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

沽 means to buy or sell at the market, especially wine; the 說文 gives to sell. 孔子 sighed that one should not 沽名 cheaply. At the 沽 merchants traded salt and fish, and travelers 沽酒 before a long, uncertain road.

Common words & phrases

• 沽酒 buy wine
• 沽名 seek fame
• 沽源 Guyuan (place name)

Read the story behind the character

Friends 沽酒 (buy wine) for a hotpot night. A blogger accuses a celebrity of 沽名 (seeking fame) with staged charity. A trucker passes through 沽源 (Guyuan), a windy plateau town. At the riverside market you 沽 fresh carp and a bottle of 酒.

Why this character belongs on skin

A man stands at the wine shop door at dusk, calling for a flask to be filled. 沽 is that transaction, to buy, to sell, to barter your name for a price. The ancients sneered at those who fish for fame by peddling themselves, and yet there is dignity in the honest sale. To 沽 is to know the worth of what you carry and to offer it without shame. The warrior sells his sword's edge; the poet sells his silence broken. On your skin this character is a wink at the marketplace of the soul, you have priced yourself, and you are not cheap. Wear it as the merchant wears his ledger, knowing every gift given was first a thing exchanged. The wine is poured; the debt is paid.