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

The traditional form set a curb and a triumph, 凱, the song of the returning host. The Zuo Zhuan sings 凱歌 as the army marches home. A general makes 凱旋, a triumphant return through the gate. The word was victory sung, written with the older hand that capped the line.

Common words & phrases

• 凯旋 return in triumph · victorious return
• 凯歌 song of triumph · paean
• 凯旋门 triumphal arch

Read the story behind the character

The crowd sings a 凱歌 at the win; the team makes 凱旋 through the 凱旋门, the triumphal arch. The old phrase 奏凱 means to prevail. The word rests in sport and verse — a triumph kept in song, not in the sword, written now in the traditional strokes.