Signage to remind Chinese to use good manners in public is mostly painted by hand. Stencils and templates are used to paint some parts of the signage; however, the headlines and titles are painted precisely in perfect handmade brushstrokes of calligraphy. Not every student can master proper calligraphy skills, despite its continued value in Chinese education and society. These signs stretches block by block, extending to hundreds around malls and plazas, and thousands along highways. Naturally, a sharp HiRes color printing can replace all of these signs. But before we cast a stone at another country’s inefficiency, we can be sure we have a glass house of inefficiencies of our own. Every country has its own set of inefficiencies based on its cultural values and economic incentives. Handwritten calligraphy is an art that has been successfully displaced by the laser printer in the West, but not yet so for the Chinese.
