Calligrapher's style likened to Da Vinci's mirror writing

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Chinese calligrapher Li Ying taught himself to write Chinese characters inverted, using his left hand.
Although he was not born ambidextrous, in 1990, the right-handed Mr Li Ying started training himself to write with his left hand, practising at least 10 hours a day and often forgetting to eat. ST PHOTO: BENJAMIN KANG LIM
Although he was not born ambidextrous, in 1990, the right-handed Mr Li Ying started training himself to write with his left hand, practising at least 10 hours a day and often forgetting to eat. ST PHOTO: BENJAMIN KANG LIM
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There are countless calligraphers in China. And then there is Mr Li Ying.

Mr Li's unorthodox style of writing Chinese characters inverted, using his left hand, has been likened to Leonardo Da Vinci's backwards mirror writing. When writing the characters unreversed, the 60-year-old uses his right hand.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on August 18, 2019, with the headline Calligrapher's style likened to Da Vinci's mirror writing. Subscribe