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 Odes praise a dwelling 爽垲 — high and dry, spared the marsh's fevers. The Rites of Zhou sited the ancestral temple on 垲 ground for the same reason. The character is earth and air; a 垲 place was the healthy choice the ancients made against damp and sickly fog.

Common words & phrases

• 爽垲 high and dry · airy and dry
• 垲垲 dry and high

Read the story behind the character

The 爽垲 ridge keeps the house dry. A 垲垲 shelf holds the books off the floor. The builder picks 垲 ground for the clinic. The old 垲 site is chosen over the wet hollow. A planner marks the 垲 plot for the new school, clear of the seasonal flood.