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

倘 is the open "if". The 论语-style prose asks 倘若 the ruler heeds the wise; 倘使 the harvest fails, the store opens. To write 倘 is to hold a condition up and wait. The character is the hinge of the sentence that has not yet happened.

Common words & phrases

• 倘若 if · supposing
• 倘使 if · in case
• 倘或 if · should

Read the story behind the character

A note reads 倘若 it rains, meet inside the hall; the form says 倘使 the item is lost, claim by Friday. 倘或 the train is late, the whole plan shifts. If, supposing, should — this word still opens the clause that waits on the weather, the parcel, and the late arrival.