茧
(bound form) cocoon; (bound form) callus (variant of 趼[jian3])
Closest English meanings
cocoon·callus
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
Legend gives the discovery of silk to a empress watching cocoons unwind in hot water, and for millennia the mulberry districts lived by the silkworm's sealed sleep: harvest the cocoon, boil it, and reel a single thread a kilometer long. Hands that worked the vats and hoes grew calluses the same word described.
Common words & phrases
- 蚕茧 silkworm cocoon
- 老茧 callus
- 茧子 cocoon · callus
Read the story behind the character
A sericulture cooperative in Zhejiang ships cocoons to silk mills, a rock climber shows off calluses, here called cocoons, on her palms, a violinist's fingertips toughen after exam season, and a museum lets children reel a thread from warm water. A startup pitch promises to break the cocoon, then files the trademark.
Own this character
Purchase delivers the original SVG of this glyph, brushed by Zhào Mèngfǔ 赵孟頫, ready to place on skin, paper, or screen.