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

Etymology & Meaning · 字义溯源

2 · The Character: 并 Bìng (4th tone). The received form 並 is a Shuowen head: 「併也。从二立」 — to stand two together, two persons side by side. The reduced 并 is its clerical shorthand. The Rites already say 「並立則樂」 (standing together brings joy), and the Songs ride 「並驅從兩肩兮」 (galloping side by side). 并 means unite, combine, equally, simultaneously. It is a free morpheme and reads cleanly alone — a single 并 speaks of 'union / standing together'. Disclosures: in modern Chinese 并 is also the conjunction 'and' (并且), so some may read it as a linker rather than 'unite'; and 并州 (Bīngzhōu) is an old name for Taiyuan. Naming tables assign Water (水). Pair it with a second character (如 并立) if you want the classical 'side by side' force to land unmistakably.

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.

Where a Western reader can stand: Where a Western reader can stand: 'unite / side by side' — two standing as one; 並立則樂 (the Rites). Honest caveat: modern 并 is also the conjunction 'and' (并且), so some read it as a linker; pair it (并立) for the classical force.

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.