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

刪 is the trimmed form of 删, the knife across the text. Liu Xie, in the 文心雕龙, gave a chapter to 熔裁, the melting and cutting of prose, urging the writer to drop every spare word. The scribe's 刪定 of a classic was an act of judgement, not mere erasure. The character is editing made visible.

Common words & phrases

• 删除 delete · remove
• 删节 abridge · cut
• 删改 revise · edit
• 删减 cut · reduce

Read the story behind the character

The editor 删除 the repetition with one key. The 刪节 edition fits the train ride. He 刪改 the letter until it sounded like him. The list is 刪减 to ten points. The word names the cut that tightens a page before it reaches the reader.