On A Butterfly Wing?

Man Who Knows How

Would You Like Your Name

From STUART INDER, in Suva Anybody who meets Mr. Wan Wing-Sum cannot help being mpressed by his ability to write 3,000 characters on the back f a postage stamp, or print a poem on the antennae of a •utterfly.

IPECIALLY when he apologises for having to take off his glasses to do it. nt it seems to me that the more inating of his many skills is the that enables him to collect ’s for the personal scrapbook he ies about with him. Heads of ernment everywhere seem sit ducks for Mr, Wan’s charm, is a first rate PRO going to ;e. an Wing-Sun is a 36-year-old gkong born Chinese who is at ent on a tour of the Pacific, d, in a quiet sort of way, as

‘‘Lynx-Eyed Calligraphist”.

» had a look at New Guinea, s of Australia and New Zealand, is currently in Tahiti, before ig his exhibition to Fiji in early ist. ;’s been on his tour for some ths, but he’ll be on it for some ths more, because he’s going on [onolulu and New York before rning to his two children in ?kong. s wife is at present in Mel ne, but will catch up with him jwhere along the route.

Not Much Money

in it

mey is something of a problem t I gather it could be worse.

Wan says he doesn’t make i from his exhibition of *raphy and painting, but ese friends help him get by. s Chinese friends are the ese communities everywhere in Pacific, all of whom seem >ed to welcome him, supply him accommodation, and help with air fares —which are an ex ive item, as everybody knows. •. Wan thus visits only the d territories with established ese communities, aether or not his welcome has ding to do with the fact that > a member of the Arts Com ic of the Chines 3 Ministry of ation on Formosa, I don’t know has two business cards, one ing his official position and without). probably helps, but there can’t uch doubt that Mr. Wan’s tour

is successful mainly because Mr.

Wan is obviously no fake.

He’s a clever exponent of the ancient Chinese art of calligraphy.

The Scrolls to Prove it He has plenty of beautiful scrolls to prove it, and many delicate paintings executed in watercolours on Formosa-made bamboo paper.

But his favourite stunt—and he admits he pulls it as a crowd stealer, or to convince would-be sceptics—is the trick of producing one of his business cards and asking the name of the nearest member of the audience.

Then he removes his glasses, picks up his brush, and with his eyes only a few inches from the brush tip, proceeds to print the name on the card.

When Mr. Wan pulled that demonstration on me in Suva, where he made a brief exploratory visit in July, I had to call for a magnifying glass to read what he’d written without his glasses!

Mr. Wan says he demonstrates that to all the national leaders he has in His 800k —but that doesn’t

explain how he gets to see them in the first place.

Mr. Wan doesn’t show this book to everybody, in case too much handling damages it, but it’s worth a half-hour of anybody’s time.

Among the people who have had some nice things to say about Mr.

Wan in The Book are the Presidents and dictators of just about every South American State—some few of whom, alas, have been bumped off in the last 12 months.

Others, such as President Mag saysay, of the Philippines, have died for other reasons.

What the VlP's Said Each VIP has a page to himself in which he has been invited to supply Mr. Wan with a personal, signed reference.

Facing each page is another with a full-page photograph of the VIP —usually with an arm around Mi-.

Wan’s slim shoulders. Mr. Wan takes the photographs himself— w.th a camera equipped with a tim ing device.

Magsaysay’s reference says: “What seems to be a happy fact is that scholarly Mr. Wing Sum is, with his admirable patience and diligence, reawakening the interest of his countrymen in the ancient Chinese arts.” .

Malcolm MacDonald, Com missioner-General for SE Asia, wrote: ‘‘To a layman like myself, his writing is indeed a marvel.”

Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies, to whom Mr. Wan pre sented a painting (Menzies offered to pay for it, but Mr. Wan wouldn’t have that) wrote: “The skill with which you endorsed the picture im pressed me very much.” (Over)

fZ Prime Minister Nash also a page). r Hugh Foot, who signed The c when he was Governor of aica, in 1956 (he is now in us) wrote a page or two of high >e, followed by the observation “I was especially interested at ig the messages from other *rnors and amused to read their ;e of the art of calligraphy— wed by their illegible signa i ” is note of Sir Hugh’s was a bit nuch for the Governor-General few Zealand, who wrote: “My friend Sir Hugh Foot has, I •ved, taken an opportunity to a sly dig in the ribs to his v Governors and chides them y for their illegibility. Com ntly aware that this charge, at cannot be laid at my door. 1 much pleasure in signing my

-Cobham.”

. Wan says his VlP’s are not to collect —in fact, he says, are “very easy.” hardest? far, says Mr. Wan, it’s Sir Id Garvey—Governor of Fiji. i won’t see me,” said Mr. Wan ay he went up to Government 5 to try. aebody hastily pointed out Sir Ronald was probably very that day, preparing for a trip.