Pele’s writing and his innocence

The biggest sports star in the 20th century, "Football Emperor, the only footballer to have won the World Cup three times – those are some of the modifiers solely reserved for the living football legend Pele. In 1970, Nigeria and Biafra agreed on a 48-hour ceasefire to watch Pele’s game, and an Iranian king waited for three hours at the airport to meet him. The Brazilian footballer visited 88 countries, and met with 10 kings, five emperors, 70 presidents, and two Popes.

His writings are rounded as if they belonged to a boy. The strokes move naturally like floating clouds and flowing waters, with their lack of patterns and embellishment hinting at his innocent personality. All the reporters who talked with the Brazilian footballer say he is simple like a boy.

Mibul, the calligrapher of the Northern Song Dynasty, benchmarked the writing style from the Wei and Qin era, and he believed the innate beauty of the style consisted in innocence and absence of embellishment, which he thought was the ultimate meaning of writing. Jangpil of the Ming Dynasty said “innocence is my only teacher,” and Donggichang from the late Ming was known as a leading calligrapher who pursued sincerity in simplicity.

While deprived of the opportunity to study at younger ages, Pele went to college after succeeding as football player and boasts a great command of the Spanish and fluency in the French, Italian, and English, and his academic passion can be found in his unique writing style.

The big ring of “P” and the elongated tail of “e” indicate his generosity. The small size of “l” points to his shyness, and in fact, as a kid, he had an introverted tendency. The last stroke of his “M” is drawn to the bottom, which can be interpreted as a vision into the future. The long horizon of “T” and the elongated top of “P” are indicative of indefatigable strength. Some say that Pele is a genius, and others say he must have some kind of computer inside his head. If anything, his talent must be a result of harsh trainings, a painful process of trials and errors, and his perseverance to overcome injuries and hardships.