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

并 gathers the old forms 並 and 并, meaning 'to stand side by side' or 'to combine.' The Shuowen reads it as two things moving together, and the classics use 并 to join clauses and armies alike. To 并肩 was to fight shoulder to shoulder; to 并 was to merge lands under one rule. The word thus holds both grammar and brotherhood - the act of putting two things, or two people, in one line.

Common words & phrases

• 并且 and · besides
• 合并 merge · combine
• 并肩 shoulder to shoulder
• 并列 juxtapose · tie
• 并排 side by side
• 并发 complicate · concurrent

Read the story behind the character

You say 'we won 并且 we celebrated,' and a company 合并, merges, with a rival. Friends walk 并肩, shoulder to shoulder, and two names 并列, rank equally, on the honour roll. Cars park 并排, side by side, and a server handles 并发, concurrent, requests. From a love line to a database, 并 is the little word that puts things together without losing either.