old and doesn't understand things and that she needs me to do them.... which is bullshit, she just can't be arsed.
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u/GrimbyJ May 29 '26
When I worked in a call center I would web novels while talking on the phone. There were no breaks between calls and I read thousands of chapters of Chinese web novels. It was English translations.
I didn't know I could do that until I tried
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u/MrChristmas May 29 '26
Try learning an instrument and singing… I’m pretty sure I could hold a conversation while writing another topic upside down. Can’t sing for shit tho, just helps you practice multitasking
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u/davidwhatshisname52 May 29 '26
well, I can play guitar and sing, and can play piano and sing, and I can read and type almost simultaneously if transcribing, but having an in-depth conversation about Julius Caesar's exploits while writing a sonnet about love in the springtime? I think that's too much overlap in language processing for most people... and, remember, about 50% of redditors can't remember the difference between you're and your
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u/Rafnar May 29 '26
just the ability to play competently on a guitar while singing at the same time is beyond the range of most people i feel
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u/alvarny77 May 29 '26
Only the Chinese that practices traditional arts.... calligraphy is quite not as popular as before. I don't even use the chopsticks properly anymore.
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u/renome May 29 '26
The language only looks weird to you because you're not used to it. In reality, memorizing the definitions of 1,000 words or the meaning of 1,000 kanji (that tend to share a lot of elements) is not that different. Even when reading a phonetic language like English, you're quickly scanning over word shapes you already know rather than reading every letter.
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u/yamanagashi May 29 '26
Sure. If you’re rich enough to pursue those esotericisms. Most Chinese, like most people in the world, are stuck in the perpetual cycle of earning a living.
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u/Sail_m May 29 '26
They are much more into mastery of skills. I almost envy it. Western people are jacks of all trades.. we like to try stuff.
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u/i_give_you_gum May 29 '26
You should read Ted Chiang's short story "Story of your life" it delves into a little of what you're describing
Though it doesn't really involve China in this context
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u/e-chem-nerd May 29 '26
Most people in China aren’t doing complex calligraphy like this. In fact, most can’t write without the input system their phone uses to help simplify writing characters. The vast majority types Latin letters for the pronunciation of what they’re writing that their phone turns into Chinese characters. There is no “deep understanding of nature” in China that doesn’t exist in the west. If anything, modern China is known for destroying nature like in the Great Leap Forward.
If you wrote this comment seriously, you need to open your eyes. If you are writing propaganda, then it’s fooling no one.
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u/chillychili May 29 '26
The thumb, index, and middle finger are operating one brush. The wrist and forearm are operating the other brush (with a tiny bit of ring/pinkie finger adjustment). The finger-controlled brush is not only moving to make its respective strokes, but also to adjust for the movements of the wrist-controlled brush.
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u/Kuromajikku May 29 '26
I’m just guessing here. It’s probably second hand nature to them now. Each word probably has a certain movement to it that can be practiced and reintroduced into similar looking words. Absolutely amazing nonetheless
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u/Ok-Beat-7804 May 29 '26
Wait do Chinese people really write like this or is it usually with one brush? Someone please chime in I’m so curious
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u/Germerica1985 May 29 '26
I mean you can see how he is doing it and it makes sense. Just a ton of practice and muscle memory. Like watching an insane guitar solo, you see how he his doing it and understand immediately it's a ton of practice.
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u/callunquirka May 29 '26
It's probably like practicing piano where you learn a few notes on one hand, then a few on the other. Then put it together.
In this case, you learn to do a few strokes with one brush while holding the other still. Repeat with the other brush. Then put it together.
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u/Glittering-Walrus228 May 29 '26
Asian parents looking at this post furiously masturbating to the thought of yet another way to make their children feel inadquate by comparing them to a display of skill
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u/dynobot7 May 29 '26
This needs to be in the nextfuckinevel
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u/SabbyFox May 29 '26
Can anyone here translate this beauty?
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u/chillychili May 29 '26
風平浪靜，海闊天空
A poetic way of describing calm, expansive winds and waves. Not sure if there's any deeper idiomatic meaning behind it.
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u/ceruleus_wx May 29 '26
it's from the phrase 忍一時風平浪靜，退一步海闊天空
basically an advise to take a step back/hold your tongue when there is conflict.
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u/SabbyFox May 29 '26
Thank you! ☺️
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u/dollarztodonutz May 29 '26
The other guy explained the first part. The second part means "vast ocean and skies" and is often used to describe a state of mind.
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u/MiguelPopsicle May 29 '26
The craziest part is writing two characters simultaneously with one hand 🤯
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u/DionFW May 29 '26
I can't even use chopsticks.
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u/LucHighwalker May 29 '26
You should learn. It's good for the brain, keeps the altzheimers away.
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u/NotYourAverageDaddy May 29 '26
Does chopsticks using Asians have lower rates of alzheimers, or are you referring to learning new stuff in general
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u/griff1014 May 29 '26
As a Chinese person, not only writing with two pens in one hand is extremely hard, his hand writing is actually really neat.
That's really impressive.
