The Calligrapher — Wèi Jì 卫觊

Wei statesman and calligrapher renowned for seal and clerical script.

三国魏 calligrapher (), master of seal script/clerical script — known for 卫氏书派先声. Wei kingdom (Three Kingdoms)

Cultural Story

In the Shuowen lexicon 已 is read as 'to stop' - its form was taken as the sixth branch 巳 with the closing stroke left open, signifying an end. The Confucian Analects praise Yan Hui, who 'would not give up until death' (死而後已), making 已 a word for devotion carried to its limit. Tang poets sighed that spring days were already gone, and historians used 已 to close a chapter of events. As both 'already' and 'cease,' it marks the boundary where action finishes and reflection begins.

Common words & phrases

• 已经 already · by now · yet
• 而已 only · merely · that's all
• 早已 long ago · already · for some time
• 不得已 have no choice · forced · compelled
• 不已 endlessly · incessantly · without stop

Read the story behind the character

Modern life runs on 已. You text a friend '我已经到了' - already here - and end a rant with '而已' (that's all, nothing more). Your grandmother says she 早已 forgot the recipe, long ago lost. When the rain traps you indoors with 不得已, you have no choice but to cancel the trip. And the notifications keep coming 不已, endlessly, without stop, until you finally switch off the phone.