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

常 began as a lower garment, a skirt, and the Shuowen lists it among clothes; because such dress was worn constantly, 常 came to mean 'constant' and 'ordinary.' The Dao de jing teaches that the 常, the steadfast way, is to be content. In the rites the 常 marked what was fixed and proper. So the word slid from a piece of clothing to the very idea of what does not change - the everyday worn close to the body of life.

Energy Reading

Metal (金)

Comparative symbology, not fortune-telling.

Common words & phrases

• 经常 often · frequently
• 常常 often · usually
• 平常 usual · ordinary
• 正常 normal
• 常识 common sense
• 日常 daily · everyday

Read the story behind the character

You 经常 go to that cafe, often, and she 常常 calls, often, on Sundays. The 平常, the usual, routine grounds you, while a 正常, normal, heartbeat reassures the doctor. Everyone needs 常识, common sense, and the 日常, daily, grind fills the calendar. From a skirt worn every day to the habits we barely notice, 常 names the steady rhythm beneath all change.