The Calligrapher — Zhào Mèngfǔ 赵孟頫

Yuan master whose elegant regular and running script revived classical tradition.

Yuan calligrapher (1254–1322), master of regular script/running script/cursive script — Yuan reviver of classical elegance who could write any script beautifully and did. Yuan dynasty

Cultural Story

曜 is the shining body. 七曜 the seven luminaries — sun, moon, and five planets — that named the week; 曜日 the day itself. 光曜 the radiance. The word is the bright wanderer and the day it rules. The Shuowen sees the sun and the show. A single character for the light that moves and the day it lends its name to.

Common words & phrases

• 曜日 day of week
• 七曜 seven luminaries
• 光曜 light · radiance
• 昭曜 shine · glorious

Read the story behind the character

曜日 is the day on the Japanese-style calendar; 七曜 the old 'seven luminaries.' You meet it in the astrology post and the timetable. The word names the shining bodies and the week they key — the sun, the moon, the five wanderers. From the horoscope to the schedule, 曜 is the light that orders the days, kept now mostly in the borrowed count.