Wen Jiabao’s Handwriting: Distress Rejuvenates a Nation 温家宝的字：多难兴邦

Chinese Calligraphy is both a means of communication and a revered form of art, and the dividing line is often vague. It is also said to reveal the inner character of a person - one can detect the virtue of a writer by the beauty of his brushstrokes.

The Chinese people therefore always treasure the handwriting of calligraphy of their leaders. It is therefore not surprising that rulers, officials, politicians in the China have long used their graceful handwriting to cement their power and display their ‘inner character.’

In 2008, the Beichuan Middle School lost a thousand students in May’s devastating Sichuan earthquake. When Premier Wen Jiabao visited the school’s temporary quarters, he wrote four characters on a blackboard to inspire the students: "distress rejuvenates a nation", pointing out that despite all of the hardship that the Wenchuan earthquake had brought to the students, their families, and the people of Sichuan, it wasn't the end of the world.

After his departure, teachers and students could not bear to erase his chalk inscription, which was covered in plastic until the Sichuan Cultural Relics Bureau could devise a method for permanently preserving Wen’s handwriting.

"Those characters brought us strength. We keep them in our hearts," one freshman student told the reporter. "It'd be great if we could preserve that piece of blackboard forever." Lots of students and teachers at Beichuan Middle School supported this idea.

Wen is among many of the Chinese leaders who are good in calligraphy. Here are two pieces of his calligraphic works.

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中国书法是传意的工具，也是一种受人敬畏的艺术，工具与艺术之间的界限经常模糊。据说它可以显现一个人的内心个性，从一个人所写的美丽的线条中可以看得出一个人的品德。

中国人一向珍惜他们领导的手迹。所以，长久以来，中国的统治者、官员、政治家利用他们优雅的字来加强他们的权力与表露他们的‘内心’，那就不令人惊奇了。

2008年5月，在灾难性的四川地震中，北川中学丧失了上千名学生性命的。当温家宝总理来到他们的临时校园时，他在黑板写了四个字来激励学生：多难兴邦。他指出虽然四川地震给他们、他们的家人、四川人民带来了所有这些苦难，但是这并不是世界末日。

温总理离开之后，学生们舍不得把这些粉笔字擦掉，以塑胶布把他们盖住，直到四川文物局想到永远保存温总理的手迹的方法为止。

一个新生告诉记者说：‘这些字给予我们力量。我们会永远记在心中。能把这片黑板永远保留着，那真是太好了。’北川中学的很多老师与学生都支持这个想法。

温家宝是中国领袖中书法写的不错中的一个。这里展示的是他的两幅作品。