The Letter to Spirits
The letter to Spirits is a book about how Chinese letterforms have a role in Taonism. The project is based on my thesis although it is a separate entity from it. It focuses on Taoism and the materials used in its rituals and ceremonies. The intention is to show how typography, materiality, and physicality play a role in Taoism, and at a broader sense, in other religions as well. Overall, I wanted to communicate that design can be used as a medium to reach out spirits as Taoism shows.
I tried to create a connection between reality and afterlife to a physical book form. The challenge was that people don’t usually document the forms of media used in religious rituals because it is personal and sacred. Additionally, people think it should kept as a holy secret so that it is not used in vain or in any other way that may be deemed as blasphemous.
The book is printed on joss paper, which made into burnt offerings common in Chinese ancestral worship.
My target audience is people who have an interest Taoism. This project informs them about the extensive detailing of how Taoism is practiced through things that are often overlooked but elevate the Taoist spiritual journey.
The book is bounded in dragon scale binding, also known as whirlwind binding. It was an early attempt to resolve the issue of the inconveniences of handling lengthy scrolls. It is still a scroll, but contains pages that are pasted in by their edges.
The book binding style shows the philosophy of Taoism. Dragon-style binding was imperfect because the individual pages had a tendency to roll up on their own when the scroll was unraveled. However, the textured surface of the pages resembled the skin of the auspicious dragon, giving the binding style its name.
I’m fascinated by the visuals and rhythm of texts in Taoism. People who believe in Taoism have a relationship with writing, and this is not limited to what’s written but also with how it’s written through calligraphy. This affinity for finding enlightenment through calligraphy in Taoism eventually influenced the Chinese writing system as a whole, so the influence of design within the sphere of Taoism is crucial to Chinese culture and at a larger scale, identity.
I’m fascinated by the visuals and rhythm of texts in Taoism. People who believe in Taoism have a relationship with writing, and this is not limited to what’s written but also with how it’s written through calligraphy. This affinity for finding enlightenment through calligraphy in Taoism eventually influenced the Chinese writing system as a whole, so the influence of design within the sphere of Taoism is crucial to Chinese culture and at a larger scale, identity.
