七 calligraphy

七

seven; 7

Closest English meanings

seven·7th·seventh·hept-

The Calligrapher — Zhāng Cóngshēn 张从申

Tang running-script master who followed Wang Xizhi, likened to Li Yong in brushwork.

Tang calligrapher (), master of running script — known for 《玄静先生碑》. Tang dynasty

Cultural Story

The 詩經 opens its seasonal round with 七月流火, the fire star sliding west as the harvest nears, a farmer's calendar in song. Tang poets bent 七律 into eight strict lines, Du Fu counting grief in regulated tones. Seven was a number of arrangement, not magic. A court musician tuned to seven strings; a cook cut 七彩 into a cold plate of seven colored vegetables.

Common words & phrases

  • 七月 July · seventh month
  • 七点 seven o'clock · 7 a.m./p.m.
  • 七号 number seven · seventh
  • 十七 seventeen · 17
  • 七彩 seven colors · rainbow hues
  • 七律 eight-line poem · regulated verse

Read the story behind the character

In the modern world

七月 is the month students flee dorms; 七点 is when the alarm screams and the subway doors jam. 七号 bus, 七号 battery, your 十七-year-old cousin. 七彩 appears on shampoo bottles promising rainbow shine and on temple lanterns at 元宵. The number lives as a label and a clock, rarely symbolic now, mostly a way to file the day and number the queue.

Own this character

Purchase delivers the original SVG of this glyph, brushed by Zhāng Cóngshēn 张从申, ready to place on skin, paper, or screen.