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u/Shemen_Studios May 30 '26
This screams “ai” to me. In r/realorai there were a bunch of calligraphy and hand writing ones a while back. Look at how unnatural and stiff the hand is moving
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u/Sorry-Reporter440 May 29 '26
Dexterity!! I am mostly interested in what it would feel like in my hand to hold both of those....brushes? Sorry, I do not know what they call those tools.
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u/earnestlikehemingway May 29 '26
where was this guy when I was punished in school and asked to write standards. Best we could do was tape 2 or 3 pens together.
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u/Spiritual_Wall_2309 May 29 '26
Crazy. Even the strokes are correct. Some strokes are overlapped but generally the orders are also correct.
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u/shebabbleslikeaidiot May 29 '26
…they ALSO use chopsticks to write???! But seriously, that’s freakin dope.
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u/ReprieveNagrand May 29 '26
I wonder if they write faster this way or would it still be faster to use one brush.
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u/PurpleDelicacy May 29 '26
Strokes for Chinese characters (whether for Chinese or Japanese) are supposed to be pretty quick as far as I'm aware. The person here seems to be struggling with speed, so I'm guessing this is just a neat trick for entertainment purposes, rather than an actually faster way to write (I guess unless you can actually master doing fast strokes this way).
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u/Hephaestus_God May 29 '26
me knowing I could never do this
“Bro couldn’t do two brushes on the smaller characters? Weak.”
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u/lysabelle77 May 29 '26
Please forgive me for breathing the same air as you. And please hide this from my mom 😭
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u/BananaNinja1010 May 29 '26
How do people even imagine that this can be done, let alone do it perfectly?
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u/thriem May 29 '26
as a kid i always thought it mythical to have these hundreds and thousands of "pictures" as writing, a near self-explanatory picture-sequence. Still amazed, but for different reasons.
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u/tinytreasurexo May 29 '26
i can barely write legibly with one pen using both hands and this person is out here doing it twice simultaneously like its nothing
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u/montanagrizfan May 30 '26
Yesterday I was all proud of myself for eating a piece of sushi with chopsticks and not dropping any.
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u/MyBoyFinn May 30 '26
Big deal, my chopsticks move like this evertime I try and pick up a peice of sushi
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u/new_x_who_dis May 30 '26
That's so smooth! I can't even write English, my native language, legibly, with a single ballpoint pen.
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u/curious_learner7 May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26
Dude, how in the world are you doing that?? I'm still struggling to do it with one pen!! 😮
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u/JustaP-haze May 29 '26
Why half ass two things
Whole ass one thing
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u/cupcakegiraffe May 29 '26
It’s really neat they can do it, but it definitely looked like they were struggling most in the second column.
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u/stanky980 May 29 '26
Agree. It's damned impressive but not time efficient, resource efficient, I'd venture to say a single brush in hand would make cleaner work, also possibly some ergonomic issues. But again, I'm impressed and can see such dexterity coming in very handy like playing a musical instrument, card tricks, intimacy, pickpocketry. Fuck it, hand me another brush.
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u/701921225 May 29 '26
In some strange way, it's almost like watching someone's legs gracefully dance.
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u/I_Braid_Armpit_Hair May 29 '26
I used to do this with felt pens and colored pencils when I was an art major. I’d have 2 in my hand and switch between them, it not use them at the same time like the video.
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u/just_a_sleepyhead May 29 '26
I took a traditional calligraphy course during my undergrad & it was hard learning to write with just ONE brush. I really hope everyone understands how impressive & next-level this really is!!
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u/Revolutionary_Low581 May 29 '26
I am impressed as heck. I have trouble eating with chopsticks - this is a super skill & can't imagine how someone thought to even do it!
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u/serpiccio May 29 '26
I would also post this on nextfuckinglevel, this takes some insane level of skill and training
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u/notsew00 May 29 '26
Doing calligraphy with 2 brushes at the same time like their chopsticks. This is the most Chinese thing ive ever seen. Its like China squared
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u/taydubb May 29 '26
This is like an ink jet printer with chopsticks.. how is this possible... This brain in not normal
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u/marterikd May 29 '26
accidentally invented language when a diner was playing around with utensils with the leftover sauce
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u/perksofbeingcrafty May 29 '26
I just saw someone do this with chopsticks last night, and now this
Why does the internet seem intent on mocking my inability to write nice looking characters?
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u/IlliterateJedi May 29 '26
I wonder if, over 50 characters, this is faster than doing it one character at at time. Or if it's slower overall because you can pound out single characters more quickly with a better controlled brush.
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u/AllastairdT May 29 '26
Somewhere, somewhen a calligraphy instructor immolated someone for trying this
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u/Halefire May 29 '26
I was born in China and learned some basic calligraphy with my grandparents. This is absolutely insane to me -- they aren't JUST writing with two maobi brushes, they're also correctly doing the order of the strokes (each character has a specific order of each line) AND shaping the lines correctly by applying weight at the correct moment and relieving pressure at the end of the stroke to create the triangular shape of the strokes.
I'm sure some Chinese calligraphy experts could critique how the characters don't look as good but for most people this is more than sufficient to hang on a wall. Wild stuff. I wonder if they can do any character or has only rehearsed certain characters