The Calligrapher — Zhāng Xiàoxiáng 张孝祥

Song lyricist and calligrapher famed for his robust running script.

Song calligrapher (), master of running script — known for 《柴沟帖》. Song dynasty

Cultural Story

The Shuowen describes 巴 as a great snake said to swallow elephants, a creature of the remote southwest whence the land of Ba (in today's Sichuan) took its name. In the Chu ci and Han histories, Ba stands for that misty river country of boats and songs. Over centuries 巴 also came to mean 'to cling' or 'to long for,' as a child clings to a parent. Thus a single syllable holds both a mythical beast and a deep human yearning.

Common words & phrases

• 巴望 hope · look forward to
• 尾巴 tail
• 巴士 bus
• 巴结 fawn on · curry favor
• 嘴巴 mouth

Read the story behind the character

In daily Chinese 巴 shows up everywhere. A kid 巴望 the holidays, hoping and looking forward to them. A dog wags its 尾巴, its tail, at the door. You hop on a 巴士, a bus, named by sound from the English word. Office workers 巴结 the boss, fawning and currying favor, while everyone eats with their 嘴巴, their mouth. From a mythical snake to a crowded city bus, 巴 clings to modern life.

Why this character belongs on skin

The child 巴 to the mother's leg; the exile 巴望 for a letter that never comes—巴 is the cling, the hungry waiting, the hope that grips and will not release. The character once showed a man reaching, and the reaching is the meaning: to long, to adhere, to hold on past reason. It is also the crust that forms over a healing wound, the scar that clings to what it mended. A tattoo of 巴 is for the one who loves with both hands, who refuses the cool detachment the age admires. It says you are capable of attachment, of waiting, of wanting badly enough to stay. Let it sit at the wrist or the heart. The grip is not weakness. It is the proof you were here, and that something was worth holding onto.