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

Sima Guang wrote "Instructions on Frugality to My Son Kang," warning that 俭 is a virtue easy to keep and hard to learn. Confucius had said, "in rite, rather than lavish, choose 俭." The word 儉 was the restrained table and the mended robe, the discipline a family kept so that wealth would not undo its character.

Common words & phrases

• 节俭 frugal · thrifty · economical
• 俭朴 frugal · plain
• 勤俭 hardworking and thrifty
• 俭省 thrifty · economical

Read the story behind the character

A household stays 节俭 through the lean month; the flat is 俭朴 by choice. The nation is told to be 勤俭, and the aunt is 俭省 with the lights. The word still means the held-back — a thrifty hand, a plain room — the habit of spending less than one might, whether from necessity, principle, or a grandmother's unshakable training.