The Calligrapher — Yáng Wéizhēn 杨维桢

Yuan master of running and cursive script famed for his wild style.

Yuan calligrapher (), master of running script/cursive script — known for 铁崖体. Yuan dynasty

Cultural Story

尝 shows a tongue on a vessel, meaning to taste; the Shuowen links it to to try. The Shijing says 尝之 — taste it — at sacrifices, and 尝 (once, ever) marked past experience, as in 未尝 (have not yet). Gourmets 品尝 (savor) wine, and sages warned that power, once tasted, can corrupt a good man.

Common words & phrases

• 尝试 to try · to attempt · attempt
• 品尝 to taste · to sample · savor
• 尝鲜 to taste fresh food · to try something new
• 未尝 have not yet · not necessarily

Read the story behind the character

You 尝试 (try, attempt) a new recipe and 品尝 (taste, sample) the soup. Foodies 尝鲜 (taste something fresh, try something new) at the night market, and 我未尝 (have not yet) been there ends a debate. The character keeps its tongue-on-the-bowl feel whether tasting broth or trying a bold idea.

Why this character belongs on skin

Bite once and you know more than any description could teach. 尝 is to taste, to try, to undergo — the character carries the sweetness at its root, as if all experience began on the tongue. The king who slept on brushwood and tasted gall schooled himself through bitterness until revenge became possible. To taste is to consent to the world in full: the honey and the bitter root, the lover and the loss. A life untested by the tongue is a life unlived. Wear 尝 where you can touch it, a small insistence that you will not eat only what is safe. Experience is the only teacher that leaves a mark. Let this word rest on your skin like a flavor you refused to spit out. Taste everything. Then carry the proof that you did, inked and indelible.