The Calligrapher — Xiè Língyùn 谢灵运

Liu Song poet-calligrapher of cursive script whose works were imperial 'two treasures'.

南朝宋 calligrapher (), master of cursive script/running script — known for 诗书兼擅. Liu Song dynasty (Southern Dynasties)

Cultural Story

A spoken character, 撤 is the drawing-back, the army 撤 from the lost ground, the screen 撤 from the hall. The books said 退 or 去; 撤 is the plainer withdrawal, the one the camp and the court both knew by heart, and the screen drawn from the hall was the only honest curtain call the emperor ever gave, since the hall was emptier than the speech had promised.

Common words & phrases

• 撤退 retreat · withdraw
• 撤回 withdraw · recall
• 撤消 cancel · revoke
• 撤职 dismiss from office
• 撤离 evacuate · withdraw

Read the story behind the character

Troops 撤退; an order is 撤回d; a rule is 撤消d; an official is 撤職d; civilians 撤離. The lost ground is a post now. The drawing-back is the same, whether it saves an army, cancels a law, or merely removes the man who was, until the morning, in charge, and the post is only the ground, reassigned to someone who will lose it differently.

Why this character belongs on skin

Every warrior's art hides a harder skill: the orderly retreat. This character is removal — the hand taking things down, the general pulling men from a ridge before the ridge becomes a grave. To withdraw: troops from a border, a lawsuit, a hand from a flame, a heart from a table where it was only being polite. Western armies sing of courage; the Chinese classics also praise knowing when the position is lost and the living should leave. There is no shame in it. The tide withdraws twice a day and loses nothing; it keeps itself for the return. Some of the most powerful decisions in a life look, from outside, like simple disappearance. Ink this small, on the inside of the arm where only intimates see. It is for the one who has learned that leaving well is a form of winning.