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

玖 is the formal written word for 'nine,' used on contracts and tallies where a forger might alter a plain 九. The 說文 also gives it as '石之次玉者,' a black jade inferior to true jade. So 玖 guarded numbers and named a dark stone alike in old texts.

Read the story behind the character

On official receipts and checks you may still see 玖 (nine, formal) to prevent tampering, just as 壹贰叁 secure larger sums. Though 玖 also meant black jade, today most people know it mainly from checks, addresses, and the occasional poetic reference to a dark, humble stone.