In China, the idea that one's character can be judged by the quality of his or her writing is more than an adage. Sloppy handwriting has felled many a hopeful candidate for the country's notoriously difficult official examinations.

A new exhibition at San Francisco's Asian Art Museum spotlights a form long associated with Chinese elites, who for thousands of years have valued both poetry and the ink strokes in which it's rendered.

Through Jan 13, Out of Character: Decoding Chinese Calligraphy is showcasing 40 calligraphic works borrowed from Yahoo Inc co-founder Jerry Yang and three pieces by US abstract-expressionist painters Brice Marden, Franz Kline and Mark Tobey, who all exhibit Asian influences in their work.