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Video footage taken on Nov. 19 shows calligrapher Getuken, a member of the Sibe (Xibe) minority population, writing in his creative combination of Sibe language script matched with elements of Manchu, which was once an official language of China during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) but is now recognized by UNESCO as a critically endangered language. Sibe bears similarities to Manchu and is considered a severely endangered language. Presently about 160,000 Sibe members are said to be living in China’s northeast, with only about 20,000 remaining as the only speakers. Getuken appears at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, where the artist held a demonstration and lecture on the occasion of his first exhibition outside of China.