The Calligrapher — Yán Zhēnqīng 颜真卿

Tang master of robust regular script; co-creator of the enduring 'Yan style'.

Tang calligrapher (709–784), master of regular script/running script — the Tang moral paragon whose upright, muscular regular script became the model of Chinese integrity in writing. Tang dynasty

Cultural Story

俠 is the traditional brush for 侠, the free sword. The 史记 praises 侠客 who righted the wrongs the court ignored; 侠义 men of the Tang rode to save the weak. A 大侠 owed no lord. To write 俠 keeps the old form on the book cover and the stone.

Common words & phrases

• 侠客 chivalrous person · knight-errant · swordsman
• 侠义 chivalrous · loyal and brave · righteous
• 武侠 martial arts hero · wuxia
• 侠士 chivalrous man · knight
• 大侠 great hero · valiant knight

Read the story behind the character

A 武侠 novel keeps the 俠 in its old title; fans hail a rescuer as 大侠, and a 侠女 leads the comic. The 侠义 code runs through streaming shows and cosplay. Righting wrongs by one's own hand — now on the printed page and the screen — still carries this traditional character forward.