NZ Chinese Calligraphy Competition

The 17th New Zealand Chinese Calligraphy Competition

ABOUT THE CALLIGRAPHY COMPETITION

The Calligraphy Competition is organised by the Confucius Institute at the University of Canterbury (CIUC) and is open to all primary, secondary, and tertiary students across New Zealand. The competition includes both hard pen and soft brush calligraphy categories and is divided into Native and Non‑Native Chinese Speaker Groups according to participants’ language backgrounds, resulting in a total of 12 groups.

Winning entries will be selected and published in an official calligraphy collection. Since its inception, the competition has attracted wide participation from students nationwide and has become an important platform for cultural exchange between New Zealand and China.

REGISTRATION METHOD

• STEP 1: Schools are required to complete the Group Registration Form available as Attachment 1 at the bottom of this page and submit it by email to joanne.zhou@canterbury.ac.nz. 

Submission of the registration form by email is compulsory to ensure accurate identification and matching of submitted works with participant information. Works submitted without an accompanying registration form may not be assessed.

• STEP 2: Participants must post their original calligraphy works for assessment to the following address:

Joanne Zhou
Room 208, James Logie Building
Confucius Institute, University of Canterbury
Private Bag 4800
Christchurch 8140
New Zealand

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The Terms and Conditions are an important reference for this competition. They cover eligibility and categories, definition of language background groups, hard pen calligraphy regulations, soft brush calligraphy regulations, and general provisions.

Participants are required to refer to Attachment 4 for full details and read it carefully before registration and submission, specifically checking the language background categories, selecting the appropriate group for each participant, and following the standard formatting requirements when preparing submissions.

AWARDS

The competition includes both hard pen and soft brush calligraphy. Participants are grouped into Primary (Years 1–8), Secondary (Years 9–13), and Tertiary categories. Each category is subdivided into Native and Non‑Native Speaker Groups, resulting in a total of twelve groups. Each group will award First Prize, Second Prize, Third Prize, and Merit Awards, depending on participant numbers.