This paper pursues a transcultural reflection on possible relations between artistic practice and ethical cultivation. First there is given an investigation, from the stance of a phenomenology of the body, into peculiar kinds of moving the brush in the Chinese art of writing, especially the so-called ”collecting”, ”reversing”, and ”resisting” patterns in executing the brushstroke. Thus it is pleaded for bodily mimesis involved in the art of writing, as a kind of transformative exercise. In a second step, this thesis is further confirmed by adducing evidence from the ”Zhuang Zi”, in order to show that there is an intrinsic connection between artistic performance and ethical self-cultivation. Finally, an attempt is made at putting this art of ”reverting and taking back” into relation with the late Heidegger's thought on the Kehre and the Gelassenheit.