Bjambyn Rinchen was a Mongolian linguist reputed to have spoken 16 different languages. He was sentenced to death during Mongolia’s early communist period for loudly opposing replacing the traditional Mongolian writing system with Russian-style cyrillic. However, because he was well-known internationally, the sentence was never carried out.
He claimed he was once asked if he was God by a small child in Prague. With that beard, I believe it. :)
Mongol bichig calligraphy. On the left is the word “Spring” in Mongol bichig, on the right the same word is drawn as a picture of a crane. Calligraphy by Batbayar.
Mongol bichig (traditional vertical Mongolian script) calligraphy stamps. The first one is a poem called “Light of Wisdom.”
The Secret History of the Mongols is the oldest surviving work of Mongolian literature. It describes the life of Genghis Khan and was probably written in the late 1200s.
D. Ganbaatar has been working on a version of the Secret History of the Mongols rendered in mongol bichig calligraphy. The first chapter went on display at the National Art Gallery of Mongolia in Ulaanbaatar January 18th.
Poetry and mongol bichig calligraphy by G. Mend-oyoo. A new exhibition of his work is open July 5 - 16th at the Art House in Ulaanbaatar.
Not sure about the one of the left, but the one on the right is called “Fog”. Mongol bichig calligraphers arrange words and letters to make images, like trees or sweeping fog clouds.
I have posted the mongol bichig calligraphy of Sukhbaatar Lkhagvadorj before, but I like this one too. Looks like clouds written on sky. There is an interview with the artist here.
Freestyle calligraphy in mongol bichig by Sukhbaatar Lkhagvadorj. Lots more amazing calligraphy at his site.
(I don’t know what it says, I can barely read bichig when it’s perfectly neatly written.)
